Metal Forging and Hand Forming

Your concept may reach us in many forms—a clay maquette, resin model, 3D data file, or simply a set of hand-drawn sketches. We convert a physical model into a digital model through 3D scanning, or model directly from your sketches, then produce a full-scale physical master using 3D printing or CNC milling. What this means for you: whatever your creative starting point, we can establish it as a precise digital benchmark, providing a single reference system for every subsequent operation.

Paper patterns are cut to match each area of the sculpture; highly articulated transitions are divided into separate sections. The patterns are laid on the sheet, traced, and cut. On large, complex works, the accuracy of this segmentation directly determines the quality of the later assembly.

The cut sheets are annealed at high temperature to soften the metal and maximize its ductility. Copper sheet is heated with an oxy-acetylene flame or in a furnace; stainless steel demands even tighter temperature control. What this means for you: this is the moment when the metal becomes responsive. Insufficient heat invites cracking; excessive heat makes the material brittle. Our metalsmiths read changes in the sheet's color to determine the optimum moment for hammering. Copper can be softened by heating only a limited number of times—typically no more than three—and stainless steel likewise cannot be reheated repeatedly. Every heating cycle changes the internal structure, so each one must be exact.

Rough forming: the annealed sheet is repeatedly worked with steel hammers, wooden mallets, rubber mallets, and other tools to establish the primary volume. After each round, the artisan places the sheet against the master model to compare and calibrate it, confirms the direction of the form, and only then continues. What this means for you: the model is a gauge, not a mold. After every series of blows, the artisan returns to the model to reconfirm the direction, ensuring that free hammer-forming never departs from your intended geometry.

Annealing and precision forming alternate: once the sheet work-hardens, it is annealed again and softened, and the cycle repeats. Every hammer blow “awakens” the flat metal sheet into a three-dimensional form. What this means for you: we do not rush the process. Form has its own rhythm of emergence—and that rhythm gives the work its richest surface language.

Secondary planishing behind the welds: after all seams have been welded from the front, their reverse sides must be hammered and dressed again. What this means for you: this step determines the evenness of the surface. Without it, local depressions develop as the weld cools, disrupting the work's visual continuity. The finish visible from the front depends on the work performed behind it.

The individually formed sheet sections are joined by welding or riveting into a complete whole. Each piece is repeatedly checked against the master during assembly to maintain a consistent overall surface language. Recessed corners and areas with restricted tool access must be finished before adjoining panels are welded closed; once sealed, those areas can never again be finely dressed. What this means for you: a monumental work reads as one unified whole, not an accumulation of fragments. We give the same care to the corners no one will see.

After assembly, the work is ground and dressed to remove weld marks and burrs, then finished to the design specification through chemical or physical patination, mirror polishing, gilding, or other surface treatments. What this means for you: from the first hammer blow to the final finish, your work remains under one consistent quality-control standard. Handcrafted does not mean uncontrolled.