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    Good morning Robert,

    I just rested, it's 10 o'clock in the morning. While I'm writing this, you're probably still sleeping. What time is it at your place?

    What you write is very interesting. It's a small miracle that it's so easy and fast to talk to people who live far, far, away. If you use the internet properly, it can be very enjoyable.

    So you live on an island in the north Pacific? For me that would be a paradise. There I could fish to my heart's content and every day. I have three hobbies, carving, fishing and fishing rods build.

    I've been fishing for over 50 years now. In the Rhine (one of the largest rivers in Europe) and in the Moselle, a tributary of the Rhine. My great-grandfather and her sons were professional fishermen.

    I have not carved that long, often I can not decide what to do, should I go fishing and build a fishing rod, or rather carve it. Most of the time I carve in winter when it's too cold to fish. Then I sit in my warm room under the roof.

    In the photo you can see what I've carved so far. I also gave away a lot and therefore can not show it. At the moment I am working on a big dragon, when he is finished he should get a place in front of our house.



    Hello Robert,

    you are already a master of your field of expertise. The boats are impressed me. Are you making the cannons yourself? Do you have a lathe?

    Why do you build the ships from two halves? Is that easier?

    The owl with the head has a beautiful plumage. You would think that it is not made of wood, so finely everything is worked. What was the tool for these fine works?

    Also the bearskin with the many depths, which you have certainly painted out is good to look at.

    greetings

    Berkow


    Robert für dein Übersetzerprogramm alles auf Deutsch. Damit kannst du vergleichen, ob es in meinem und deinem Programm verständlich ist.


    Hallo Robert,

    du bist schon ein Meister deines Fachgebietes. Die Schiffe beeindrucken mich. Stellst du die Kanonen selbst her? Hast du eine Drehbank?

    Warum baust du die Schiffe aus zwei Hälften? Geht das leichter?

    Die Eule mit dem geneigten Kopf hat ein wunderschönes Federkleid. Man möchte meinen sie wäre nicht aus Holz, so fein ist alles gearbeitet. Was nimmst du für Werkzeug für diese feinen Arbeiten?

    Auch das Bärenfell mit den vielen Vertiefungen, die du sicherlich noch ausgemalt hast ist gut anzusehen.

    Grüße

    Berkow

    Jakob, the Prince Edward Island that I was born on is here in Canada, on the East Coast. just North of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where I currently live. No Pacific paradise, just plenty of snow and ice in winter and wonderful summers whenever they arrive. The area where I live is on the Miramichi River, one of the worlds finest salmon rivers, so fishing is a very popular hobby and vocation here. I like your carvings Jakob, they all show a desire to express yourself and some excellent skills. I as well enjoy carving dragons, and have done several : canes, staffs, and sculpture.


    Berkow, I am building this model as a half model, it will be attached to a back board and hung on the wall. It will not have the masts and spars and rigging of a full model. The canon barrels are turned in brass, and are purchased. I use to have a lathe and turn my own, but unfortunately we suffered a flood in our basement and it was lost. To build a full hulled model, the process would be different and include full framing planking from the keel up, but for a half model, certain shortcuts are acceptable. Most half models were traditionally made of solid pieces called lifts and the hull shape carved. This half model, I am doing a bit differently, using some solid lifts below the waterline and built up frames and planking. An experiment of mine to see how it turns out. I like to try new things and different ways of doing things.


    The owl is carved from a solid piece of Basswood, or your Lindin, roughed out by hand tools and finished using power carving tools (a Micromotor and burning tools). I enjoy the use of both edge tools and power carving tools, to achieve the results that I want.

    Hello Robert,

    Is winter now with you? Is there snow there now? Do polar bears live there? Excuse me for asking so much, but I have no other way to talk to someone who lives in such an interesting country. Could you please upload photos of the landscape?

    To your ships: Which wood do you use to build? Is that linden (Basswood)? If so, where do you get it from? I would imagine that Linde does not grow with you (too cold). Which wood do you use? Do you also sell your ships? Before you start with the shipbuilding, do you draw a blueprint with all the details?

    When my father returned home from World War II, there was no work in Germany. To survive, he built the "Santa Maria", the flagship of Columbus as a model. He then sold the models.

    You wrote your family had a shipyard. Which ships did you build? Were those sailing ships?

    Please excuse me again for asking so much.

    Hello Jakob,


    I am happy to answer your questions, that is how you learn. Winter .... yes we are still in Winter, though on the calendar it says Spring, we still have about 3 feet (one meter) of snow on the ground. The temperatures are below freezing at night and slightly above freezing during the day. Perfect weather for maple syrup production, a local Canadian favorite.


    My ships, I do use a lot of Basswood in my models, except for this one I am working on right now, where I am using mostly Pear wood, I also use Mahogany, Walnut, Maple, Ebony, Holly, and Boxwood. The use of the wood will depend on the part of the ship that I will use it in. Deck planking is often Basswood or Maple; rails are often Walnut or Mahogany; fine carved pieces are often Boxwood, Pear, Ebony or Holly, depending on the colour that I want. I purchase my wood for a timber seller in Halifax, Nova Scotia, called East Coast Specialty Hardwood, and they carry a wonderful supply of just about any wood that I would use. I use a lot of Cherry for carving canes and Butternut for busts/human figures, and Basswood for a lot of other carvings. Yes, I have sold my ships, and I accept commissions. I do not carve as a business, but the sale of my work helps pay for the supplies I use and it certainly has paid for all of my tools, several times over. I always re-draw blueprints or draughts of the vessels I am building, to make working drawings, copies of the actual drawings of the actual vessel. Some drawings are available commercially and others I obtain from museums.


    The small shipyard that my family operated was located on Prince Edward Island, on a bay called New London Bay, on the North Shore of the Island, the village was called Stanley Bridge. They operated the yard in the 1840's and 1950's and built sailing schooners, brigs, and brigantines. Vessels they built included: Henry (brig), Leo (Schooner), Brothers (brigantine); they also operated (as Master/Captain) other vessels for various owners, including : the Onward, the Prince Consort, the Elizabeth Ann. The first member of the family to come to Canada was Captain Henry Squarebridge, in 1825, from Whitehaven, England, where his family lived, his father was also a Master Mariner, and his fathers father was a Mariner. So the sea is very much in my blood.


    Best regards,

    Bob

    Oh yes, I almost forgot to answer your other question. No, there are no Polar Bears here, only Black Bears.


    Bob

    Hello Robert,

    I thank you for patiently answering all my questions.

    Today I want to show you what I'm working on. On the dragon I wrote you about.

    In Germany, such a dragon is called "Lindwurm". The term Lindwurm comes from the medieval (from the year 1200) German legend "Niebelungen".

    It is a very long and exciting story. It would be far too long to tell everything. Only so much, the hero of the legend, is called "Jung Siegried". He killed a dragon, the lynx with his sword, and bathed in his blood. This made him invulnerable. Only at one point of his body, not a linden leaf had fallen on it. No dragon's blood could get to this place.

    If you want to read the complete saga, search on the Internet under the terms "The Niebelungenlied" or under "Die Niebelungensage".



    I remember very well the Saga of Seigried or Seigfried as we called it. That is one of the books that I have always enjoyed in my younger years. Your dragon is coming along quite nicely, and that is a very impressive array of tools you display. Good tools always make the job of carving so much easier. I always get a thrill when I put tool to wood and get the pleasant feeling of the curl of wood being removed. How large will the dragon be once completed? Do you intend on showing the entire body? That will make a spectacular carving to display in front of your home.


    Bob