Scrimshaw Whale Tooth

After finishing the whale tooth and putting in on the stand, I realized that the scarab bead didn't look right. It was crudely carved and the color was too bright, and detracted from the tooth itself. So I removed it and to cover up the mark on the base I engraved a small 19th century looking black plate with gold lettering.

For the tooth I molded a sperm whale tooth that I had acquired years ago, then cast it in a polyurethane resin. I then sanded down the resin tooth smooth where the scrimshaw was to go, and engraved two steampunk scenes. This left the real ivory tooth undamaged. One side of the tooth shows a giant squid attacking the airship Gryphon.



And the other side shows a steamy mermaid. Here is the story I wrote to explain the history of the piece:

The old Chinese man loved his opium pipe more than any other thing on earth. Because of his devotion to it he had never married, and had long ago lost contact with his family. He had finally found his place in the world on a whaling ship, working as a cook, which allowed him ample time to enjoy his indulgence. It was here plying the seven seas that he learned the art of scrimshaw, scratching a design into a whale tooth, then rubbing lampblack into the marks to make it legible.

It was while in an opiate stupor that he saw the most amazing sight of his life—a giant squid attacking the airship Gryphon. He alone saw it, and the whalers laughed at his tale, but the old man swore it was true, and set about to record the event in bone. On the flip side of the tooth he copied a tattoo worn by one of the sailors, portraying a mermaid in steamy attire—wearing a corset with a set of goggles on her head, and carrying a raygun in her hand.

The old man lost his life while the ship was docked in Alexandria, stabbed to death in a knife fight while gambling in the seediest part of the city. His few possessions were scattered, and his scrimshawed whale tooth—his most precious belonging after his pipe—ended up in a curio shop. The owner paired it with a small display stand which fit it perfectly. It was a bronze casting which portrayed the Egyptian god Horus and lotus blossoms, mounted on a wooden base. He had a small plaque engraved which reads “The Attack of the Giant Tentacled Sea Monster”.

I have more pictures on my Etsy shop.

Scrimshaw Tooth Stand

I am just wrapping up my latest project: A whale tooth with steampunk scrimshaw scenes, which sits on an Egyptian themed base featuring the god Horus. I began by planning it all out, and wanting to be able to have the whale tooth display in several different positions, went looking for an Egyptian motif that could accomplish that. When I found a picture of the god Horus with his upraised wings I knew that would work well.


I proceeded to cut the design out of a sheet of plastic, and engraved the outline. The Horus pieces are made up of two layers of 1/8" acrylic glued together.
I then glued the parts together and made a silicone rubber mold. From the mold I cast the finished part out of cold cast bronze. The part in the photo is right out of the mold, with the bottom gate still attached, and the piece unpolished.

I gathered together the other pieces of the display stand: A walnut base, a turquoise colored scarab bead, and a square headed bolt (for that antique look) to hold the bronze casting to the base.

Here is the finished display stand. The bronze casting of Horus has been polished.

In this other view you can see the lotus blossom supports. My next blog will show the scrimshawed whale tooth along with the story behind the project.