PESTLE AND MORTA
For piece number 50 we have reclaimed Teak for the Mortar. This gorgeous offcut of Teak had been passed down from an unknown source in a rough sawn state for firewood to my Father in law, who was just about send it up the chimney, then it was rescued!
It goes to show with a little thought what we can achieve from re- use of materials. I fully understand that those who use these materials in the trades probably have no use for such a small off cut, but they can and do have uses.
Pestle handle rescued from the scrap bin at PCAD. In this instance i would have cut a piece from a new length of material, but a quick rummage through the scrap bin revealed this piece of square. One end was bent the other had been lost to the forge. Two hacksaw cuts to the bad ends left me with about 10-11" of material, plenty to work with.
The core of the design was led by the piece having to be functional. I have no training in design as one can probably tell, but do i need to be trained? I established early on that i did not want to make a round Mortar, the lines against the centre circle give this piece more of an abstract feel. Contemporary but at the same time keeping with a more traditional feel in the handle. Twists and a scroll incorporated into the forged handle, serve not only appearance but functionality, with the twist for grip and the scolled end being used for crushing.
