When I'm making Ladles I often start by taking bowl like objects and cutting them down; and then reforming them to suit the sort of ladle I'm making. It can be a small silver-plated liquor 'glass' for a small chocolate or sweet sauce ladle; a silver-plated coaster for a shallow sauce ladle; or a larger silver-plated goblet for soup ladles. Original patterns are hammered over but still show through though a little softer.
All these objects get annealed and seriously hammered on a stake with my Japanese style handmade raising hammer; and then they are planished with the polished flat faced panel beating hammer.
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Nine ladle bowls hammered with lower hammer and ready for the upper hammer. |
Ready for grinding and polishing over at the shed.
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Planished and ready for grinding and polishing |
Looking good on the polishing bench.
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Nine shiny bowl showing beautiful hammer marks |
And even better on the rust pile.
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Love the contrast |
And a bunch of handles from trays will be straightened and reformed for the ladle handles that will be riveted to the bowl forms.
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Good to be able to recycle the handles. |
A production process I know - but it produces unique functional pieces with the maker's mark on them.
love the way you can take a flat form and make a conical vessel - so clever, Baz.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a duplicate comment but maybe not... These are really beautiful, Barry, and the shot on the rust pile is stunning. Sooner or later I can see I'm going to be needing one of your ladles!
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