Ford Hallam's fantastic traditional Japanese metalworking

2/28/2017 - I will shortly be taking a week-long class from Ford Hallam, a master of traditional Japanese metalworking. Meet him in this beautifully done short film. In it you watch as he creates a traditional Japanese tsuba, starting with pouring an ingot of shibuichi all the way to carving, inlay and patination. For students of the metals field, it is incredible to see such precision without the use of any power tools. His discussion of why he uses only hand tools is spot-on, and is exactly what I tell my students. Slow down and see! His way of working is an inspiration.

If the film makes you want to learn more about him:
www.followingtheironbrush.org/activitypage.php
www.fordhallam.com/