Sailor's Delight 

I got the inspiration for this project from a long time client and friend. I had just completed the kraken project for him, he gave me a call to tell me how much he loved it, then proceeded to say "How cool would it be to have a mokume octopus on a sheath for a rigging knife." Of course I was immediately excited about the idea, and got to work on the design. The initial design took longer than expected. I wanted the octopus to be life like, but still feel like it could have been made in the 19th century. After months of watching octopus documentaries and search for examples of 19th century work, the design started to take shape in my mind.    

Like most of my projects I didn't design all of the parts at the beginning, I started with the octopus and let the rest unfold before me, making changes as I went. I find that this helps my designs feel more organic, and more authentic.  

This is the original concept drawling for the octopus. 

Back view of the octopus showing the copper pins used to attach it to the leather.  

Sailor's Delight was an amazing journey that pushed all of my limits and far exceeded my expectations. I am quite pleased with the final results and I'm looking forward to continuing to push the limits of my skills.