Scrimshaw Firesteel Dog Tag Damascus Skull Striker H. Thomas Original Scrimshaw Carving Start Price USD 99.99 Current Price USD 158.16 Time Left - Bid Count 4 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, July 19, 2008 End Time Saturday, July 26, 2008 Location Fort Wayne, Indiana See more about 'Scrimshaw Firesteel Dog Tag Damascus Skull Striker' Description   Scrimshaw Firesteel Dog Tag Damascus Skull Striker    ATTENTION !!!! Ebay requires now, that we include certain disclaimers. We no longer have a link to our website on the auctions, due to ebays rules on links and if you want to see other items Howard has scrimmed, you will need to contact us personally or go to our about me page. This is a very cool, one of a kind firesteel and striker! First Howard made a damascus steel dog tag, traditional size (2" long by 1 1/8" wide, inside the rubber silencer) and the edge was beveled, not for cutting, but for scraping off bark for your tinder, to save wear on your knife. Edge was grooved and hardened, for use on the firesteel. It fits in the included dog tag silencer. The firesteel, is a Swedish firesteel, customized with a carved bone skull, that Howard made to fit on top. It is 2 and 3/8" with the skull. Both are put on a monkey fist lanyard, Howard hand tied from leather. It can be worn on your key chain, or easily put on a pendant. How cool!!! All artwork is original and copyrighted. Email us through ebay or directly at SailorsDreamScrimshaw@msn.com for more information. Note from Howard: I haven't won any art awards, don't have any college art degrees, in fact have never even had an art lesson in my life. I am not world famous. Everything I have learned, I have learned the hard way, in pursuit of my passion for scrimshaw, and the beauty of the female form. It has never been easy. I hope that you enjoy my efforts, even a small percentage, as much as I enjoy them myself. I hope in some small way to keep this almost lost artform alive." Sincerely, Howard Thomas This is the traditional sailors art form of scrimshaw. Scrimshaw literally means "idle time" and these types of things were made of ivory scraps on the long voyages in between whale spottings and usually given to loved ones on the return home. Each piece is signed and dated by my husband, Howard Thomas. Howard uses the stipple technique for amazing detail and its almost photo like in quality.Stippling is a series of thousands of little holes pressed into the ivory, instead of the more traditional scratching method. Sometimes he uses a combination of both methods. He uses a surgical steel needle in a pin vise and it is very tedious work. Stipple is used by many famous scrimshanders and it is a hard technique to master. Howard has been doing scrimshaw for over 20 years and first picked it up while in the navy aboard the USS Independence. Don't miss out on this one! These are scanner photos and don't do justice to the detail. Shipping is $8.00 which includes insurance (required). We do not ship internationally. Item will be insured for full selling price. Paypal is our prefered method of payment and payment should be recieved within 48 hours of auctions end. We will accept postal money orders and they should be recieved within 7 days. PLEASE pay promptly, No exceptions. To see recentUPDATESand view other scrimshaw Howard has done, please see our about me pages, soon to be added! Place a Bid!