Carving workshop day 2

Another incredibly beautiful day in Quinhagak, which of course means the workshop was competing with more appealing outdoor activities – but Bryan was back eager to continue his boat-building projects. Claire continued – and finished her antler harpoon  – with some final advice from John on how to make the holes (‘you need to find a nail’), and Anna started working on a toggling harpoon – replica from one in the collection.We chose to move the workshop outside so we could enjoy the sun while carving. Carl and Brayden also joined the carving crew on this fabulous afternoon.

  

 

They also put their effort into carving kayaks. The boys put their boats to the test in a pan of water, and they sailed very well.

Which will win?

Anna’s toggling harpoon – with original in the background

Soaking the antler in water before carving makes it much easier to work, and Rick also experimented with boiling the antler, which worked even better.

Proud carver

However, when the antler dries out it becomes hard again very fast. These trials made us think that carvers probably had several projects going in the same time, so they can rotate between carving and soaking – working on one prong while the others rest.

After carving for hours, our hands were hurting and our concentration waned – so we put our tools down and went for a swim. Yet another beautiful day in Alaska!

Charlotta