Barber Chair I'm doing. More to come...

If you're in the area...

GALARINA

Finished set

A few tweaks worked crazy good

Blade after Ferric Chloride

Acid etching Damascus

 I've been experimenting on some Damascus I'm using for knife projects with different acids to bring up the patterns. You see, when I'm grinding blades, any patterning from the folded steels disappears and I'm left with a smooth surface. Many years ago, when craftsmen first folded and forged different steels purely to improve it's functional properties, this would have been fine. But today, with the availability of superior alloys, the use of Damascus is primarily for aesthetic reasons. With this in mind, I needed to find the best way to bring out the patterns created by the forging of dissimilar metals. I've been trying a few mixtures with varied results. I tried Sulphuric acid (battery acid), Muriatic acid (swimming pool), and for these pieces, I used Ferric Chloride (copper etch mordant).
The near side steel pictured is a blend of 1085, 15-n-20 (nickel) and L6. The far side piece is just 1095 and 15-n-20. After a 40 minute bath in Ferric Chloride I got good texture and color. The other acids gave varying results of depth and color, but the Ferric seemed to give the most definition. With future use and cleanings the color will continue to change, so I find it more important to achieve a good surface texture that will become more rich and beautiful over time. The color contrast can be maintained on a show piece that gets no use, but that's not what I do. And neither do you. The natural oxidation, resulting from years of use, is where the true beauty of these pieces will come from. But for now, this is looking pretty kick ass. More to follow...

This oil tank made me so happy...

Gift from Mario of MB Leathers

A fellow leather worker, Mario Burkardt from Switzerland, was visiting my shop over the Holidays. I was admiring this handmade Damascus miniature of a leather working knife he was wearing, and without a second thought, he generously gave it to me as a gift. I appreciated it very much and have been wearing it ever since.
Thanks again Mario....

Made in USA, oldest one I have- only one that works.

Local flavor

New project sketch

Dual Stromberg 97 style, EFI throttlebodies on a 103" Knucklehead. We'll see...

Lots to do

White Stinger

I did this little white Stingray saddle with gold piping for an amazing Triumph that our friend Jeffro built for Vince. It's like a little wedding cake made of fish skin. I don't have good pics of the bike yet, but I'll get some up here later. Coolest Triumph ever... Congrats J. & V.

Twisted foot pegs

I twisted these up from an old set of Long Island Railroad spikes a friend gave me many years ago. Came out pretty cool....

Cut Test

One of my new 7" Chef knives of 440-C stainless steel

Deep Purple Perch

Friends help friends. My buddy Keino has just finished a really classy chop for another good friend of ours, Wes. The vibe of the bike is over-the-top, 70's, freak show, crazy. And Wes is the perfect man to be sitting in that saddle. Keino made a nice, King and Queen seat pan for it and Wes knew he wanted diamond stitched black leather. I decided to do the diamonds in increasing size to fit the shape, and when I got to the front, I blew out a pin-stripe style devil with a forked tongue in stitching. I think it works and Wes loves him some devils...
This bike along with my Sword of Damocles and many more will be at the Brooklyn Invitational Bike show this weekend. Come check it out...

Black Diamond Knife Set

This is a set of handmade Chef's knives I finished last week. Stainless steel blades, Ebony handles and a black diamond set in each one. Fully polished, razor sharp and ready to go.


I started the set with 440-C stainless steel. This is a great all-around cutlery steel with a high resistance to corrosion, and holds a razor sharp edge with proper heat-treating. These views show my initial designs cut from the steel. Here, I've done my basic shaping and grind for the blades. On the right, you can see the hollowing and taper I put in the handle area of my full-tang knives to lighten the handle and give a special taper to the spine of the blade.

The customer made one special request... that I feature a black diamond somewhere on each knife. I worked with NYC jewelery designer Itay Malkin to have 2.5 ct., square cut, black diamonds set in gold bezels upside down so the point protrudes like a spike. Once the diamonds were set in the bezels, I made notches in my blades so they could be soldered in.


I do a lot of filing and hand sanding to get just the right shape a finish. One of the blade styles I like to do is a Japanese Santoku. The one above has a 7 " blade and I ground the divots by hand before final polishing.


I made the handles from striped Ebony hardwood. Since the diamonds were set in a gold bezel, I added a layer of bright brass under the wood so it would leave a thin "gold" line leading into the bezel.

New Girdraulic Forks

Here's a new set of my Girdraulic forks I just made. I use shocks from "Works Performance" that they make custom for me, I use sealed precision bearings and a geometry that I know works. Otherwise, I design them differently each time. This one has a bit larger O.D. tubing than usual, and a zig-zag brace pattern, kind of like ladder bars under the rears of Muscle cars. I'm working on a style now that I'll reproduce and make available as a product.

It's been a long time since my last post. I set this blog up so I could have an easy way to update everyone with new projects. The fact is, I've been so busy with the projects, I haven't had a chance to do any updating. Well, there's a great little bike show happening in Brooklyn in a couple weeks, and it's a good reason to start posting updates again. Plus, new project posts coming soon.
The Brooklyn Invitational Custom Motorcycle show is a kick-ass event started last year by a creative group of motor-head friends right here in Brooklyn. A heavy influence of art, greasy culture, and gear-driven obsession have led to a unique and diverse collection of machines that will be on display at the show. Art, photography, music, motorbikes and friendship will shared all day and into the night. Go to brooklyninvitational.com for more info. This killer event connects with what's real about our scene. Real people and real bad-ass machines. No attitudes... no bullshit.