Ray Hyder - Artist

Owl after the Hunt- Soul authorship knife , 6-4 Titanium, ATS-34 ,316

Over the course of the past few years since I started this blog , I have come to understand more than ever before the life of an artist. Every day in search of the thrill found in creating the one masterpiece . Other artists know right away what I am talking about . The almost intangible product of the mind that keeps an artist going through the thick and the thin .For my self these years have been a most rewarded effort amidst all sorts of frustrations . Leaving me with many achievements in tooling and processes , as well as plethora of new skills under my belt.
Altogether setting the stage for artwork I was unable pull off until this point , Art pieces I have planned on creating for some time .

Star Blade - Sole authorship L6, 316 ,14KY

 I look forward to the day I can share them.
For now I'll share again the greatest I have made yet.

  Enjoy,

Ray Hyder
  -Artist-

The Flower ring- 14K yellow , white , green , and rose gold. Blue Topaz , Green Tourmaline

Hummingbird pin-14K yellow,white,green,red and rose gold.

Key pendant- Sterling silver,blue topaz-Handmade.

Heron pendant- Hand engraved Sterling silver.

Friendly frogs- 3D Silver earrings. Hand carved.

Titanium Engraving- Hot blued and re-polished.

Flower earrings-14K yellow, green , white, and red gold.

Hummingbird pin side angle, and original sketch.

Owl after the hunt - Obverse side.

The Group.

        Hope you have enjoyed seeing my work !



                                                Ray.

King chain

Here is one of my classic designs , I call it the King Link.
Each link I formed and then pierced with my jewelers saw in sterling silver. Afterwards I soldered everything together , gave it a careful polish , and engraved some border lines.

 This chain being a heavier link ( 5/8" wide) I decided to make a slip-link clasp . By pulling the slip link over the other link the two lock together , but with pressure will release from the wearers neck for safety.



 King Link Chain - Sterling silver

Handmade and engraved by Ray o. Hyder 2009

Shop evolution!

The next step in the evolution of my finishing system , the small wheel attachment for my knife grinder!

 Perhaps one of the more important pieces of tooling attachments for my grinder that dramatically reduces time required in completing a knife , there are only a few other ways to smooth and shape in the finger grooves and none of them as efficient .
 
  Another piece in the puzzle complete!









Ray o. Hyder 2013

Humming Bird bracelet

Oh the joys of color ! Here I have had the pleasure of working with titanium for this bracelet featuring a hummingbird and some of my signature five petal flowers which wrap around each side.
 When the engraving was complete the mono tone grey of the shiny titanium seemed like it needed something more to make it pop.
 So with careful licks of my torch flame I brought out the colors . Being careful not to heat it too much otherwise it turn back to grey.
 After this I carefully polished the borders and flowers. In doing this I was satisfied that it takes quite a bit to rub the color off , yours to enjoy for a long time!


Commercial Grade 2 Titanium Bracelet
Engraved and designed by Ray oak Hyder 2013 copyright all rights reserved.

 Photo by Ray Hyder

Tools of the trade. Acheivement unlocked! Flat belt grinder

New flat grinding attachment I recently fabricated. Such a useful tool my belt grinder and this part really brings out the potential for creativity . As well as speeding up my production , hopefully enough to help me catch up with the backlog of work on my bench!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Testing a new knife by carving a jack o' lantern .

Shop news, A busy summer and a New belt grinder

Tracking control..

2"x72" Belt grinder 2hp

Hello everybody !
Well it certainly has been a busy last few months what with the moving of my shop to a different floor in my building and a great deal of different orders from tool and die making to engraving .But the highlight for me has been the completion of my latest self built tool.
A knife makers belt grinder!
 Many knife makers end up building their first grinder , usually as a cash saving measure some just for fun. In my case a bit of both.
 Indeed it became apparent from the onset of the project that this task was not an easy one.

Ready for heat treatment. Note the pile of steel wire from

 the turning .

But after it was all said and done I find it has become the most used tool in the shop !

Early stages

Turning down round barstock for a pulley mandrel.

Boring out a bearing seat.

Big game hunter

Big game BG-42 custom hunter.

Presenting an oldie , but goodie! All the way back in 2006 I made this knife for a discerning customer whom is also my friend. After much consideration he summed up specific requests for blade shape , handle design and engraving ,an order which I then set out to fill. 

The engraving , and back filing of the scales for the insets.

  Using BG-42 blade steel and 316 stainless frame scales housing Cocobolo wood inserts the knife was complete.
 But it still needed a sheath solid enough for a knife so sharp. 

Building the sheath.

So I stacked and laminated hardwood further reinforcing it with aluminum .

As my client wished the sheath was then wrapped in moose hide .









Hope you  have enjoyed this vintage post !

                                                                             Ray.



SOLD.

Warrior ring

Hello everyone! I am sharing with you today another of my more recent but earlier works .
The stainless steel Warrior ring!
 I milled this ring out of a solid bar of 316 stainless steel , and proceeded to cover it with deeply relieved vine pattern engravings and a stippled background floor .
 This ring was meant to be a solid heavy duty ring for the rugged type individual.

Being milled from one piece of stainless steel this is a ring that won't break on you nor will it tarnish.

            enjoy!
                       Ray.



The warrior ring . solid 316 stainless steel. Designed, milled , and engraved by  Ray oak Hyder

Copy Right all rights reserved     Photo : Ray Hyder


      Availability : SOLD .

    Another one can be made in a similar fashion upon request.