Copper / Alloys
Copper and its Many, Many Alloys
Copper is a wonderful and versatile metal. It can be worked hot or cold and moves beautifully under the hammer. It has a wide range of colors from a fresh rosy pink, down into ochres and oranges, deeper into nutty and chocolate browns, and even further still into a complex array of pastel greens and aquamarine if left exposed to the elements. There is also a rich spectrum of alloys that can be made with copper as the base metal. Brasses, bronzes, shibuichi and other lesser known alloys - all bring different qualities of their own to an already rich material.
Quite possibly my most popular piece to date. This one gets noticed when I wear it out, and it starts many conversations about how it was made. I had originally intended for this to be a pair, but found that I enjoy the asymmetrical feeling of just the one.
Luckily I had my model arm attached to my body, it made the test fitting process very easy. Both the hinges and the pin latch assembly were also made by me, all out of copper.
A fun little raising project, this started out as a junky copper ashtray found at a thrift store. I think it's a fine piece as is, but it could easily become the cup portion of a goblet if I wanted to find a function for it.
One of the best examples of a successful pour, this piece was made by casting copper directly onto a cloth suspended in a pot of water. This technique is called Yuwake, and results in a beautifully oxide-free ingot, ready for forging.
A series of up close progress photos of a copper bracelet with a Pangolin scale motif. This and other pieces like it will end up on my Fundraiser page once it's finished.
This piece is a collaboration between Peter Swarz-Burt and myself, the project was to make a Chinese Dao with a pattern welded blade and decorative brass fittings. My portion of the work was to make the faces of the pommel and guard, as well as the decorative elements on them. Both pieces have a chiseled border, raised inlaid fine silver wire, and a linear texture to simulate rain. All other work done by Peter.
A progress shot of the pommel and guard plates after they've been cut out and had the edges filed. The parts ended up matching beautifully and I couldn't help but show off by having them stand together on end without any support. These were made from a copper-rich variety of brass, which reduces the typical bright yellow color of most brasses and lends it a lovely honey gold quality.
My first chased piece using bronze, this is actually a modern material that uses silicon as the alloying element rather than the usual tin. It's difficult to find this in sheet, so I took a piece of 1/2" round and forged it into the dimensions I needed. The design is a bust of Athena, made for a good friend who honors the Greek pantheon. The piece is "stitched" onto the leather barette with copper wire, and the pin is dyed curly maple.
An early chased copper piece, this was made for a good friend of mine shortly after he lost a horse he had grown up with. He's also very into Viking themes, so I did my best to honor his name with runes - Bailey.
Potential. This picture was taken immediately preceding carving with a katakiri chisel. There is a little preview into the design in the bottom left of the photo, I placed my copper practice plate down there to have as a reference during the final carving. This piece is made from shibuichi - this particular mix is 80% copper and 20% silver. Preparation of the surface before carving is essential with the sort of design this piece will have, both for layout purposes and for making the polishing job easier after carving is finished.
One of many copper pieces made learning under Ford Hallam at Zack Jonas' shop in New Hampshire, I owe the entirety of my knowledge of traditional Japanese metalwork to Ford. This piece is from three days of focus on one particular chisel - the katakiri.
A gourd formed from 16ga copper sheet, this is an example of what can be done with uchidashi. it's often compared to chasing & repoussé, but I found it to be more akin to raising. The color on this piece is a result of controlled heating and quenching, it is not a patina.
Another katakiri design, this is based on an original sketch. The katakiri chisel was designed to be used in a way that mimics ink brushstrokes. This piece is a fairly rough representation, but I love the potential.
A small bronze pendant, this one about the size of a US quarter. I wanted to incorporate a lot of the design elements I've seen utilized on many antique tsuba, such as the distressed and polished rim, simple carving, and subtle textures.
A one piece copper habaki, this is one of the various fittings associated with Japanese swords. This piece is intended to sit just above the tsuba, or guard, and it interacts with the scabbard and helps align the blade within it. The patina was achieved with a traditional rokusho solution, and the picture does not do justice to the depth and richness of the color.
A commissioned piece, this sleepy lion was the centerpiece on a gorget for a friend who is an accomplished fencer. It was chased in 18ga brass sheet, then soldered to the stainless steel base. There are more photos of the completed gorget in the Armour portion of the Iron & Steel gallery, but I felt this part of the piece deserved individual attention.