I find it an impossibility to admire works of Native American art crafted in silver and stone without thinking about the tools and processes that enabled their creation. As has been discussed before, a great talent lies in the making of quality tools and stamps that last longer than one strike of a hammer, and I’ve always viewed stamps in particular as works of art, themselves.
I managed to acquire a few older stamps from a seller in Flagstaff, AZ that I plan on displaying with the anvil and bow drill. They were pretty rusty when they arrived, so I treated them to some 0000 steel wool to rid them of the bright orange while leaving the beautiful patina they’ve earned.
I felt a few of these were pretty neat. The three on the right being crafted from pieces of rebar, the two at the left are portions of bolts, and the center one is my favorite. It was made from a square bastard file…
Super cool post, Aaron. Thanks for showing these. They will look great with your anvil and other equipment. I agree, it all starts with the stamps and tools.
These stamps are great, Aaron! Excellent examples of the level of craftsmanship involved in taking found items like sections of worn out files, punches, and common re-bar, and hand fashioning them with blacksmithing and carving skills into beautiful durable works of art used to tool silver.
This was a skill first learned from Mexican Plateros in the 19th century, and has become a native art form in an of itself. I remember seeing an exhibition of Spanish artwork at the Albuquerque Museum of works from modern times all the way back to the Roman era. Among the earliest works dating back about 2000 years was roman era metal work using exactly the same types of stamps now employed by Navajo smiths. I was absolutely floored to see the same techniques and processes used in Native jewelry today expressed in precisely the same way in items millennia old. I was literally awed by this, and the realization that these art forms have endured and been passed down through hundreds of generations, and passed along from culture to culture to culture over thousands of years.
Thank you Mike! You touch on something that I deeply admire about the silversmiths that laid the foundations of the craft. From some of the earliest Navajo chiseled, filed, engraved and rocker engraved design elements taken from the Plains cultures to their eventual graduation to crafting and implementing stamps, it’s an awesome story of tradecraft.
I’ve read, many times, that Mexican leatherworkers were an inspiration for the Navajos use and crafting of stamps, with seemingly little mention of the Mexican blacksmiths who no doubt taught the Navajos how to work iron.
From Larry Frank’s Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest: 1868-1930 - “The Mexican blacksmith, not the leatherworker, had to teach the Navajo how to make stamps, and with this technical knowledge went a design vocabulary, as well. This theory is supported by a statement made by Grey Moustache, recorded by John Adair in 1938.* Grey Moustache said that his teacher, known to the Navaos as Atsidi Sani, was the first Navaio to learn silversmithing and that Atsidi Sani’s teacher was Nakai Tsosi, a Mexican blacksmith…Although Nakai Tsosi taught Atsidi Sani both ironworking and the techniques applicable to silversmithing, neither Nakai Tsosi nor any other blacksmith made jewelry. That idea was Navajo and within ten years after their release from Bosque Redondo in 1868 the making and wearing of silver jewelry by many of the Southwest Indian tribes was firmly established.”
* John Adair, The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1944).
Very interesting piece of history, Aaron! And it fits perfectly. “Atsidi Sani” translates roughly to “Old Metalsmith, or Honored Old Silversmith (Perhaps in the sense “Master Silversmith, or Master Smith?). “Nakai Tsosie” translates to “Skinny Mexican, or Skinny Spaniard”. Nakai Tsosie most likely had a true Spanish name, but was likely known to the people as “Nakai Tsosie”, his Navajo nickname.
This could very well be an amazingly interesting thread, especially for anyone that is interested in the art behind the art. That is, the making or modifying of the tools used to create the masterpieces we all cherish. I know you could contribute a wealth of photos and knowledge, Mike! I recall @Jason sharing some neat photos of stamps, dies, a rolling mill, and other tools employed by silversmiths. Surely @Stracci could chime in with some of the tools she crafts her lovely jewelry with, as well!
Great photo. He was a snappy dresser and a handsome guy to boot! Reminds me a bit of Wes Studi.
I do have some tools I can post. Basic stuff, mostly made from discarded files, re-bar, items like cement nails which are excellent for small stamps and bevels. A couple of old saw frames, anvils etc. I’ll put together some photos and post them:)
This photo is of a different, smaller batch of tools I purchased from a dealer in Santa Fe. There are the obvious cold chisels and a reworked tap, and I like the small stamp standing vertically. There’s a concrete nail at the bottom of the photo!
These are fantastic, Aaron. Wonderful examples of tools re-purposed, and crafted by expert hands from found steel objects and worn out tools.
Attached is an snapshot of a couple of bracelets from my men’s artisan bracelet line in sterling, with a couple of the hand made tools used to fashion them.
Mike this is stunning! The photograph is lovely and vibrant with the wood handle of your hammer. I love the rebar stamp and the tool crafted from a file is superb! Thank you for sharing this.
This reminds me of an early technique of stamp-craft that H.P. Mera referred to in his 1960 book Indian Silverwork of the Southwest Illustrated - Volume One, and one that we’ve discussed previously: which was to strike the end of a red-hot or annealed stamp blank against the face of a file, leaving the impression of the file teeth on the stamp, which was then tempered. Mera referred to this as the “end-of-a-file” design. I know that you’ve decribed and discussed this with us in the past.
Steve this is awesome! Thank you for sharing! After you cab that Cerrillos you recently shared, I’m looking forward to seeing the silver you craft to set it in.
Thanks @Ravenscry & @mmrogers . I made all those by hand way back. You put part of yourself into such things. I think I enjoyed making the tools more than the jewelry. I cringe when I hear of hand made tools being stolen or having been sold.
I’m sure that both @StevesTrail and @mmrogers will share their thoughts, but I can share what was done historically, by the early smiths. The following is from Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest: 1868-1930 by Larry Frank.
Stamps and cold chisels were both made in the same way. A piece of carbon steel, usually a section of a worn-out file, was heated until it turned a glowing orange color. It was then pulled from the fire with iron tongs and held on the anvil where it was shaped by hammering. After the rough shape was obtained, the tool was heated again to a glowing red color and allowed to cool verv slowly. The slow cooling took the temper out of the steel and allowed the smith to file in the final details of the design. After the filing was completed, the design end of the tool was again brought to a red heat and quenched immediately in water to harden it. The tool was then cleaned down to the bare metal and again heated very gently, until the exposed metal turned a golden yellow color, and was again quenched. This last step put the temper in the metal, giving it enough hardness to keep it from bending but leaving it soft enough to prevent it from splitting or chipping when struck.
Larry also points out how rare steel was to come by for the early smiths, and that they would utilize every square inch of material. In this photo from the same book, the central die, (with the fluted button leaning against it) shows a wedge shaped indentation used for fluting buttons like the one shown; the round hole was employed for punching out cone shaped buttons; and the female component of a male-female die was added later, and speaks to the scarcity of iron in the early days.
I recall 
The photograph is lovely and vibrant with the wood handle of your hammer. I love the rebar stamp and the tool crafted from a file is superb! Thank you for sharing this.
