What is hand stamping?

Hand stamping onto metal is a form of metal work where an imprint is made completely by hand using metal stamps that are held, placed onto a metal blank and then gently hit with a hammer to leave an imprint that can then be coloured - if desired.

Each stamp, whether this be in the form of a letter, number, symbol and or other design (leaf, flower head etc) are all single stamps that come in a variety of sizes - the most common being 1.5, 2.5, 3, 4 & 6mm.

All of which are hand stamped individually, in turn, to create words, phrases, simple designs and miniature masterpieces of art - the possibilities of which, are absolutely endless! Because you really can have what ever your heart desires, stamped onto a piece of everlasting treasure.

The beauty of hand stamping is the imperfect perfectness of it because there's no machinery involved, so even if the same design is created over and over again, there is always going to be ever so slight variations to each finished piece.

Which can be from a mm difference in placement, the possibility of a slightly raised or off centre letter / number / symbol and even to the difference in depth of the imprints themselves because every single strike made to the metal is totally unique!

• I use individual metal stamps to create the designs/wording on my pieces. This is NOT the same or anything remotely like engraving. Engraving/etching removes the metal, stamping simply displaces it.
• The pieces will often have an imprint on the reverse side which is unavoidable. Each letter/number/symbol and design is placed by hand, not machine & is hammered. Because of this the text may not be perfectly straight or of the same depth. The surface won't feel smooth. Which is all part of the charm and beauty of a hand stamped piece.