Toothbrush

beejay

beejay

Joined
Monday January 11, 2010
...........Or to be more precise........a brush turned from a tooth......... a tooth from a Minke Whale.

The Client has owned the tooth for about 20 years I believe and he very kindly presented me with the opportunity to make a shaving brush from it.:icon_razz:

Ive turned bone, horn, antler stone, alloys, most woods, acrylics, bakelte,ebonite, celluloid etc but never a whale tooth or ivory so I was genuinely excited and somewhat nervous if im being honest as I was only going to get one go at this.

I began buy cutting off the tip of the tooth which was about one inch in length and then the root part which left me with a solid piece of workable material. This part would have been below the gum line of the Whale.

The client asked for a PJ style if possibe, a classic and elegant shape that would show the remarkable figure in the bone/ivory? at its best and here is the end result.
[attachment=4515][attachment=4516]
The brush is quite weighty, the figure, I repeat, is remarkable and the feel is like fine porcelain but much much nicer. I just want to pick it up and hold it, sad or what!

Hope you dont mind me sharing this one with you but its not likely too many of us will ever own a brush made from one of these and I thought you'd like to see it before it's sent out to the Client.

A pleasure for me to turn and probably the nearest I'll ever get to working with Ivory.

I'd imagine it'll be quite easy to look after,,,,regular 6 montlhy check-ups and it'll be fine:icon_razz:
regards, beejay
 

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An apple a day should keep it tip top.

Talk about one unique brush! I want.

Goes to look for harpoon in garage.
 
Pure genius Bill, that's a lovely looking brush and I'm sure your client will be thrilled with it!
 
lovely brush...

The next time you hear someone talking about a root canal you can say that it is not that difficult :D
 
I THINK THAT IT LOOKS SUPERB !




and I can hardly wait for it to be delivered ! :icon_biggrin:



Bill has done wonders with what I sent to him.

MINKIETOOTH001.jpg


MINKIETOOTH003.jpg


As Bill said, I have owned the tooth for twenty years, having been given it when I lived over on the West Coast. I believe that the Whale carcass, or bits of it, were washed up on the shore. When, I do not know.

The brief was : Have a look to see if it's possible to make a brush handle.

There would be no problem from me if the tooth shattered, or did not provide enough solid material once it was cut. No time scale whatsoever. I thought that it would be, at least to me, the kind of job to be undertaken only when it felt right to do so.

We chatted a couple of times and my thoughts of a PJ were in line with what Bill thought would work.

It seems to have worked nicely :icon_rolleyes:

I will, of course, post my thoughts, once I have used it, but I think it will be fondled when not in use. :blush::blush:

Hugh thanks go to Bill, of course, for using his considerable skill to full advantage.



Steve
 
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