Presenting the compass Rose pendant, My most recent engraving to date!
A compass rose, found on navigational maps serves to honour the forefathers of maritime and navigational sciences. The symbol also carries other meanings for many, A sense of direction. Finding one’s way. Braving the unknown.

A fitting symbol as our life is often fraught with metaphorical storms and surprising happenstances.
With courage, careful building and use of navigational skills we can sail around- if not straight through those storms and reach our destinations having the most happiness along the way.
Titanium hand carved with chisels under magnification.
I peeled way small shaving after shaving consecutively to gain depth in the right places to obtain the shape. Onward I finished out the scratches and other rough surfaces with ceramic micro abrasives, smoothing out to the final form.
A piece that is a step on the way to my goal of three dimensional sculptural engraving a number of future projects.

Thank you for continuing to follow my story, it hasn’t been full of many offerings over the years but the time has been well spent locked away in the shop refining my skills and being a dad to wonderful daughters.

The desire is strong to come back to this blog, pick up what I started and continue on with frequent posts focusing on my best art works.

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.

Owl after the Hunt - Sole Authorship titanium folding knife

Proudly presenting a project long in the making. ..'Owl after the Hunt' ,a handmade folding knife.!











Like many of my artistic passions, it turns out a good knife requires quite a bit of effort and excellence in craftmanship to complete. Certainly this was the case with the knife shown before you. The latest one of about a dozen other knives I have made to date. Each one further revealing the subtle challenges that I found in a process of learning and improvement .


With knives there are many critical parameters to meet . At the top of the list is holding a keen and durable edge . And with a folding knife - having a strong blade lock free from any wobble or side-play . Blade shape and handle ergonomics are vital factors as well.
In my opinion there is truly no point in adding embellishments unless these criteria are met or better yet , surpassed.
Amassed together in this piece are countless hours of refinement, practice , and of up most importance thorough testing.
From the results of these tests , I am happy to issue this knife a passing grade. Meeting my personal standards for performance. Furthermore decreeing it a piece worthy of engraving .











As for how it fares in this test, I will leave you to be the judge.

Ray.

Specifications:
Blade: ATS-34 Stainless - 2 1/2" long x 5/8" deep x 3/16" wide .
Lock : Triangular-post 'Pick lock' with release lever .
Handle, Lock release lever, and Pocket clip: 6AL 4V Titanium.
Lock bar, Main bolt, Thumb posts, and Screws: 316 Stainless
Overall length: 6 5/16"
Total weight: 68.8 grams


Sole Authorship Ray o. Hyder
- All Processes, Fabrication, and Engraving executed
exclusively by Ray o. Hyder.
Copyright 2010 all rights reserved

Titanium Earrings

If gold is the king of metals , and silver the lunar metal ,does that make platinum the emperor? and if so what sort of lofty title is fit for a metal such as Titanium ?

Regardless of your answer this much I can tell you , Titanium is my personal favourite of all the metals!

A challenging medium to work with ,
gravers will all but shatter upon contact if not used just right.

The life of other tooling such as saw blades , drill bits ,and abrasives can be described as short at best.

   On top of that it must be hot forged in order to properly bend , form or shape .

Despite this, I find something very satisfying about working with this glorious element.

I present here for you , the reward for some of my efforts - a pair of earrings that I have

engraved in 6AL-4V aerospace grade Titanium .

Enjoy,

    Ray

Hand Engraved and Fabricated by Ray o. Hyder - 2010

13.5mm x 17.5mm x 1.6mm
2.2 gr total wt.
6AL-4V Titanium Alloy with 14k gold posts
( 6AL- stands for 6% Aluminium and 4V- for 4% Vanadium )