50

PESTLE AND MORTA

Second appearance for the pestle and mortar. Over on Journey to the Anvil, my other blog about learning to blacksmith, this piece has made an appearance due to the forged handle. journeytotheanvil.blogspot.com

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.

51

Scraper - Reclaimed punchbag bracket! Scraping end made from one of the 6 wall mounts,handle and point made from supporting arm. Interestingly this little project came about over a cup of chai! My good mate the chimney sweep popped in for a cup of tea after work, as the conversation turned to the days work he had completed, he admitted to being somewhat frustrated with trying to sweep or scrape out the gunk and soot from the back of the numerous aga's he works on. A quick sketch and an idea was born!

The logic being that this piece utilises as an extension of the sweeps arm, the scraping end allowing for gunk to be pulled back and the point for chipping solidified soot and gunk.

52

RECLAIMED MAHOGANY WINDOWSILL!

Hand carved dishes reclaimed from Mahogany window sill. Originally designed for the serving of micro salads. Idea for top dish with shot glass came from the need for a joint vessel to serve a dressed Pea shoot salad with accompanying shot of Pea and coconut soup!

Subsequent dishes were made for a food technology department of a school in Swindon.

One dissapointment was the final finish of the serving vessels. Each dish was finished with Walnut oil, which was a mistake on my part. As one can see from the grain the oil did nothing but offer protection.