Well...
There it is...
I've reached the grand old age of 50.
Really not so bad as I've found out.
Sarah and I gave a small bash here at home where my oldest and closest friends joined together and ate a splendid lamb Balti, cooked by Richard and Tas.
My good friends and family all chipped in and bought me a new edge tool.
An Adze from G.Bruks.
Sweden.
Now I can hollow out my larger bowls and Ale hens a little quicker than when using the hook knife.
Thank you all so much....
Sarah had been busy with other secrets as well.
She had spent the summer trawling around trying to find a Khomus mouth harp.
She finally tracked one down at Hobgoblin London.
It was a complete surprise when I opened the small parcel on the morning of my birthday.
This delicate instrument came without a case.
So I decided to make one for it as soon as I could...
Well... It did the job...
But Dolly and Choti thought I could make a better one.
So I squared of another piece of Birch with my Axe and started afresh.
The first one was made with a knife and hook knife to start with... I'm afraid to say that because of the small size of the box I decided that I would have to employ another small tool.
A tiny relief carvers gauge.
You can make it out in the centre of the picture.
As you know, I usually limit myself to three simple tools.
Axe, Knife and hook knife.
But on this occasion I had no choice as the dimensions of the box were dictated by the dimensions of the Khomus.
Well here it is...
I can pop the cord around my neck and wear it as a pendant for safe keeping.
It has a camel bone bead on the back to keep the cord tight.
And I managed to hide the cord holes underneath the harp...
Here is a movie of me playing my super Khomus harp
I have played a mouth harp for about forty years.
But not one of such quality.
I will keep practising.
And enjoy the unique sound that these instruments produce.
Happy days.
Enjoy...
J
