"Eversharp" - 2013

Another idea I've had for a while - a man sharpening a giant knife. The base is a handmade box I found and the stand for the grinding wheel is made up of parts from an old Erector set. The grinding wheel is made from a piece of wood.

He guides the knife back and forth across as the grinding wheel spins.

Magnets in the palms of his hands, and in the knife, help him hold loosely onto the knife. This lets the knife moves around a bit, with no binding as it moves back and forth.

The view from above. I love how the movement came out - slow and deliberate. The handmade knife was an antique store find. It has "1918 France 1919" written on it and the handle is actually a shell casing. I wish I knew it's history.

Here I'm working out the position of the "knife" in his hands.

Rechecking the position of the knife - and still some carving to do. I used small brass hinges for the pivot points at his shoulders.

His finished head - I was going for a sinister look.......

Ready to be dressed. I made two small covers that close up his chest.

One last check before I put on the cover and sew up the back. You can see the line and the spring which moves his right arm. His other arm moves because it's connected to the knife.

Four small magnets hold the knife in his hands. You can see one of them in the palm of his left hand.

The mechanism, (seen upside down). I used two motors - one for the wheel and one to move the arm. It's always a fun challenge to fit the mechanism into the box I've chosen.

Here's a quick movie clip that shows how it works. I'll be putting together a full edited movie soon.

Thanks for looking.

tom