David's concept of carving 'The History of the Ship' was undoubtedly spawned from his grandfather's lifelong project of carving 'The History of the Steam Engine'. When David was a child, his grandfather was actively carving and at the same time showering David with a great deal of love and encouragement.Дavid's father, a skilled knife maker, was able to convey closely held family carving techniques to his artistic and enterprising son. David's grandfather, Ernest 'Mooney' Warther, was a renown carver of steam engine models, also using wood and ivory.

His great-great-grandfather was a cabinet maker and woodcarver in Switzerland in the early to middle 1800's.

These ivory threads are seven thousandths of an inch in diameter (.007'), twice the thickness of a human hair.ДЄ talent for carving had been in the Warther family for several generations. He thinks if he would have waited until adulthood to develop the method of making ivory threads, he would probably have said it was impossible. Later David would tell folks that at the age of thirteen you can do anything nothing seems impossible and one feels invincible. At age thirteen, David developed his unique hand filing and sanding process for making the ivory 'string' for the ship's rigging a technique that is a signature of his artwork. Originally, David's love for ships was less of an interest in maritime lore and more of a fascination for the graceful lines and beauty each ship exhibits. With the creation of his first ship, David's destiny was launched and he began carving even more ships with a passion and a keen interest in detail that has now spanned over fifty years. At the age of six, David carved his first ship, a Viking vessel.

According to David's parents, he began carving from elephant tusk ivory at the age of three. David Warther II, born in 1959, is a master ivory carver living near the city of Dover in northeast Ohio.

Ivory carving