Christopher Price Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 (edited) Seems like these come up every 3 or 4 months. I recently had a request for one of these pendants, and so I made two just for the sake of variety and insurance against failure, because I usually try something new every time. First up, the more ambitious attempt - a twisted bar of 5 dimes. First fused, then forged out to a blunt square nail shape, I hot-twisted it gently, and when shears started, I gently hammered it square and got it hot enough to re-fuse the joints. Can't do that with Damascus steel, and it saved me twice in the process. While I was hoping to see stars, what I ended up with was just as good - they look like long dunes to me, seen from space. For the second one, I kept it simple, just a flat laminate, but went to the drill press and tried to hit it with a raindrop pattern. It's not as stark as the steel I treat this way, but it still made an interesting pattern I think, and almost looks like hidden faces peeking out - I see eyes and some noses, with my whimsical eye. Thanks for looking! Edited April 17, 2014 by Christopher Price The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Hebbard Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Cool! To become old and wise... You first have to survive being young and foolish! Ikisu.blogsot.com. Email; milesikisu@gmail.com mobile: +27784653651 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franck Meurou Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Very... very beautiful!!! I prefer to keep them as abstract drawing... Superb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Myers Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Wait...dimes? As in ten cents Lol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Hernandez Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I like the pattern on the first one. Very organic. Enjoy life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Too cool! I was never brave enough to play with the patterns because of all the shearing and seam splitting Great execution, I especially love the first one. Sort of looks like the metal has scars that were filled with the nickel. John Not all those who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien-Shards of the Dark Age- my blog-Nine Worlds Workshop--Last Apocalypse Forge- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emiliano Carrillo Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 The twist is the first one looks very pleasing to the eye! I'll have to try this out soon, thanks for sharing, Chris! -Emiliano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott A. Roush Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Love the first one. And nice pictures too. http://www.bigrockforge.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Terico Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Very nice. KT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collin Miller Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I too really like the pattern of the first one. I do like the faces on the last one though too. Great work. “If you trust in yourself. . . believe in your dreams. . . and follow your star. . . you will still get beaten by the people who have spent their time working hard and learning things, the people who weren't so lazy.” ~ Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Price Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Thank you, all. I'm rather partial to the first myself, and naturally that's the one the customer chose out of the two. Here's a couple more pictures on 1/4" graph paper, for scale: As for the twisting, that was a new thing for me to try. I quickly found it wanting to de-laminate, so I was able to rescue it by gently hammering it flat enough to be in full contact again, and getting it up to fusing heat, so the copper would run just a bit and fill the tiny gaps through capillary action. It's a delicate balance, how much you can torture this stuff, and how much it can be repaired without ruining the pattern you're going for. I'll probably try it again, I learned a few things that may help, and we'll see what comes out the other end. Thank you all for your compliments and comments. I really enjoy making these, they're something you can get done in a day. The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrod Miller Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Care to share your specific times and temps for your shear-fixing heats? Those are too cool to not try it out myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Price Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 It's all done by eye. I know what it looks like when it's right, the trick is to get it liquid enough to let surface tension work, but not so much it pools or drips. I don't know how to explain it better than that without showing you in person. The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrod Miller Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Well you're on the wrong side of the country for that! (Notice I said you not me.) I'll just have to play with it then. That description is helpful. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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