[New Orchid Gallery] Shelley Thomas

Shelley Thomas

I am a blacksmith and a wannabe jeweler. These pieces I call Ferrous
Road Kill; pieces of rusting iron/steel which I find while out
walking. I dress them up with 18ct gold and semi precious gem stones

Passion is contagious! Show us your passion, Show us your work!

Submit your work to feature in the Orchid Online Jewelry Exhibition
today:

http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7z58

http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep80yt I am a blacksmith and a
wannabe jeweler. These pieces I call Ferrous Road Kill; pieces of
rusting iron/steel which I find while out walking. I dress them up
with 18ct gold and semi precious gem stones 

Good Start Shelly, Years ago one of the knife making companies
seemed to be going out of business, and they had just started a
Damascus steel line of knives. I was able to buy some blanks, some
finished blades, and the sheets they had punched knife blanks from.
The scrap sheets (especially the ones they had punched the pocket
knife blades from) left some strange shapes that fed me with
inspiration. Of and on through the years I have made some combo
pieces essentially variations on what you have started, just a little
more complicated.

I cold worked the metal, then annealed the same way you might work a
piece of gold or silver. I also tried working small pieces hot, but
I have almost no experience as a blacksmith, so I was really more
successful with more of a traditional jewelers process. There is an
amazing amount of variation the Damascus type of metal allows in
texture.

As it turns out the company (I believe Atlanta Knife works) may have
stayed in business, as I saw a post here not to long ago about
places to buy billets fairly cheaply, and I believe they were
mentioned. Welcome and good luck, Thomas III