Briar Jewelry

Vermont Freehand · Post by **Vermont Freehand** » Sat May 17, 2008 6:32 pm

Hello Everyone,

I decided to share some pictures of some briar jewelry I made a couple years ago. It's nice to see some beautiful briar grain outside of the pipe industry once in a while. This is my first time trying to post pictures on a forum, so I hope it works okay.

This first picture is the cuff bracelet in it's holder. The holder did not come out of the same piece of briar as the bracelet did. The piece that the bracelet came out of had the center of the burl in the middle of the block running straight through side to side, creating a starburst of flame grain on each side of the block. It made the perfect block for a cuff bracelet. The grain in the bracelet is a perfect birdseye all the way aound the bracelet. It was made to custom fit my (at the time) girlfriend's wrist to perfection.

Tell me what you think of this piece. I know the first picture shows how it is not symetrical, it was made to fit just perfect and that was the shape I came up with, even though it shows the symetry is off when in holder, it doesn't show when it's worn.

I have a bunch more necklaces and other interesting carvings I might post soon. I don't want to post 20 pictures in one shot.

caskwith · Post by **caskwith** » Sun May 18, 2008 4:44 am

I think that is incredibly cool!

Looks like im gonna have to play around with some scraps and make some bits of jewellery with it.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sun May 18, 2008 9:21 am

That's really nice looking, Steve. Did you use the normal buff and wax method of finishing that, or did you opt for something more resilient? That's a really nice shine! It's also stunning amount of birdseye! Holy cow!

Vermont Freehand · Post by **Vermont Freehand** » Sun May 18, 2008 9:41 am

Yes, I used the normal buff and wax method on all my jewelry.

Here's some more jewelry pictures. These first 3 are a necklace I made a couple years back. The block it was cut from had the center of the burl in it and I lined it up with the shape of the necklace. Notice in the 2nd picture how the grain follows the shape perfectly. The necklace measured about 2 1/4" - 2 1/2" long.

I tried this design again, but couldn't line up the grain as perfect as the first try. This time I cut the block in a bunch of slabs. That way I could "bookmatch" the pieces as I folded them apart to create the stand, making the grain match in every piece. I took one slab and cut the necklace out of it, another slab for a backing piece so the grain matches in the holder when the necklace is removed (see 2nd picture). Even though it doesn't show in the pictures, I eventually cut a slot for the cord to fit in and it could hang behind the stand.

Charl · Post by **Charl** » Sun May 18, 2008 10:43 am

Very nice!

Actually not sure if I shoud show these to my wife. Will have to stop making pipes and go into jewellery making!

Smitty · Post by **Smitty** » Sun May 18, 2008 5:27 pm

Nice job! The birdseye bis very attractive going all the way around like that! The holder looks like it is a mate to it, nice touch.

alan · Post by **alan** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:30 am

A while back I screwed up the rim of a pipe, and ended up slicing it off. I was just playing with the scrap and noticed it fit perfectly on my middle finger. This thread, read several months back, popped into my head.

Since then I've been saving any nice scraps big enough to use and making them into rings. Not as nice as that bracelet; that's a work of art and these are just fun. These are just the first couple I made which I have pics of.

The one on the left is the first, and is mine. My wife wears the smaller one.

And two more I have pics of:

I dunk them in a shellac that is nontoxic when dry and hypoallergenic.

Olivier · Post by **Olivier** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 2:02 pm

Awesome. The briar gods should be very impressed.

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:07 pm

That crescent bangle is really lovely. Great finishing work too.

Todd