Tablets, goats and tentacles

Here are a few more things I've made in the last couple of weeks. Up first is a goat head bead I made for my girlfriend's dreadlocks. It's carved from an elk antler:

Next is a case for a second generation Ipad. The client uses one of those magnetic covers and the case is sized to take that into account. I wanted to keep this free of metal hardware to minimize the possibility of damage to the tablet, so it has a closure inspired by reusable office envelopes:

This is a wrist strap for a previously created tentacle wallet, which can be seen here:

Pocket knife mod

I've become really infatuated with knives with orange handles lately, but couldn't find just the right knife that was also available in this color of scale. There are plenty of knives in my possession, so I decided to buy some blank scales in the appropriate color and modify one of my own - a Spyderco Ambitious.

 This model is assembled with all threaded parts, so breaking it down was a snap.

Cutting out the rough shape with a scroll saw:

First and only casualty of the project was the blade. Luckily I had spares:

The rough shapes after cutting. I left some extra material around the lines I'd marked to give me some wiggle room with lining everything up.

Drilling the holes:

Making sure everything fits together:

And here's a cleaned up version.

This was too plain for my tastes though, and I'd also scorched the material in a couple of places. Also, the material is thicker than the original black G10, so I took everything apart and did some further shaping. Here's the final outcome:

I screwed up the heads of the screws that held the pocket clip in place, so hopefully replacements can be found. Now that it's complete, I've realized that I drilled nine holes more than was really necessary. They exist so you can move the pocket clip around to another position if you like, but I always keep it in the same place.

Recent leather work

Here are a few things I've been working on in the last couple of months. First up is my current belt, which features the buckle I made and is reversible:

Mini wallets. A couple of slots for cards on one side and one larger, expandable pocket on the other. I tried these out in a few different leathers, veg tanned, chrome tanned and ostrich, but the ostrich is too thin to be practical:

This next card wallet was originally a commission but the client flaked out on me. I liked the design enough that I made it anyway:

 This last bifold is from a design I drew up months ago, just for fun, and is an octopus-rose. The interior is a shiny navy blue calf skin, and I'm very curious to see how it's going to hold up. It may be that this particular leather will only be suitable for lining, as I'm not sure how tough it is.