Mother of pearl

[NickM]

Malc's tooth fairy box thread reminded me that my wife picked up this abalone shell when we were in Guernsey last week. Abalone are called ormers in Guernsey which is the northernmost limit of their territory. They're something of a local delicacy and collecting them is strictly restricted to certain low tides in Winter to protect the stocks. I hear that they're coming back strong and that the explosion in octopus numbers doesn't seem to be affecting them which is good news.



I'd like to see if I can do something with it in a woodworking project - e.g. a little inlayed key escutcheon or something. It might not be a big enough shell to get a large enough flat section, but if I can work out the process I'll try to get some bigger shells (which may involve waiting until next January and going "ormering" myself!).

Has anyone processed their own MOP from shells?

I also manage to catch some more bass while I was over there (the first one was a shade under 5lb)!

 

[Woodbloke]

Back in the day, my grandad used to go night fishing off Clacton pier with luminous lures, which he just used to drop over the side to float near the pier stanchions. Many's the time he'd come back knackered with three or four salmon sized bass! Alas those days are long gone as the inshore trawlers came along soon after and swept the sea floor virtually clean - Rob