I wanted to make something special for my Dad’s 75th birthday. I had a piece of soapstone in my stash, and I know he likes small things to go in his shelves, so I pulled it out and stared at it for awhile, willing it to tell me what it wanted to be. It wasn’t talking. My eldest had the idea of doing a relief carving of a koi (koi are long lived). I liked the idea, but the stone was suited better for an unusual relief, more of an emerging. I set about removing the excess material to release the inner koi.

The idea in my head was of a fish coming out from under a ledge. I under cut the top, and rough cut the shape using the bandsaw and a small hand saw.

With the basic shape set, I went to work with my coarse riffler files. Oh what a hardship to sit outside in the sun filing away! More like a present to me. When I felt like the carving looked more fish than manatee, I set in with the fine riffler files.

When I was pleased with the curves, I then sanded the riffler marks out and set about carving in details with an awl and knives. I was hesitant about carving scales, but this time the stone told me quite clearly that it wanted scales. I moved inside for this, since it didn’t produce nearly as much dust as shaping. When the scales were carved in, and I was pleased with the depth of the definition of the gills and eyes, I did another light sanding with 400 grit sandpaper. Then to get some gloss, I applied three layers of microcrystalline wax. Wow, the shine! My youngest thought that there should also be a fisherman, so I made a small copper figure pulling on a bent pole to reel in the massive fish. I drilled two tiny holes on the top of the ledge, and there are two wire spikes on the feet of the fisherman that fit in the holes. I am pleased with the motion of the wire figure; he is working hard to land that fish!

Rather than super glue the fisherman in place, I think I will ship the piece separated. The soapstone is weighty, and the copper figure is delicate. I would hate for the tiny massive fish to squish our champion.