Official Luthiers Forum!

I realize this is a shot in the dark, but I am writing to you to see if any of you think there may be some value in my idea.

I am a scrimshaw artist living in New Hampshire, and have been plying my trade since the early ‘70’s. I recently did a small (1.5” diameter) pendant with a portrait of a girl playing an Italian mandolin, as things were slow and I wanted to do something different for fun. It occurred to me that there may be a market for inlaid scrimshaw work on mandolins or guitars.

I work solely on fossil ivory, such as mammoth, and have often done smaller pendant shapes, oval and round, that might be suitable for inlay.

Would anyone be interested in hearing more, and maybe seeing some of my work? I have a website that features some of the various subjects I’ve worked on: portraits, ships, lighthouses, wildlife, fantasy scenes. I had never done anything specifically musical before, but think there may be lots of possibilities.

My website is at:

http://www.michaelcohenscrimshaw.com/

The mandolin girl can be viewed at the top of my online store:

http://www.michaelcohenscrimshaw.com/

If you think there is any merit in this idea, I would love to discuss it further.

Thanks,

Michael Cohen
603 86-3498

Scrimshaw heel caps are a signature detail on many Froggy Bottom guitars. So there is a precedent for people buying expensive guitars that feature scrimshaw artwork.

Hi Michael, I live in Keene.... I might be interested in trying this in the future. I only build a few guitars a year, but since we are practically neighbors it would be easy for us to try it out. - Justin

I think it is a great idea! I actually like yours better than the froggy bottom ones. You can see them here:
http://froggybottomguitars.com/guitars/engravings.html

How thick is this material? If doing one for a peghead, you might want to offer it in 1/16" thick material. I'd be up to try one. Can we commission one, and if so, what would you need? Just a picture?

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

I think it's a great idea too! I hope this works out for you.

Oh yeah - Strange Attractors rocks! It was one of my favorite comics during my college years.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

Does scrimshaw differ from engraving in that there is some relief to it or that it is done on bone/ivory? Or is it basicly relief carving and engraving on Ivory/bone? Either way I like it.

Sorry, what was the question? I got distracted looking at the pin-up girls.

Danny R. Little