Mother of pearl comb - carving advice?

[Circe]

I lost my very favorite hair ornament the other day - a mother of pearl hair comb/fork. I've combed (sorry!) the internet without any luck: the only one I found was from a seller who isn't answering e-mail.

So I figure ... I'm handy, why don't I just make my own? The only thing is, I'm not sure where to start. Do any of you guys do this sort of thing? Could you tell me which kind of shell I should be looking for - abalone, black-lip, what? Tips on books or sites much appreciated ... in the meantime, I'll hunt myself and post anything I find.

P.S. - A similar one below: I don't think I ever photographed my dear lost one. Waaaaaaaaaah!

P.P.S. - Though I'm interested in carving either way, if any of you happen to know of one already in existence that's for sale, HIT ME.

 

[chrono]

Circe,
Have you checked out Japanese exporters of hair decorations? These tend to be more common in that part of the world.

 

[Circe]

Circe,
Have you checked out Japanese exporters of hair decorations? These tend to be more common in that part of the world.

I had not! Didn't occur to me, and I'm not sure where to find them - nothing popped up on eBay or the like (though, maybe I'm using the wrong terms). Ill try googling more generally. Thanks for the tip!

 

[VapidLapid]

http://www.knifehandles.com/

http://www.traderoots.com/PearlShell_MotherOfPearl.html

http://luthiersupply.com/

http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-not-wood/inlay-materials/shell-inlay-material

http://mopshell.com/

http://www.mopsupplies.com/

http://www.shelloutlet.com/polishedshellsandplates.html

 

[Circe]

Vapid, AWESOME, thank you! Have you ordered from any of these guys?

 

[VapidLapid]

I have ordered a lot from LMI. No mop, but tools mostly. I've spoken with them on the phone and they have always been great. I doubt they will have mop in sizes you need, but I thought by including them it would broaden your search parameters since luthiers use mop, and we might not think of them as a source, but they must have sources too.

As for the actual shaping, you probably know Lasco Diamond for carving burrs.
http://lascodiamond.com/products/index.html

 

[aviastar]

Check out Hawaiian and other island souvenirs type places, too. I love using combs and sticks for my hair and I've seen MoP and other shell varieties in Hawaii and also when I was in Mykonos, Greece. My very very favoritest one is a brass stick from a Celtic Fair, don't know what I would do if I had to try and replicate it!

I did a quick Etsy search; lots of combs, sticks, forks in lots of materials, but didn't see exactly what you are looking for, either!

 

[pregcurious]

Here are some lovely MOP hair pins:
http://www.rubylane.com/item/857424-A13-03-002/Victorian-Hair-Combs-Mother-Pearl

I

 

[JaneSmith]

That is sad that you lost your hairpin. I'm quite curious to see what you make to replace it though. Gosh you are handy!
The first thing I thought of for a replacement was pacific island jewellery. They do a lot of things like this in the Cook Islands.

 

[Circe]

I have ordered a lot from LMI. No mop, but tools mostly. I've spoken with them on the phone and they have always been great. I doubt they will have mop in sizes you need, but I thought by including them it would broaden your search parameters since luthiers use mop, and we might not think of them as a source, but they must have sources too.

As for the actual shaping, you probably know Lasco Diamond for carving burrs.
http://lascodiamond.com/products/index.html

Okay, excellent to know - thank you! I'll try anything. I can't believe these things are this hard to find.

Check out Hawaiian and other island souvenirs type places, too. I love using combs and sticks for my hair and I've seen MoP and other shell varieties in Hawaii and also when I was in Mykonos, Greece. My very very favoritest one is a brass stick from a Celtic Fair, don't know what I would do if I had to try and replicate it!

I did a quick Etsy search; lots of combs, sticks, forks in lots of materials, but didn't see exactly what you are looking for, either!

Thanks for looking - they appear to be few and far between, more's the pity. I'll try looking for tourist shops with online shingles: nothing pops up when I incorporate that into my search terms on the main auction sites, but I'm hoping I'll get lucky.

And, yeah, isn't it odd how hard it is to find decent accessories for long hair? I'm not asking for a farthingale here, universe, just a hair comb!

Here are some lovely MOP hair pins:
http://www.rubylane.com/item/857424-A13-03-002/Victorian-Hair-Combs-Mother-Pearl

I

PC, those are lovely - and I did contact that vendor to see if she had the two-pronged kind I need. Nothing so far, but I'm going to keep an eye on her shop. The two separate sticks are lovely, but a lot harder to just stick in my pocket if I'm on the run ....

That is sad that you lost your hairpin. I'm quite curious to see what you make to replace it though. Gosh you are handy!
The first thing I thought of for a replacement was pacific island jewellery. They do a lot of things like this in the Cook Islands.

Thanks, Jane - we'll see if I'm as good as I hope I am! And in the meantime, I'll pursue the parallel paths of Japan, Hawaii and the Cook Islands. Somebody still has to carry these - it's not like long hair has been universally abandoned!

 

[Circe]

Update: finally bought some shells, now I have to, a) wait for them to arrive, and, b) figure out how to carve and polish them correctly! At some point in the near future, perhaps I'll be able to do my hair again!!!

 

[VapidLapid]

blocking out is best done with a wet diamond saw. If you haven't one there are diamond disk saws that fit on the end of a dremel or similar tool. Since you have to do this wet, only try this with a flex shaft tool so you can keep all the electric parts away from the water.
If you have no way to saw larger pieces into rough shapes you might experiment with semi controlled breaking using a glass cutter and some pliers as nippers. finer shaping can be done with diamond grit burs, or cheapo diamond hand files, again wet with water. Wet dry sandpaper will finish the shaping and pre polish. You can get up to 1500 grit wet dry paper at sculptor supplies on Vandam and Greenwich. www.sculpt.com . polishing you can do with cerium oxide on felt burs in a dremel (again wet) or even on a small piece of leather wet and slathered in slurry (cerium). I sometimes epoxy a small strip of leather to a felt bur too. a pound of cerium will last you many years.
If you want to get carving burs or cheap needle files from lasco I have a discount code that will get you 10% off.