Oh well.

For some reason I have recently had several emails from customers inquiring about the aluminum Tag key chain tampers that I tested last year.  You can see the test piece in the photo above taken before testing began.  Sorry I was remiss in reporting back after months and months of product testing.  Let me correct that omission at this time.

Back in early December of 2005 I began product testing an aluminum Tag tamper that would go on a keychain. While ultimately a quick-release mechanism would be utilized, a regular loop was used for the testing as it would have no effect on the results.  To say that I was apprehensive about the whole thing would be grand understatement. As I said back in 2005:  “The tamper that you see above will live in a harsh environment, permanently, so extra caution is called for.”, and, “Any tamper tethered to a keychain would be subjected to the absolute worst prolonged environment.  I could just picture the wood or acrylic of a tamper going through the daily meat-grinder of keys and coins only to fall to the ground or be thrown on a table, to top it all off.  I would be subjecting my work to a certain worst case scenario.  But, over the years, hopeful doubts kept eating away at my pessimism.”

Well, extensive product testing for a year’s time has answered my question.  I feel very strongly that any time you ask someone to part with their hard earned cash you owe it to them to make sure that the product will hold up over time.  It may well look good at the git go, but the real test is the actual use of the piece and how it stands up over time.  Product testing is the only answer.  There are no acceptable shortcuts.

For a month or so the piece looked fine, in daily use on my keychain.  Then, things went downhill.  Normal carry for such a piece in a pocket, even with keys and change, isn’t all that bad, but when the tamper is tethered to the keys, constantly held in close proximity, the nasty effects are considerably worsened.  I’ve carried such tamps in my pocket without a pouch and have had no significant problems or issues, but once it becomes dedicated to the keychain all hell breaks loose.  The scratches are fine and far more numerous than from a mere drop to the pavement.  At least when a tamper is just carried in a pocket free to move about it gets some relief from the constant abrasion, but tether it to the keys and the abuse is far more significant and constant.  By four months the piece was horrific looking and not anything anyone would want to own.  For the next several months I was embarrassed to have it on my key chain, but I needed to see what the result would be.

The project was a failure (as expected) but at least the ultimate issue was decide before anyone was asked to part with a single cent, and that to me counts as a success.  And no, I will not be attempting this product with materials other than aluminum.  It’s just not a good idea…period. 

So there you have it.  There’s no substitute for extensive product testing.  With thousands of tampers out there over the past eight years and millions of hours of use, I can sleep well at night confident that my work will stand the test of time.  You get what you pay for, and to me that re-assurance is priceless. The tamper that you see above will live in a harsh environment, permanently, so extra caution is called for.

Soon

Above are some of my latest.  Much if not most of my work is never seen here or on the Ming site, so I’d like to take this opportunity to share some of it with you.  From left:

First we have Mako Moxie carved from mammoth in a horrible photograph that I hope to replace. The piece is photographed rough carved prior to sanding.

Some time back I announced that I would be carving what will hopefully amount to the finest Ming offered to date, a tamper called “Bonito Moxie” carved from ivory.  As Bonito Moxie will be created from what looks to be a stellar piece of ivory I decided to do a warm-up piece based on the intended shape.  So, I went to an excellent piece of mammoth and went deep into the tusk to pull out what has turned out to be pristine piece of mammoth.  I applied a variation of the Katsu shape and ended up with a sleek rendition.  The swept three groove spiral at the top cuts sharply down at about mid-tamp to give the lower section a more narrow profile for bowl fit in the form of a slightly twisted three panel form.  Bonito Moxie will also be based on the Katsu shape but will be even more so.  The top will be more wide and dramatic and the bottom panels will be more pronounced and somewhat scalloped.

Mako Moxie is reserved.  The price has been set with the buyer as a range depending on outcome.  If the tamper is anything less than stunning it will not leave my shop.  For those who care about such things or are curious, the price range of this tamper makes it the most expensive Ming sold to date.  FYI, Mako Moxie is 3.75 inches long.

Next is a Caneel freehand shown rough carved.  I recently watched (for the 20^th time) a TV special about a personal hero of mine, Frank Frazetta.  I truly believe that if you were to travel in a time machine 100 or 200 years from now you will find Frank Frazetta to be considered one of the top American artists of the 20^th Century.  I know that most people look down their nose at Frazetta’s work as he was mostly a commercial artist, but if one is to be honest they would have to admit that many of the Masters were as well.  Michelangelo wasn’t just painting the Sistine Chapel for shits and giggles. But, anyway, I was watching the Frazetta special and it got me thinking about a tamper that I did some years back, a Necron Series piece called “Barbarian”, that was attribute to Frazetta.  With that piece in mind I carved the Caneel freehand that you see above.  If I was to show you a picture of Barbarian (I will soon when I find the photo) you would see the similarities.  Putting Barbarian aside for the moment, this unnamed freehand is a meld of chiseled spirals and organic contours suggesting a living organism.  I have photographed it rough carved as photographically the contours of finished Caneel pieces tend to disappear in photographs.  Here you can begin to see what it going on.  This will be a unique piece and an interesting progression of a unique shape created years ago.  From tip to tamp it is 3.75 inches long.  This piece will be offered for general sale. Sorry, this piece is now sold.  Actually, I’m not sorry.  In fact, I’m pleased as punch.  I make them but I also sell them.  This isn’t a museum <big grin>.

Third in is a Pocket Helix in Blood of Kings.  Originally I was commissioned to created a Pocket Helix in Blood of Kings.  Then, when finished, the person who commissioned it disappeared like a fart in a sandstorm.  That happens, and while I’m not thrilled about it, I understand that stuff happens.  That Pocket Helix in Blood of Kings ended up selling to someone immediately.  That is usually the case so that I’m never too concerned when someone disappears like the person who commissioned the tamp.  And, as is also often the case, I carved two Pocket Helix side by side so that if one didn’t come out for the commission I’d have a fallback piece to fill the order.  Above you see the fallback piece which is every bit as nice as the first one now sold.  The tamper is approximately 3.8 inches long and features an internal pick. This piece will be offered for general sale. (Sorry, this tamper has been sold)

Finally we have “Poco Moxie”, a small mammoth piece that was carved at the same time as Mako Moxie from a beautiful piece of mammoth featuring amber brown highlights found out towards the bark.  This Moxie is a rather gnarly Arashi shape in a compact form of 2.6 inches long.  You will find mammoth ivory to be a very tough material that will take a good amount of abuse (but not too much please!).  This piece will be offered for general sale.

Meet Mr. Happy (New Artisan Tip #677)

Meet Mr. Happy. It looks like someone rained on Mr. Happy’s parade.  Truth is his problems are his own doing.  Years ago he started out to master a craft for the fun of it.  It was about the pure joy of the craft that kept him going early on when the going was toughest.  Then, after a time, he sought to sell his work.  He’d alway said that he’d just make a few for himself and his friends, but if he were to look back with perfect honesty he’d have to admit that his goal all along, if only deep, deep down, was to sell his work and be known as an artisan.  He knew that selling was the ultimate thrill, so sell he must.  That someone would actually buy what he made would be the test.  That was what he really wanted.

As time went on Mr. Happy was rewarded with sales.  Folks actually liked what he made and were willing to spend their hard earned money to obtain it.  That made Mr. Happy really happy, but as time went by merely selling his work wasn’t enough.  While he would have told you that the thrill of just selling his work was still the ultimate thrill,  much of the thrill was gone.  In fact, now his goal was to charge even more and more for his work. That would really make him happy.  Luckily for Mr. Happy people liked his work enough that they kept buying Mr. Happy’s work despite the fact that it was now downright expensive.  But buy it they did and Mr. Happy found himself amazed at how much money people were willing to pay and how much he made from his craft.  For a long time Mr. Happy was very happy indeed.

But, as time went on Mr. Happy found that money just wasn’t enough.  He’d tell you that the fact that folks were willing to spend so much of their hard earned cash on his work was thrill enough for him, but in reality the thrill had faded.  Mr. Happy wanted something more.  Mr. Happy wanted to be the very best at what he did and he swore that he would be just that no matter what it took.

So, for a long time Mr. Happy worked hard at being the best.  In fact, some who watched him would have said that he was obsessed with being the best.  It consumed Mr. Happy. Happliy for Mr. Happy, as before, he got his wish, and it was good to be the king.  But just as it was in the past, the thrill faded with time, leaving a hollow feeling.  As you might have guessed, Mr. Happy was no longer happy.  His work hadn’t suffered, but who knows what might have been.

Finally it got to the point that Mr. Happy was forced to realize that he was no longer happy.  Something was missing, and it was something big.  He had mastered his craft, but that wasn’t enough.  People paid him lots of money for his work, but that wasn’t enough.  Most anyone would have said that he was the best at what he did, but that wasn’t enough.  Mr. Happy had it all, but it wasn’t enough.  Rather bewildered Mr. Happy went on for a good while after that, not happy at all, trying as he could to make sense of it all.

Thankfully, one day Mr. Happy found the secret.  He sat down one Saturday afternoon in his shop and out of the blue a very simple question popped into his head.  He asked himself “Why am I here?”.  He looked around his shop, at the world that he had created, looking at much of his work laying about, taking in the result of his hard work, and he had his answer. He was there because he wanted to be there.  He loved what he did.  Mr. Happy understood that what made him happy was the pure joy of his craft.  It was about the thrill of creating, and the pride of craftsmanship.  It was about the passion, the pure passion for what he was doing, and the little world that he had created.  As he felt these wonderful feelings that he hadn’t felt with such force for so long, he realized that over the years he had allowed himself to become sidetracked, and what really mattered had never really left him.  Quite simply, he had just come to ignore it. 

So, Mr. Happy is very happy again.  In fact, he is doing a veritable “happy dance” as he has learned a very valuable lesson. 

 The lesson is: if you don’t love what you are doing you are wasting your time. The pure joy and passion of the pursuit will keep you going in the beginning, serve to take you ever onward, and be there for you in the end. Never take it for granted or lose sight of it.  It is everything.