These were forged before tonight’s winter storm. Productive night.
I almost threw this bottle opener away…
As far as I’m concerned, half of getting good at anything is learning how to make mistakes look like features.
So, the round hole in the cap-lifting tab on this bottle opener was last night’s mistake (at the time a crack/ fissure). A little work with a Dremel tonight and I’m unusually pleased with it now.
Yes, my maker’s mark is on upside down. I could also fix that, but I’ve decided to quit while I’m ahead.
Wrought Iron Cthulhu Tentacle Bottle Opener
Here’s a special variation of my tentacle bottle opener made from a special material. This particular opener is made from wrought iron sourced from Providence, RI. It came from a derelict building that was built sometime in the late 1920s (possibly very early 1930s).
So, this iron would have been contemporary to the period in which H.P. Lovecraft wrote his more famous and tentacular Cthulhu mythos stories (“The Call of Cthulhu”, “At the Mountains of Madness”, “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, and The Shadow Out of Time”, etc.). So, considering the vintage and source of the metal, it’s got some heritage and history attached to it.
Also, this is the very first time that I’ve worked with wrought iron. It’s very different from mild steel and is in some ways a bit less forgiving. My first attempt failed badly. This second attempt turned out fine, but it took longer to etch than I expected. All that said, I’m happy with the grain exposed by the etch.
I have enough of this particular wrought iron to make two more of these. I already have plans for them… charity auctions.
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