Question: How I create Hobos

[Harpuahound]

This is how I begin this style of hobos. I flaten the Indian. Sometimes I hitting the edges with a laser welder to smooth the edges.

I like to cover the nickel with black sharpie and use a sharp tool to draw on the design. If you mess up its easy to paint the area in with sharpie and draw it agian.

I like to lightly (with a square graver) outline the drawing. Then with a modified flat graver I dig out the field. Carefully keeping it as flat as possible. I use a flat graver, but I have slightly rounded the corners up so I dont get any hard lines cut into the field.

 

[Harpuahound]

I like to clean the field up first. Using the flat graver I cut it as smooth as possible. Then i cut a small strip of 3M 400grit wet dry paper and work the field by pushing the sand paper with a chopstick.

 

[Harpuahound]

I did all my detail work with a square graver. Thats usually the case.

The final tone is a mixture. I rub in a small amount of Sams transfer wax. Then paint the coin with a sharpie and rub that off with my thtumb. Last I paint the coin with a gun blue pen, let it dry for a few minutes and rub off that till I get the desired effect.

Thanks for looking. I have learned a ton from this forum. I just wanted to give back a little. By the way. Im no expert so take what you like ignore the rest.

 

[Sam]

Thanks for your excellent contribution, Johnny. I've added it to the Tips Archive. / ~Sam

 

[monk]

an absolutely great tutorial on your techniques. great fotos, clear instructions. this is a gift for all who carve hobos. thanks so much.

 

[tundratrekers@mtaonline.n]

I agree! THANK YOU!!!!!!! God Bless,mike

 

[spank7357]

One of my favorite hobo's so far. Great work-along photos and narrative. Please do it again. Spank

 

[AndrosCreations]

John, Thanks so much for the tutorial. It is excellent... You made it easy to follow with nice clear pictures.

As I've been studying hobo nickels from the OHNS website and other sources... I can almost always identify who the artist is that did the carving (that is, of the modern carvers)... and you have one of the most unique styles in the way you use thin lines to convey contour and depth. It really is like banknote engraving; quite an innovative approach to hobo nickels.

I think the nickel shown above is your best one yet (of the ones I've had the oppurtunity to see).

Excellent work!

 

[AndrosCreations]

...I forgot to ask, what's the geometry on your square graver, approximate (90, 110...)?

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Johnny, as I told you before, I love your unique and quirky style. All nickel carvers develop their own style and it's great that you have something that is yours to offer the collectors. Well done and thanks for sharing the tutorial.

 

[KCSteve]

I've recently been doing something similar. I follow Todd Daniel's advice and use a red Sharpie - the light colors let you draw with a pencil and get a dark line on a light background.

Haven't been flatting the indian down first, don't have a laser welder for cleaning up around the edge, and I'm seriously deficient in artistic abilities compared to you, but hey! I at least got one part of a winning formula right!

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Johnny, thank you for the tutorial, nice and clear.

arnaud

 

[Steinar Fosback]

Johnny, thank you for the tutorial, very nicely preformed, quite informative.

 

[Harpuahound]

Thanks for the kind word everybody.

KCSteve...you could take the Laser welder out of the equation and have the same results. I only use it because I can. It gives me a smoother transition from raised surface to field. I use black sharpie because i get better contrast when scratching out the design. Drawing with a pencil doesnt leave the very sharp clean lines I like. Im very careful scratching in my design though. Scratching the surface very lightly. Light enough to erase all trace of them with a swipe or two of sandpaper before doing any detail work. You got some creative ideas. I liked your football player.

 

[John B.]

Thank you, Johnny S.
Great tutorial all around.
Best regards.

 

[Mario Sarto]

More stuff to learn on - great! Thank you. Very unique pieces!

 

[KCSteve]

Thank you sir!

I use those new (at least to me) 0.5mm stones to work in the tight areas. I'm sure it's a lot slower than a laser but it's also a lot cheaper and in the end it doesn't really matter how we get there, does it?

Glad you liked my football player - one of the nice things about doing nickels is that it gives you chance to try things you might not be brave enough to try on a 'real' project.

 

[AndrosCreations]

I'd like to try these stones I keep hearing about... (to smooth the field that is)... This month is too tight money wise to order them though.

I also like to flatten out the Indian before engraving... I just grind him off using little grinding wheels (unless I'm doing a real traditional type hobo nickel). I'll be starting another nickel and the face profile will be looking the other way this time so I have to grind him off.

The laser welder sounds interesting... I really know nothing about those.

 

[Harpuahound]

I just got the small stones last week. Tried them for the first time this morning. I think they will come in real handy. My suggestion. Order a pen for every grit you purchase. I got one pen and four grits thinking i would switch out as needed. Also to save money until i knew i was satisfied with them. I will be ordering a few more pens now.

 

[AndrosCreations]

That sounds good...

Where do you order the stones from?

I found these stones from Gesswein that were suggested... there look to be two different kinds ( Link #1 - Link #2 ).

For the one set, the grit only gets as course as 320... it seems like I'd want something a little coarser than that to start out with. But maybe I'm wrong... perhaps they cut fast enough to warrant a finer grit.

Which four grits do you have, John? And do you find a particular grit to be more useful than others?