"... Verdigris; where engineering becomes art ..."
Polishing metalwork is a very time consuming
process, especially with harder metals such as stainless steel, but
the results more than justify the time taken. The process begins by grinding
away any unwanted hammer marks or texture with progressively finer
abrasives. After being ground, the metal is
buffed using cotton polishing wheels and highly refined abrasives
known as buffing "soap". This step tends to smooth out the metal's surface
rather than grinding it away. The final stage is to bring out the rich character
and colour of the metal by polishing it with jeweller's rouge.
Hammer marks on forged metalwork act as witnesses to its bespoke and
handmade nature and can be expressed, rather than removed, on selected
work. They are left on show but any smaller and unwanted marks are
ground away before the metal is given its final polish. The finish is
a "polished-smoothed-forged look". Polished and
contrasting
metals feature throughout the portfolio
of Verdigris' blacksmith
David Hyde.
