Hot forging silver is basically just like what you see a blacksmith do when working with iron (making a horseshoe to cite a classic example). You heat up the ingot to a dull grey-cherry color, grab it tightly with some iron tongs, and quickly start beating away. The benefits over cold forging, where you quench the metal in water before hammering, is that you can form the metal very quickly so it is a real time saver. The cons are that you really can't pause to contemplate the next blow otherwise it cools off pretty rapidly and you have to reheat. It is also a little tricky in that you have to hang on to the piece for dear life with the tongs to keep it from bouncing around on the anvil or you'll end up striking where you don't want to and misshape the work. And since the hot metal does respond so well to the hammer you better hit it right the first time.
I'll use myself as an example of where things can go wrong. Stephan had to take a call while I had the piece under the torch and stepped out of the studio for a second, just long enough for me to toast my ingot like a marshmallow. Very impressive to do. It actually swelled up slightly while it turned bright orange, then quickly shriveled like a raisin when I hurriedly removed the flame. When Stephan came back in he burst out laughing, but I was not so amused and told him no more phone calls while the torch was lit if at all possible. I obviously couldn't be trusted alone with a hot ingot. This was proved not too much later when I bounced my next ingot down a spiral staircase (conveniantly located right next to the anvil) and into the dark basement. He heard me curse form the far end of the house and we tore down after it, found it under some debris none the worse for wear, and not having singed anything important. After blocking the stairway with some plywood we continued.
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| Top to bottom: instructional ingot, my second attempt, my first attempt. |
Below shows the work in progress with my ingot next to one of the model ingots I used for comparison.
After several hours of his mostly undivided attention the project was getting to the point where I felt that I could struggle on with it on my own back at my studio in Dresden. The piece was beginning to look somewhat spoon shaped though with a lump on one end instead of a bowl. Stephan had been a very gracious and patient instructor and as it turned out had better English language skills than he had let on when there was someone else there to act as interpreter. It was extremely nice of him to put aside so much time in his busy schedule (three people come by the studio to request repair work of one sort or another on several interesting old relics) to help guide me through a hot forging project. It was quite a unique experience. So I thanked him numerous times and started to make the long journey home. Back at the studio the ladle continued on without any misadventures.
At about this point I stopped hot forging and continued on working it cold as it allowed me to hold onto the piece with my hands and better control the work. To fill out the full form of the bowl I first sunk it into my sandbag then raised it over a sphere of the appropriate shape and size. Starting in the center of the piece I worked my way in concentric circles around the bowl until I reached the rim. I heated it then repeated this until it was the shape I desired. I also lengthened and shaped the handle over a shallow arching mandril from my studio.
To finish my ladle project I sanded and polished the inside and back of the bowl and handle to a high shine, and hammered a texture onto the front of the handle.
I never said it was going to be a large ladle.
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