Octagonal Hand Mirror With Hand Carved Handle
I made this large octagonal hand mirror as a birthday present for my wife. I keep promising to make a wooden bracket for wall mounting.
It kind of grew around the beveled mirror. It kind of looks like something a guitar maker would make. I love purpleheart although it is very hard wood and difficult to carve. I carved it mostly with a heavy duty scraper I had made for archtop guitar carving. It's a wonderful wood in that when cut it turns brown but almost immediately returns to purple as it oxidizes. The maple and ebony were just lying around excess from a guitar I had previously made.
The mirror was my first use of Tried and True polymerized linseed oil varnish. I wanted to use a finish that is safe to touch every day. This finish thrives on being touched, getting deeper looking as it is handled.
The leaf shaped handle just came about naturally without a pattern.
Dimensions: Total length is 17 1/2" The handle is 10" long and the head of the mirror is 7 1/2" across the flats.The mirror is 8" across the flats.