Tips & Tricks
Hammer Time!
Mar
Hammers Creating Textures On Metals
One of the most popular & easier methods of making textures on metals is the use of specialized hammers. Striking jewellery metals with a specialized hammer creates whatever shape is needed, depending on how the metal is struck. The more this process is practiced, the easier it will be to control your strikes & get the patterns, shapes & textures you want for your jewellery pieces. The most popular hammers used for texturing, are Pattern Texturing, Cross Pein & Ball Pein Hammers, which are commonly found in jewellery studios & are easy to obtain.
Texturing Hammers
The Texturing Hammer has 12 interchangeable heads in different patterns. Great for all metal crafts & very versatile. These specialty hammers are strictly used for texturing different patterns directly onto your metal and blanks. Although the faces vary depending on the brand of the hammer, below are common patterns you can find.
A good habit to get into when you acquire a new hammer for texturing is to create a sample sheet of the texture that the hammer makes. Mark a number on the handle of the hammer or find a distinguishing mark on it, create your sample sheet (copper or brass are good materials to use for this) & engrave or use a permanent marker to place the hammer number on the sample. By keeping a collection of sample sheets, you can quickly choose the texture for your next design.
Ball Pein Hammers
This multi-purpose hammer has a flat, half-domed face, used to flatten metals & strike punches & stamps. The round end is used to shape metals, leaving dimples in your metal, used for textures. This is a great tool to use to leave dimpled patterns around the edges of your piece. Ball peins stretch and form the metal at 360 degrees and they can also round off sharp corners to prevent sharp angles in your jewellery pieces.
Cross Pein Hammers
The Cross Pein hammer can be used in metal work, stone work, blacksmithing or woodworking. A cross pein hammer has a blade perpendicular to the handle. Cross Pein Hammers (aka Peen) are general purpose carpenter’s hammers used for driving in nails. They are also known as Warrington Pattern hammers.
