Jimbo Crochet hook Auction!

AUCTION IS OVER... THANKS TO ALL WHO BID AND THOSE WHO DROPPED BY TO TAKE A LOOK.  WINNING BIDDERS PLEASE CLICK ON THE "MAKE A DONATION" BOX IN THE LEFT HAND MARGIN OF THIS PAGE, TO MAKE PAYMENTS THROUGH PAYPAL (PLEASE ADD $2.00 FOR SHIPPNG) OR CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL TO ARRANGE  PAYMENT OTHERWISE.  THANKS AGAIN!  MORE TO COME.

Its been awhile, eh?  Ah but it isn't that I've not been making hooks.  I have these to show now and more in the works.  Its just that things happen that put sales aside.  Ok.. no more excuses.  Lets get on with what just might be the most exciting auction ever!  Follow me and we'll take a look.....

First up we have another Bates Interchangeable thread hook set.  I've done these before but NONE with such a unique handle.  This handle is made of a transparent casting material and a beautiful Ambonia Burl wood.  Amazingly beautiful.  This is one that you can loose yourself in just looking at the wood grain.  Nice large grip with ample thumb rest makes this a very useful thread hook set as well.  Hook sizes (there are 14) go from size 1 through size 14.

How about we call this beauty "Burl" for bidding purposes.
(please note you can click on the pictures for enlarged views)

Next up and by request are a couple Olive wood hooks.  Olive wood is getting VERY expensive.  Not sure why and that's too bad because Olive makes really nice hooks.  I like to make Olive hooks, because they come from the tree of Peace and crocheting is such a peaceful activity.  Plus it finishes so velvety smooth. 
Anyways, the top hook of the two below has very prominent contrasting grain and sooooo smooooth!  It's a J (6mm) on the old Bates gauge, and is 7 3/4 inches long.  Lets call this one Olive 1 for your bidding pleasure.

Another olive hook, this time with a little more subtle grain variance.  Hard to say which hook is more beautiful.  Ah but you could get them both!!  Yeah, that's the ticket!  heh.  Lemme see, this one is an H (5mm) and 7 3/4 inches long. And you may have guessed already that this hook's name is Olive 2. (I need to get more creative, eh?)

And here we have another unique hook.  This is a laminate made up from thin strips of Figured maple and a core of Purple heart.  I save scraps because I HATE to see beautiful wood go to waste.  So, I had this slightly undersized piece of Purple heart and a thin strip of Figured Maple.  On a whim, I glued slabs of the Maple to the Purple Heart and wall-ah!  A VERY interesting hook.  The Maple didn't photograph well, maybe because of the contrast.  But take my word for it... it's a very pretty figured wood that's highlighted by the purple heart... Reminds me a bit of the white hourglass shape on Black Widow spiders. This hook is an L (8mm) and is 7 1/2 inches long.  For bidding purposes, lets call this one Purple Widow.

But wait, there's more!  Here is a hook made from genuine Deadman Crick wood (I'm thinking Bush Maple) with some really beautiful grain contrast and figure.  You might guess that when I'm out hiking around the ranch, I carry a small folding saw on the chance that I'll come across a likely looking piece of wood.  That's what happened here.  I was out hiking the hill above the ranch when I came across this really lush green tiny meadow with a carpet of clover fed by a tiny spring.  A large bush maple grows next to the spring.  I was stepping across the spring and starting to duck under a leaning branch of the maple when I noticed the branch was dead.  I quick drew my trusty folding saw, cut off a chunk and immediately saw potential in the dark heartwood of the stick.  You see the result.  Much different than the typical honey blond color of the typical maple.  Beautiful!  It's an H (5mm) with a flat foot for display, and is 7 1/2 inches long.  Lets call this one Spring Maple.

Moving along, we come to what I think are two of the very prettiest hooks produced by the old Apple Tree Up on Deadman Creek.  This is the tree that has partnered with me for years of my hook making career.  It has donated it's dead branches for hooks that have found new homes all over the US and abroad. 
The next two pictures are of the same hook and it's hand's down the most beautiful hook the old apple tree has produced.  Not that it was an easy thing spotting the hook in the wood from whence it sprang.  The piece almost went in the firewood pile because it was so cracked.  Ah but the potential was there so I filled the cracks with black epoxy and , well you see the results.  The colors are just astounding, with that creamy colored foot leading to veins along the handle length contrasting with the black epoxy fill...and the grain figure... well its a thing to behold.  The foot is flat in case you'd like to stand the hook up on display.
This hook is a G (4mm) on my Bates Gauge, and it's 7 1/4 inches long.  Lets call this Apple A for bidding purposes.

And this... we'll call Apple B (shown in the two photos below).  This hook came from the same branch as the hook above and has many of the same attributes.  The big attraction here though is the foot which I left natural so you can see its rustic beginnings.  Another truly beautiful donation from the old Apple tree.  This one is a K (6.5mm) on the old Bates gauge.  It's 7 1/2 inches long.  Lets call it Apple B.  Apple B, get it?  heh

Z.  Last letter of the alphabet and the first letter of the little striped horses.  Zebra wood is one of the high contrast woods as this hook clearly demonstrates.  However there's more.  The grain, because of high polish, shows a remarkable depth or "chatoyance".  PLUS the swirls of darker grain make some interesting figures.  On one side the figure of a small owl appears, including feathers if you look close enough.  On the other side is another fascinating swirl of grain that reminds me of clouds blowing over a mountain top.  This is truly one of a kind and just amazingly beautiful.
Two pictures of the same hook.  See the little owl in the top picture?  See the clouds climbing over the mountain in the bottom picture.  All the same hook.  Oh and almost an after thought.  It's an H on my
Bates size gauge (5mm) and is 7 5/8 inches of hookalicious amazement.  For your bidding ease, lets call this Hook Z.

Ok... here's the deal about the auction.  We'll run the auction for one week, ending at 10pm Pacific Time on  October 24.  You can send me your bids via E-mail at Please email your bids ($5 increments, please) to jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com   Tied bids will be settled in favor of the earlier entry. I'm not at the computer all the time, but will try to post bids as soon as they come in.  Please also note the minimum starting bids where noted

Oh and if you need a little reassurance before bidding... here's a review written about Jimbo Hooks by a Crochet Designer/Blogger  BooCoo, click here

Bids:

Burl:  $65 starting bid

Olive 1:
Christie goes $10
Anamaria bumps it to $15
Christie's back with $20
Paula's here with two minutes to go.. $25



Olive 2:
Stephanie ventures $10
Christie's here too with $15
Stephanie comes back with  $20
Christie again with $25

Purple Widow:
Doug bids $45

Spring Maple:
Paula goes $20
Beth goes to $30

Apple A:  $35 starting bid
Paula's here with $40
Christie ups it to $45
Paula:  $50

Apple B:  $30 starting bid

Hook Z:  $40 starting bid
Jason bids $45










Thanks for dropping by and thanks for your patience!
Jimbo