Fiji Warclub

[joshua wood]

I finished it a few months ago but never took any photos until recently.

I posted some "in progress" shots a while ago.

I need to get better shots still, but in the meantime these should do.

 

Styled after traditional fijian clubs. Carved in Macassar Ebony.

Its approx. 3 feet long and weighs almost 3 lbs.

 

 

[Janel]

Thank you for sharing the photos with us. This is a lovely piece of wood, and the detail work is not easy on the round shank in this sort of wood. Well done. I like to see the different areas, of detail, and of the wood itself in the undetailed areas.

 

Janel

[joshua wood]

Thanks kind words, Janel.

The pattern carving was in some ways more difficult than more figurative work. It was tricky to keep consistent cut depths and lines as well as arranging these patterns to work well aesthetically. I think i almost did more practice carving on scraps than the finished piece, heheh.

 

The photos don't do it any justice. All i can see are flaws, but when you hold the piece and see it in person, the whole thing works nicely

 

I am almost finished with another one that i should be able to post fairly soon. This time it's in cocobolo. It was pretty nice to work with but i think i still prefer the macassar.

 

Cheers,

Josh

[Peter Wright]

Joshua,

 

 

Awesome work on the war club!

 

I have had an interest in "primitive" hand weapons like this for a while and have been able to find VERY little information on embellishing them. Is the carving patterning a traditional one, or something you created?

 

Did you use conventional chip carving knives, or another series of tools. Macassar Ebony looks like a fairly hard wood to carve, but man is it pretty when done.

 

Please post the images when you can on the next version in Cocobolo.

 

 

Pete

[Jim Kelso]

Joshua, somehow in the madness here I neglected to respond to this.

Beautiful lines and sculpting. The carving's very well done as well.

 

Jim

[joshua wood]

Thanks Peter and Jim,

I'm very pleased that you like it. I should be posting images of my new club in a couple of days. Gotta let that oil dry first. heheh.

 

Peter, i did a lot of image searches and googling for polynesian art and weapons to find good examples of the carving. most of the patterns i used are from traditional forms but i tweaked them a bit to fit my aesthetic. Just the same as i tweaked the shape pf the club itself. i wanted to keep it all within a recognizable family. an expert on the subject should be able to look at it and know where I got my inspiration.

 

Thanks

Josh