How-To: Scrimshaw

Craft & Design

whalescrimfinal.jpg

Scrimshaw is the old whaling art of engraving intricate patterns and images into ivory. If you have some old piano keys hanging around, you can make some interesting art pieces using this scrimshaw tutorial by Paul Baxendale of Providence, RI. Growing up I used to go to Mystic Seaport and learn all about whaling culture, and the scrimshaw and blacksmith stops were right up there in coolness factor with the printing press and ship rigging for me.

4 thoughts on “How-To: Scrimshaw

  1. MAKE | Top 10: Natural Materials says:

    […] How-To: Scrimshaw […]

  2. How-To: Tell Mammoth Ivory from Elephant Ivory | House of Mods says:

    […] craft use of any kind of ivory is potentially controversial.  We have covered at least one ivory-related project, before, about the use of antique ivory piano keys in scrimshaw, but generally we have steered […]

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Becky Stern is a Content Creator at Autodesk/Instructables, and part time faculty at New York’s School of Visual Arts Products of Design grad program. Making and sharing are her two biggest passions, and she's created hundreds of free online DIY tutorials and videos, mostly about technology and its intersection with crafts. Find her @bekathwia on YouTube/Twitter/Instagram.

View more articles by Becky Stern

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK