This is a war club inspired by the “King Philip” war club in New England. I liked the shell inlay and dark finish. So I modified the design for shell pieces and the handle to suit me. The mussel shells were from a three ridge mussel and some blufers. The wood is hard maple with a cherry stain followed by multiple dark walnut stain applications. I finished with 5 coats of tru oil.
I enjoyed the project and will likely make a few other types of war clubs, but I must say the shell inlay presented a dilemma that flustered me. I didn’t know what to do first, finish the wood then affix the shells, or the other way around. If I stained then fixed, I risked needing to sand some excess glue or a shell that wasn’t flush. Thus, I mess up my finish. If I fixed then stained, it stained my shells. I went with the latter because I wanted the shells flush. It did change the color of my shells some. I am proud of the wood working but the shell work left me a little flat.
Live and learn.
