Ooo, shiny!

[bladespark]

So at the knife show yesterday there were not only knives and swords and other sharp and pointy things, there were also supplies for making such. JJ kept looking at bars of Damascene steel. I've no idea what the heck one would do with a bar of Damascene steel, but they look pretty neat. We also looked at things for grips like mother of pearl, various odd hardwoods, lots of kinds of interesting stone, and of course lots of antler and bone and such. I came this close to buying a springbok horn, because they were $10 (cheapest thing I saw the entire show, other than cruddy generic pocket knives made in China that a few places had in a bin off to the side) and because they're freaking awesome. They look like this if you need a mental image. They're around eight inches long, appear to weigh nothing (they're hollow, and fingernail-y rather than bony like antlers are) and would make amazing horns for a dragon costume!

I didn't buy them there, I decided to save my money for the book sale, but today I went and perused ebay and the internet, looking for some, mostly out of curiosity. And while so looking I happened upon these. Wow. Now THOSE would make awesome dragon horns! I wonder how much they weigh? They're hollow, I know, so they can't weigh that much. I mean I successfully put a solid rack of elk antlers on a head, surely I could find a way to mount a pair of those, right? Of course I could... *drool* and possibly even better than the "dragon" kudu horns are these things which would make the best demonic unicorn costume ever! Though you'd never be able to get through doorways in either outfit.

Somebody SO needs to commission me to make a demon unicorn. Or a freaky dragon. Or even a cute little springbok dragon. I don't have a personal costume slot open until the fall of 2008, so I can't make one for myself. I'm tempted to get a gemsbok horn anyhow, just to have a "unicorn horn" of my own. Gemsboks are one of those animals that gets labeled as "real unicorns" because some people think that it was explorers viewing them from a distince, from the side, that then came home with myths about unicorms, and other than color and actually having two horns they do come quite close to the classical description.

Comments

[graydown.livejournal.com]

Kudu are really spectacular animals. When you were describing the gemsbok, I thought to myself, "gee, that sounds like an oryx." Then I looked it up... gemsbok are oryx (but not all oryx are gemsbok!). ^_^ Arabian oryx (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/susan_hoffman/oryx2.jpg/view.html) are nearly the right color for a unicorn, though they've since gone extinct in the wild. My little damascus knife has a hilt made out of blesbok (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/david_blank/blesbok3.jpg/view.html) horn, which makes me feel kinda guilty, since blesbok were endangered not too long ago.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

They seem to be not endangered anymore, I've seen quite a few places with the horns for sale.

[graydown.livejournal.com]

That's true... so I suppose using blesbok horn is comparable to eating buffalo meat.

mmm... buffalo... *drool*

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Heee. Buffalo is SO very good. I had a buffalo burger the other day. Mmmmmmmm.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

And while many people do buy and sell endangered animal bits, they don't go about doing it openly on their major commercial front pages like that!

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

I have a NEAT idea for a CreepyUnicorn costume but it's not in the budget until spring of next year at the earliest. I'll have to send you the sketch. :)

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

Oh, and that reminds me- how much would a lifesize (15" tall to the top of the head, about 38" fron nosetip to tailtip) Cardi plushie be?

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Tell me what a Cardi is? Size-wise it looks like we'd be talking $100-$120 something in there, unless whatever it is has super complicated marking patterns.

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

Cardi = Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Standard irish markings (white chest, feet, tailtip, collar, blaze) and it'd be mildly complicated- blue merle si the color I want.

That said? If you can make these, I can *SO* sell them- Cardis are not as popular as labs or anything, but us corgi owners tend to be really passionate about our dogs and there are NO Cardi plushes available- NO one makes them.

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

(Oh, and the merle? Airbrushed black on pale grey fur- doesn't need to be complicated.)

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've seen merle patterns, I wouldn't want to sew one, airbrush would be the way to go. I'd say $120 would be about the right range, though maybe after making one I'll change my mind, it really is hard to be sure until I've done something how much work it'll be.

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

I can actually even send you a plush that'd be easy enough to take apart for the pattern- I really like the pem corgi plush I have but he's lacking a tail, and his ears should be a slightly different shape.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Hrm. Intersting. That would probably be helpful, though really I have no trouble making patterns, taking apart a plush for one is around the same level of work as making my own, maybe just a little less.