Not gold, but good as gold to me.

[chuck,tx2]

Being an ex wood carver, became a prospector I was always attracted to wood. Bungee Bill,( RIP ) & I were working this wash in 1992, that the old timers had given a good go, which still produced enough to keep us interested.

High up at the start of this wash I found this Iron wood Sculptor cared by Mother nature, That I really admired, but was packing to much gear to salvage it. This winter I was up that wash & saw it still there after all these years, I have it proudly displayed in our home & it Bing's back some great mummeries that I can enjoy Again Take Care, chuck

I TOO Will Something Find And Glory In The Finding.

[Allen in MT]

nice looking piece of wood, would make a nice lamp or just a display piece, are you going to leave it as is or finish it up.

Allen

[chuck,tx2]

Allen, There is nothing I could do to improve what Mother Nature spent hundreds of years producing.

[~LARGO~]

Hi Chuck,

Nice piece of wood!

Its amazing that somebody else didn't pack it home.

I found one of those round calcium spring rocks last year in a wash,

but like you, I wanted to take it home, but was on foot and didn't feel

I could manage it.

I hope I can remember the wash it was in, and get back to it sometime...

Take care, the little white Casita sold this weekend... :(

Gary

[chuck,tx2]

Gary, A Friend wonted me to keep an eye open for one of those, Thought of yours, but you had a guy who was interested & my Friend lives Flipping ARK. A far peace.

[old gold miner]

I have made a few very nice knife scales (handles} out of AZ ironwood.

It's about as tough, and as good as you can get.

Good quality ironwood knife scales are getting harder & harder to find, thus costing far more than they used to.

[chuck,tx2]

Old Miner, A wood cuter told me that he had an order for a Rick of Iron wood, & it was toxic, contained Arsenic, He went blind for about 3 weeks after cutting it. I don't know if I believe him, for the Mexicans work& & sand iron wood all day & every day. Down Mexico Way

Image is of a Iron Wood carving I could never get it to suit me & lost interest, Now that I coughed the fever I have no interest except chasing gold.

[Kaimi]

Aloha Chuck,

Wht can I say but "Knarley piece of wood". Yes, mother nature sure does some fantastic work in her spare time. Nice specimen.

Aloha,

Stan aka Kaimi

[chuck,tx2]

I am going to take a chance & post one more Peace of wood. This carving is Bristle cone, There is a Bristle Cone growing in Calif. that is over 5500 yrs old, I found this where the old timers cut their post for shoring in the mines up Lost Canyon on Quail MT. in CO.

[~LARGO~]

Chuck,

That is a gorgeous work of art.

The old man you carved very much resembles a photo, one of several I inherited from my grandmother, who was acquainted in some way, with an Indian chief up in northern Montana, by the name of Chief Rocky Boy. This photo has

the Chief Rocky Boy, some if his squaws, and children, and some of his lesser chiefs. Old Rocky Boy was

very dark skinned, a very handsome man in his own right, and his countenance has the appearance of one of a man with

the weight of the world on his shoulders. And in his world, it most likely was...

I contacted the point man of the tribe listed on their website, and told him what I had, thinking to offer the photos to the tribe, as they did not have any REAL photos of the old chief, only artists concepts of him.

The response was, that the photos were not of the chief, according to some of the tribe elders. I have no idea

how they might know, as they are not even close to being old enough to have seen the man. I expect my grandmother

would have know who the man in the photos was, as they were close as whites/indians could be, back in those later

1800's, when the photos were taken. I guess it is their loss...

Thanks for sharing, a treasure, indeed...

Gary

[old gold miner]

Back in 97, when the Camillas factory closed (SAD) after 100++ some years.

I was fortunate enough to acquire 20 new CAMM1A bayonet blanks for $250.

Out of which, I made 1/2 dozen combat / tactical knives with iron wood or micarta handles w/ lanyard holes & custom sheaths.

Everything bead blasted & flat black, so sharp (diamond honed) you could shave with them.

Through some old military contacts, I was able to get a few names of squad leaders that were seeing heavy nasty close ground combat in Iraq.

Once I had their name/rank & APO, I sent small care packages, each with a custom "pig sticker" enclosed.

I was shocked @ all the heart felt responces & pictures of those young "warriors" packing those "stickers", I got back.

Am now building 10 more, that are going as gifts to our boys Afganistan, once done.

[Terry Soloman]

Now THAT is cool! I have owned and sold a lot of high-end knives, a hobby of mine. I have also sent combat knives to men overseas, and I commend you for taking the time to hand build them. I hope to have a nice meteorite-handled knife one day - Terry

Back in 97, when the Camillas factory closed (SAD) after 100++ some years.

I was fortunate enough to acquire 20 new CAMM1A bayonet blanks for $250.

Out of which, I made 1/2 dozen combat / tactical knives with iron wood or micarta handles w/ lanyard holes & custom sheaths.

Everything bead blasted & flat black, so sharp (diamond honed) you could shave with them.

Through some old military contacts, I was able to get a few names of squad leaders that were seeing heavy nasty close ground combat in Iraq.

Once I had their name/rank & APO, I sent small care packages, each with a custom "pig sticker" enclosed.

I was shocked @ all the heart felt responces & pictures of those young "warriors" packing those "stickers", I got back.

Am now building 10 more, that are going as gifts to our boys Afganistan, once done.

[old gold miner]

Funny you mention meteorites.

I had a few large ones from the CAMPO del CIELO fall.

I did a horse trade with a guy in Kentucky, that hand forges / folds damascus steel billets & some knife blanks.

He wanted one of the 45/70 hex Springfield rifle barrels I had, that was near mint.

LOL, they were made into ash tray stands.

LOL, bought 5 century old upright ashtrays, at a rummage sale for the gun barrels they were made from ($20 each).

2 barrels were traded for two 2 inch X 12 inch damascus billets, & I sent him a 5lb niclek/iron meteorite to mix in the damascus blend.

Later I cut those billets down into just under 1/4 inch thich X 12 long knife blanks.

End result of 1 (1st attempt at a damascus steel knife)

Man, this thing holds an edge, like you would never believe.

Not many knives around, with extra-terrestrial metal origins.....LOL

[hammer]

At times I am truly impressed with the talent that appears on our prospectors forums..

keep it coming

[chuck,tx2]

End result of 1 (1st attempt at a damascus steel knife

Old Gold Miner, That is a beauty,How do you shape a knife with that Minny angles, curves & hollows? Do you beat the metal when hot, or grind it? I think a knife is one of the most beautiful shapes.

As you can tell, I know squat about how to build a knife.

Did you see that Northfield knife I found in a rock shelter in the Tregos? It has a history that dates back to the Civil War, Maybe you can give me some information on it. Cant remember if I put it on this forum or not.

[old gold miner]

That Northfield you found is a GREAT find, looks to be from around 1895, or so.

I would think worth 4 or 5 hundred, to a collector.

As for shaping, the billet was cut with a lazer cutter.

Same lazer cutter was used to shape each full tang blade blank.

The rest was plain old elbow grease, filing it until I thought my arm would wear out.

I was lucky to find/buy a bolster, that suited the blank & design well, once done.

After filing, hours of belt sanding & wheel buffing.

Then, repeated acid baths to bring back out the damascus lines of the steel.

Given the time/labor involved, this is a labor of love.

Because unless you charged about $800 for one like this, you could never profit from making them.

Even then, the profit would not be all that much, unless you did batches of about 10 at a time.

[El Dorado]

While I did not build this from scratch, I am proud of it anyway. Damaskus blank, acid treated stainless bolsters and screws (to make them black) olive wood scales, gold inlay on the blade, gold safety button and a 16-1 button... yup its a switchblade.