Handcrafted Jewelry Scale Chasing and Repousse Tools

Eight handcrafted jewelry scale chasing and repousse tools that can be used to create high relief in all types of metal. These are the same tools we offer our students in our chasing and repousse workshops. Please see our website for details. Kiln heat treated and fully tempered a2 tool steel. You get: (all round stock with flattened sides for control).

These tools are ideal for beginning artists or instructors looking for tools for their students. Repousse artists need to learn how to make their own tools.

However, we feel that before you can make them you need to know how to use them first. The more you practice chasing and repousse, the better tools you can make. The working end of the tool is critical for success. In most cases, these tools all need to be reshaped and polished before they are useful. Our tools are free of sharp edges and are ready to use out of the box. What does kiln heat treating and fully tempered mean.

Kiln heat treated means that a digitally controlled kiln was used in the entire heat treating process. Not all tool steels are created equal. Failing to follow this procedure can lead to tool failure. Ie cracking, shattering, mushrooming, etc. Tempering is a process that removes the brittleness from a hardened tool.

If this process is not done properly and the brittleness is not removed, the tool can shatter. Our tools are soaked for several hours to ensure proper tempering. Many artists do not follow these procedures when making tools. You can usually tell by the discoloration of the tool due to applying heat with a torch for tempering. Tempering with a torch does not allow for proper soak time and introduces stress by heating the tool to different temperatures and allowing it to cool that way.

This is usually done this way because it is a procedure passed down by artists and blacksmiths most likely due to the lack of high temperature control. They use the color of the steel to determine temperature and this "educated guess" can be off by several hundred degrees.

Improperly heat treated tools are more likely to have the hammering end mushroom and someday fail. Now, with that said, the "blacksmith way" does work and many swear by it.

Artists have been doing it for years. This item is made of repousse, chasing and tools.