One of my favorite parts, and least favorite parts, of being a silver smith is buffing. It's messy (compound dust EVERYWHERE), painful (burned fingertips) and can take a very long time - as in this piece below. But seeing the shine and detail slowly revealed is both immensely satisfying and gratifying. This piece was custom built to fit precisely over the head, so no clasp or anything to catch on clothing, and it looks spectacular on a dark shirt, both from a distance and up close!
This was a time consuming and meticulous project which gave me the opportunity to invest some quality time on my precision soldering. When I first began learning how to solder silver all I had was a propane tank with a large tip torch. I mastered making tiny jump-rings using that torch tip - which I think was a 3/4" tip! For those of you who can't quite imagine: it's like using a full size measuring cup to measure all your spices for a precision recipe.
I now use an oxygen/propane mix with a small precision torch tip, making the work both faster and easier. Once I got into the rhythm of joining the components one at a time on this project I achieved an almost meditative state, which helped me remain focused and calm through the minor setbacks that invariably arise during a project of this scale.
If you have a project you've been wanting to pursue give us a call or drop us a note and let's see if we can make it a reality!