Piotr's First (Presentable) Polymer Clay-Handled Pick

[piotr]

This is my first polymer clay-handled pick that is worth presenting. This is far from perfect and represents only my fourth attempt so there is much scope for improvement.

Problems:
--pick blade is a little too long
--pick blade did not stay centred in handle after compression in push mold
--handle wasn't well protected when finishing pick blade
--pick blade wasn't well protected when finishing handle
--edge of handle not well polished

I already have ideas on correcting most of these problems.

However, I think I have moved beyond the "made by 2 year old" appearance of my initial efforts. I think I can make this medium work but I have lots of work to put in.












Producing this pick involved many steps and I will put together a tutorial when I feel I have a good method to impart. But for the curious I'll give a brief description on the method.

-- The handle is based off of the SouthOrd Max Yield picks. I sacrificed one of the picks and removed the branding and used epoxy clay to fill in the void left by removing the branding.
-- I used hydrostone to create a push mold of the handle
-- After molding I had to trim the mold seam with an exacto knife
-- After baking the clay I had to sand the handle with wet and dry (400, 600, 800) to smooth it out
-- I had to use a Dremel with a small drum sandler and a hand file to shape the handle
-- I used a soft felt wheel and "Pollack compund" to polish the handle

All of this can and will be refined and I have only just begun learning about plastic polishing and I think I can make the handle much more shiny. I will also work on improving the contouring (trying not to infringe on Legion303s deeply contoured design).

The pick handle material looks and feels like the Peterson dipped handles only more firm.

[LocksmithArmy]

wow, very sleek man... great job.

[Nickinator]

What metal did you use for the pick itself?

[piotr]

What metal did you use for the pick itself?

Street sweeper bristle (which in this case I know to be AISI 1566).

[darkhorse]

I love homebrew stuff and all my early stuff looked like crap but this is the dogs bollox mate

[piotr]

Thanks for the compliments guys. You motivate me to work at producing a better pick. Much appreciated.

[chris]

Very nice, it does have the same profile as the MAX handles. Can't wait until you get some of your more advanced stuff up.

[piotr]

Very nice, it does have the same profile as the MAX handles. Can't wait until you get some of your more advanced stuff up.

Thanks Chris. What do you think I should do to make the handle more interesting and aesthetically pleasing:

-- marbling similar to Legion303?
-- embossing of texture/pattern on broad sides of pick eg. fine grid, scales, repeating geometric design?
-- exotic colors and effects such as hot pink, granite, translucency, pearlescence?
-- coloured epoxy resin coating to give glass-like appearance and sheen?
-- all of the above in turn?
-- something else?

Beyond improving the basic design and ironing out the imperfections I'm uncertain which way to go. Your ideas would be helpful. I have also produced molds of other debranded handles including Rytan. I think I can make an almost exact duplicate of the Peterson dipped handle shape but that's a bit boring I think unless that basic shape with one or more of the things I listed would make it interesting, I dunno. What do you think?

Actually I'm open to ideas from anyone.

[edsmiley]

Looks pretty damn good to me Piotr!

I say once you get the technique down (you are damn close already!), start experimenting. You have the talent and the right design will come!



Ed

[piotr]

Thanks Ed. I will persevere and experiment.

[uklockpicker]

Looks excellent piotr keep up the good work, this is somthing thats been on my home made list for a while - thanks for the post

[chris]

I definitely think that a unique pattern/shape/texture would be good, then you can definitely make it your own. Sorta like Legion did on his (before they turned to complete shit). Different colors are always good, I have some handle material showing up today, pink, jade, more camo, black, a mix of black and something else. I think with the Clay a nice clear coat would definitely make it shinier, so long as it doesn't interfere too much with whatever pattern or texture you decide on. What I like about the G10 is that it is an epoxy/glass based substance anyway, so once it's sanded and polished it has a nice shine to it.

[s1deshowmick]

Real nice work Piotr, love the style.
Wow, Street sweeper bristles? where did you acquire those? they are as scarce as rocking horse sh!t...

[piotr]

Real nice work Piotr, love the style.
Wow, Street sweeper bristles? where did you acquire those? they are as scarce as rocking horse sh!t...

Thanks Mick, much appreciated.

From the street! Today, I walked to the post office to mail mister_sour a lock and I found 4 of them in a 500 metre walk. They are usually rusty and blend in to the crap in the gutter so you have to make an effort to look.

I also did manage to buy a small amount from a Chinese street sweeper brush manufacturer last year. The bristles were cheap but shipping cost a fortune and I had to do a international money transfer to China which was also quite expensive. The bristles I bought I know to be AISI 1566 and they are super strong but I won't be buying this way again and don't advise it. They were also very reluctant to ship a small quantity they wanted to send me 500kg IIRC. A possibility is that some of us Aussies pool our money and order 100kg or so, that may be feasible.

What I did do is spend a few hours locating Australian street sweepr brush manufacturers and sent them an email asking if I can buy 100 of their steel bristles. Hopefully I will get some responses this week. I let you know if I am am successful. I think this will be our best option assuming the steel is as good as the Chinese AISI 1566.

[jjd1911]

this looks great! im looking forward to the full tutorial!
Great Work!