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Post by kk on Apr 8, 2020 12:12:22 GMT -5
Kurt! You have been a stranger. I've been wondering how you and your family are doing.  checking in from time to time... We are fine thank you. We survived those stupid demonstrations last year, and thus far Hong Kong seems to be one of the safest places to be, in regards to the virus. My family is thus far very lucky, despite of financial losses caused by demonstrations and virus, we all are still securely employed and might weather the storm reasonably well when compared to so many others. I have not picked up the dremel in a very long time, I'm still to eager, chasing a win in a Photography-game. Have gotten close, but no win yet. Once this is achieved, the lure will fade rather quickly and I shall be back carving. If nothing else, I do hope that Photograpy will give me a new sense of perspective and more realistic propotrions, that I will be able to use for new carvings. For those of you with access to Facebook; you can check out what I'm up to these days, under my full name Kurt Kainzer. Hi Kurt! Nice to see you. Thank you. Wishing everyone all the best, stay safe and healthy, Kurt |
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Post by kk on Apr 8, 2020 6:56:37 GMT -5
So stubborn.  They certainly are. A box of energy on four legs.. |
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Post by kk on Aug 18, 2019 7:57:37 GMT -5
Happy B'day arghvark and johnjsgems, wish you all the best on your special day, and many more prosperous and healthy ones to come.
Thank you so much for all the wellwishes.
I had a wonderful year, despite missing working on rocks.
New things learned, and new adventures started.
Family is healthy, in short, too many blessings to count.
Looking forward to a return to rocks soon.
While I'm still failing in taking good pictures of rocks, I did get a better understanding of form and shape.
That should lead to clearer messages in carvings to come....
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Post by kk on Aug 7, 2019 11:20:21 GMT -5
kk Who are you on Guru? I am also there and would love to support you. You can PM me your name if you do not want to share. Hard to support anyone, as computer takes over everything. One can find me under my full name (like on any platform) Here is my current album: gurushots.com/kainzer.kurt/photos |
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Post by kk on Jul 28, 2019 21:11:03 GMT -5
Minor leagues, Never. Its always ALL IN! Yes, soapstone can even be manipulated with your woodworking tools if needed. Its good to start with something remotely familiar. A wolf in obsidian would be great, but its not an undertaking on a first out material, even for someone as experienced as you in shaping solid mass. You got knots in wood that at times can fall out, but it never fractures. So keeping things as cool and pressure free(lateral force against cutting direction) will become an additional habit over time. Active clubs are fine, but you dont really need them, as you got all the basic knowledge from your woodwork already. I never set foot into a club. I learned from practizing, and learning from all people here on the forums, as oldtimers here will testify to. They will also testify that I asked all sorts of questions, and then never really did as they told me to. I paid the prize in time needed for it, but also gained huge jumps in experience as I needed to rescue pieces. Making mistakes, was and is always the best teacher, as long as you finish your project. It does not matter how bad things look at one stage, it can and will work out, IF, you dont give up. But you know that already from your work with wood. As for sanding: Personally, I dont have those tools. So overheating at that stage is not something for me to worry about. I sand everything by hand with papers. My burrs are about Grit 150-250, so I start with papergrit 400/600/1200/2000 and then switch to paste. Soapstone does not need the paste, 2000, should do the trick already. If not, go for 3000 paper. Last but not least, for us carvers, uneven size is good. It allows us more freedom in shaping. Best regards, Kurt |
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Post by kk on Jul 28, 2019 5:41:56 GMT -5
Rockjunquie, I am quite sure that experienced lapidaries are reading all of this with some amusement. For example, my polishing efforts - soon to be posted - are very hasty at best. This is a continuation of my trial efforts and has led to questions such as: * Should I cut my slab before or after an initial polish? (I can see advantages both ways, including removal of the stone's outer rind.) * Should I use grits finer than 1,000 to achieve real shine or simply stop there? * Is use of an abrasive paste a supplement to sandpaper or a replacement? Folks, I know that these questions may be more appropriate for a jewelry making group, but rocks, fossils, and jewelry have a lot of commonality. And while I am not trying to subvert the site goals this is a rock carving forum, so what the hey?! Besides - I get better responses and more opinions here, so I hope I'm not aggrevating anyone! Welcome to the club Trapperjohn Where are your updates on the polish? As for your questions: While I have little experience with Obsidian, I do remember how easy it is to splinter or fracture them. Keep edges as round as possible at first. If you want sharp edges, cut them last. Also you are asking about slabing or cutting first. Cut your intended piece to size first. Its very easy to overheat obsidian or any glassy rock/cristal for that matter, and would be a shame having put in all the work of carving and polish, only to fracture it while cutting to size. For polish: Many threads here on that. But by the end of the day, there are as many variation as there are people giving advise. For a start, just follow someone as experienced as Christopher. If that works for you, fine. If not, on to another variation. For the moment, I'm only dropping in from time to time. But you are wlcome to call on me on FB if you have access. Just look me up under my full name Kainzer Kurt. Greetings, Kurt |
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Post by kk on Jul 28, 2019 5:33:27 GMT -5
I think kk lost interest here because there weren't many carvers here. [/div][/quote] Looks like, Ehhhh? Actually not the case. I just hopelessly detoured into Photography. I'm in an online game called Gurushots, and have yet to win a game. Came as close as 4th recently against a weak field of just 16k pics.. But once I manage that elusive win, I shall be back full force. Itching to get back into it. But Photography takes up just as much time as carving. So they cant be done side by side. See you soon. Kurt |
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Post by kk on Sept 18, 2018 5:00:06 GMT -5
Back from my walk with the boys. Needed that exercise after being unable to go up to the cabin for nearly 3 weeks; hindered by either weather or work. I live in the village to the far right....  2018 storm aftermath by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr Waters are still turquoise due to all the sediment in it. Will take a while to settle and makes for interesting colour. In the village, pretty much every fully grown tree is affected somewhat if not fallen all together.  2018 storm aftermath by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr The waters where churning, no time to go for a swimm. Yet there where people on standby with surfboards......  2018 storm aftermath by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr The tree-line on the right is normally about 15 feet out above the high-water mark. At the time, not a place to hang around for too long (forbade my kids to come to the spot)  2018 storm aftermath by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr And as always, Sprinkles comes along, even if he has to swim....  2018 storm aftermath by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr Today, tides have receded back to normal, flooding is gone, and the cleanup is underway. Will likely take a month or two, to really get rid of all the scars...... |
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Post by kk on Sept 17, 2018 19:21:03 GMT -5
Thanks for the concern.
We are safe. We had to weather stronger storms in the nineties with a lot less.
Had enough warning, and it was weekend, so preparations where according to measure.
What you saw on TV was mostly in the city where buildings are simply placed in the wrong places and components are not really build to withstand winds like that (180mph winds where recorded at sea-level). And the people in the street that you saw? There is no medicine for stupid!
Here in the "Countryside" where I live, damage is mostly limited to fallen trees and a huge mess that will need some cleanup.
Went for a walk just after the winds seem to lessen and birds came back out. (will post a few pics when I get back from a walk I'm planing this morning.
I simply have been absent from forums and largely FB these past 2 weeks, as I got hopelessly addicted to "GuruShots". A game where you compete with themed pictures. And you all know, I got a lot of ammunition. Give it another month, and once I reach the levels that people tell me are near impossible, then I will be back.......
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Post by kk on Sept 2, 2018 5:08:39 GMT -5
Started out with buying from Ebay a long time ago (mostly stamps at first, in late 90's), but stopped completely as shipping prices went through the roof from the American continent. Never mind other problems that have become the norm over time, but the cost of shipping was certainly the number one reason for me to stop even looking at anything Ebay or Etsy.
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Post by kk on Aug 28, 2018 21:54:39 GMT -5
Solid, bright colours and an amazing variety! What more can one ask for......?
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Post by kk on Aug 28, 2018 20:28:03 GMT -5
Agree with a lot of things voiced already. But I particularly like the overall shape in this piece.
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Post by kk on Aug 28, 2018 17:48:40 GMT -5
Is the Jinn for sale? I am a HUGE Gary Numan fan. This is straight from one of his songs. This really speaks to me. I got goosebumps. As you know, noting is for sale. Too new to give away for now, but if you still have interest in a few months time, lets talk about trade. I'm in the game for trying out new things, so you might have excess material that might be unusual and interesting. Or, you might have material that would be better suited for the subject at hand, I'm game to try again for a bit of extra material. The challenge for you though in trade is that I don't know what I'm looking for until I see it.... |
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Post by kk on Aug 28, 2018 17:39:32 GMT -5
kk It's something like rising up out of the flames, or at least in my mind it is. That was the idea, and got a lot of help from the material. |
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Post by kk on Aug 28, 2018 17:23:15 GMT -5
Very nice. I like the way the color works into the Rising. Yeah, got very lucky to have red colour streaming into her belly, but even luckier to have all transitions on the wing while the body is milky white transitioning into translucent for head and hair. |
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Post by kk on Aug 28, 2018 5:34:57 GMT -5
Remember the presumed serpentine I got in China?  Presumed Serpentine "Rising" by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr Basically polished, a bit miss shapen and drilled to wear. So I asked what to do with it. Not quite a Phoenix, but "Rising" nevertheless. In Christianity hell is a permanent inescapable state of being. In many if not most other orientations of faith, hell is something that one has to endure, but one ultimately will be released into a higher state of being. Something that unbeknown to most followers happens in Abrahamic faiths too (there is Jahannam in Islam, but once released one becomes a Jinn (sort of angel)). In most belief-systems hell is simply a form of purification before moving on.  Presumed Serpentine "Rising" by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr Stage two  Presumed Serpentine "Rising" by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr And basically done  Presumed Serpentine "Rising" by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr Needs some more polish with toothpick to iron out remaining rough spots, but will not improve much concerning picture. Alongside that one, its time to finish an old project for the Disdero Agate Boys. Finally it was decided to set it as is without creating an elaborate background. So just shaved off the back, and small refinements here or there. Now on to sanding and finally finishing it off.  refining disdero agate by Kainzer Kurt, on Flickr Thanks for looking, Kurt |
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Post by kk on Aug 26, 2018 20:36:23 GMT -5
Hi there and welcome, missing your input on the other forum. Have not seen your posts in quite a while.
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Post by kk on Aug 26, 2018 6:49:57 GMT -5
Super finish and excellent layout on all of them.
I particularly like the Indian bloodstone and the Australian dentrite. Love the strong colour variations.
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Post by kk on Aug 19, 2018 16:27:28 GMT -5
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Post by kk on Aug 18, 2018 20:57:21 GMT -5
Way to many eye-candies to choose a favorite.
And yes, are we going to see the lineup of your keeper and the ones of your dearest?
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