SNAG NEWS VOLUME 18 NUMBER 4 August 2010 32

TECHNICAL ARTICLE ...... Alternative Methods for Patterning Mokume Gane - Part 2 by Victoria Lansford

Welcome back to Victoria Lansford’s article (Part Two). If you haven’t already, please visit her website, www. victorialansford.com, for more information about how she incorporates these techniques into her own work as well as a myriad of other resources.

Innovation arises from creative bridges between existing but previously separate conventions. Victoria has forged these connections between mokume-gane, chasing/repouseé, and fold-forming in new and beautiful ways. We encourage you to travel across these bridges and create more of your own. As you travel on your own innovative journey and create new bridges of your own, send me a postcard or, better yet, a whole article. Happy trails.

-James Thurman

Kawa II, fold-formed hoop from straight grain mokume gane, sterling, , shibuichi; 1-1/8” x 1-1/8” x 3/8”, 2010

Fold-forming Mokume Gane Hoop Earrings As discussed in Part One, mokume gane (a Japanese term meaning, wood grained metal) is a laminate of differ- ent alloys that can be forged, ground, or twisted to create patterned effects. There are beautiful classic patterns achievable, but my favorite methods result from forming and forging techniques that I use to manipulate the lay- ers of sheet and then grind off the tool marks to reveal the pattern.

The technique of fold-forming as developed by Charles Lewton-Brain relies on the resulting structure of sheet metal to provide strength to a three-dimensional form that has been forged, hydraulic pressed, or milled from fairly thin gauge metal. For a detailed explanation of fold forming, please refer to Charles’ book, Foldforming,1 which provides a comprehensive how-to guide for nearly every fold-form imaginable. Many of the forged or chased forms would lend themselves to interesting patterns created by this process.

Being a bit of a queen, I’ve always been drawn to the fold-forms, forged from a reuger fold, which produce helix and boat shapes. One day when I was giving a demonstration in Eastern repoussé with 24 gauge straight grain mokume a student asked what to do with the leftover sheet. I was about to answer that it went in the scrap pile when I looked down at this narrow strip of sheet and had a sudden brainstorm. SNAG NEWS VOLUME 18 NUMBER 4 August 2010 33

TECHNICAL ARTICLE ...... Alternative Methods for Patterning Mokume Gane - Part 2, continued by Victoria Lansford

You’ll need 23 or 24 gauge straight grain mokume that has been annealed. 2 (I’m using a scrap of 24 gauge sterling/ copper/shibuichi straight grain mokume that was left after I cut out the sheet for an Eastern repoussé , but if you are starting with a heavier gauge billet, then you will need to mill it in a rolling mill as described in part 1 of this article.) The lunula fold-form requires an elongated marquis shape. Think narrow, more green bean than snow pea. Since these hoops are small, I cut the marquis shapes with a longer narrower taper on one end, so that the widest point was slightly higher than the middle.

Cut the curve on one edge of the sheet then fold it over and cut the other side. Before cutting, the folded edge flat with a rawhide mallet. Some straight grain mokume has a thicker sterling or argentium sterling backing to make it more wearer friendly and so is meant to have the pattern developed on one side only. If you are working with this type of straight grain mokume, be sure that you fold the sheet so that this thicker backing is on the inside of the fold!

Use the folded metal, which now looks like an elongated taco, as a template to trace the ’s mate. Repeat the cutting and folding process from the previous step to form a second taco shape. To save time later on, the cut edges on both earrings and burnish the file marks with a burnisher or the side of a polished scriber. Note: It will be easier to keep both earrings matching if they start out the same shape. If one is larger, or if the curve is different, take a moment to fix the problem now. SNAG NEWS VOLUME 18 NUMBER 4 August 2010 34

TECHNICAL ARTICLE ...... Alternative Methods for Patterning Mokume Gane - Part 2, continued by Victoria Lansford

Use a raising hammer with a long narrow face to forge the folded edge of the taco. The trick here is to angle the hammer slightly so that the impact of the blow hits more on the fold than on the cut edge. As if by magic, the straight folded edge will begin to curve to match the cut edge as the blows dis- place and stretch the metal. This displacement will create the mokume pattern, so the more forging the better. As the edge curves, keep hammering at a 90º angle to the edge. The angle is critical to creating the curve. Flip the metal over and repeat on the other side. Repeat this step for the other earring, and anneal both of them

.

Repeat the rounds of forging on both sides and annealing until the earrings are crescent shaped. This usually takes four to five rounds. Open the crescents by prying the cut edges apart with a scriber or other sharp tool.

To create the circular shape, place flat inside and gently splay them open along the edges. The more you open the form, the tighter a circle will form. SNAG NEWS VOLUME 18 NUMBER 4 August 2010 35

TECHNICAL ARTICLE ...... Alternative Methods for Patterning Mokume Gane - Part 2, continued by Victoria Lansford

Once you have the desired shape, use a coarse silicone wheel, fitted on a flex-shaft, to grind off the hammer marks, and a pumice wheel to remove the grinding marks. Voila, the pattern is revealed! It will appear subtle at first because there is less contrast between the alloys before patination, so be careful not grind the metal too thin.

Solder a piece of 20 gauge sterling wire inside one end of each earring for posts. Instead of using earring backs, I cre- ated a simple mechanism, inspired by Nanz Aalund’s award winning Nautilus Earrings.3

With round nose pliers, curl the non post end into a loop toward the inside of the earring. Bend a piece of 20 gauge sterling wire into an elongated triangular shape with the ends meeting at the bottom in the middle. Open up the triangle just enough to insert the ends into each side of the loop. Use flat or chain nose pliers to squish the triangle closed so that the ends meet inside the loop.

Flip the triangle up straight, and mark where it sits on the post. File a small groove in the post in this spot. Take care not to file too deep, or the post will become too weak. Repeat these steps for the earring mate. When putting the earrings on, press the top of the hoop (not the post), and flip the triangle over the post. The combination of the groove and the tension of the fold-form will hold it in place. SNAG NEWS VOLUME 18 NUMBER 4 August 2010 36

TECHNICAL ARTICLE ...... Alternative Methods for Patterning Mokume Gane - Part 2, continued by Victoria Lansford

Kawa II, detail

Patination will dramatically increase the contrast between the alloys, especially on shibuichi or shakudo (alloys of copper with small amounts of silver or , respectively). I used Baldwin’s patina, which works best if the surface has been etched. The easiest way to etch the surface is to toss the earrings in the pickle for an extended period of time. Polish the post and loop, then to protect the patina, coat the patterned surface with paste wax and buff.

Further Ideas Other patterning processes to try might include metal corrugation, forming in a hydraulic press, or deep roller printing. Another idea would be selectively grinding off the surface of a formed piece, leaving some areas unpat- terned to give even greater contrast. I hope these ideas are merely jumping off places for your own exploration into the beauty of mokume gane. Endnotes 1. Charles Lewton-Brain, Foldforming (Brunswick, Maine: Brynmorgan Press, 2008) 2. Shining Wave Metals offers pre-fused unpatterned mokume in a variety of contrasting alloys, available through Reactive Met- als Studio and Rio Grande®. 3. www.nanzaalund.com