Tools of the trade

Yep, just as pretty as I thought it would be. Thanks! :+1:

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Yep…Thanks @OrbitOrange it’s the long arrow hallmark. And I pulled it out of the safe to get a better picture of the elongated stamps:

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Thank you for sharing your beautiful bracelet. My eye was drawn to the center stone. They’re all very nice but that one is exceptional, IMO.

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This is an absolute treasure, thank you again so much for sharing it and for providing more photos!

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Ha! Don’t know much about railroads!

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I’m flattened on the floor from peering at your amazing bracelet, B. I’m not, however, convinced you need it in your collection…look that way! No, that way!

:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

There’s something especially jazzy about that horizontal, sort of bell-shaped outline toward the terminals that you see sometimes with FP. Thank you for sharing this marvel of design and craftsmanship.

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PLEASE get off the floor​:laughing:. Your description as “jazzy” described it perfectly. I love it, it just glows! Nice to have a chance to pull it out of the safe, I hadn’t looked at it in a while.
( there is that similar one on eBay…just saying​:grimacing:).

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As I’ve mentioned before, the tools used to create the marvelous works of silver and turquoise art that we all cherish are just as special, to me. Works of art themselves, I very much appreciate all that they encompass, and have enjoyed collecting them.

For the display of Navajo silversmithing and weaving tools, I’ve been on the hunt for a repoussé stamp and die for some time: particularly one that was made and used for conchos. Thanks to the memory of a great friend, I recently had the oppurtunity to acquire one.

I apologize for the bright lighting; the LED lights in the shop tend to blow out my photos and I didn’t feel like waiting on the sun to wake up to share these.

The working face of the stamp is roughly 2 1/8” x 1 5/8” and it was made from 2” bar stock. Looking at and studying various conchos, I’ve thought about the tools used many times, but it’s quite different having one in hand: I’m deeply impressed by the uniformity of the hand filing performed on the stamp. I thought the half-round depression in the die plate was super cool: my thought is that it was used for the crafting of smooth buttons or garment embellishments.

I was also fortunate enough to acquire this small group of stamps. The five at the left were crafted from files: the two lying flat being made from the tangs, or where the handle is installed, and the other three from the cutting bodies of different files. The larger, central stamp looks like it would have been used for the repoussé on concho belt spacers.

I know it’s not turquoise or silver, but these little masterpieces are not doubt important aspects of our shared passion, and they’re something I’m really enjoying; my wish is that some of you do, as well.

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These are certified cool, Aaron. The concho stamp and die set is just asking for a piece of sheet silver to come along. :slightly_smiling_face: The fine detail and precision of these stamps is really impressive.

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Super group Aaron. The top stamp with base is quite rare to find. The others are very nicely made.

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Practice material :thinking:

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@TAH & @StevesTrail, thank you both. Each of these adds something different to the collection, and I just love ‘em.

:+1: I’ll hammer out the conchos only if you promise to do the leatherwork. :squinting_face_with_tongue:

The hunt’s been a long one, Steve. @TAH tried a couple times to acquire sets he’d found on his most recent trip to the Southwest, but none of them were available for purchase. I was thankful for his efforts, nonetheless. :+1:

:laughing:

Come on, guys, I’ve got more than a few unfinished projects already. :roll_eyes:

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Very cool stamps, Aaron! Love the repousse concho and butterfly stamps in particular, and those handmade file stamps look like they’re ready to go right to work. All are really excellent.

May have missed it, but I didn’t know you were looking for Concho and repousse stamps or I would have pointed you to Tucker Tool. He’s been making traditional concho, repousse, and beading blocks for decades for Thunderbird and (formerly) for Indian Jewelers Supply. Cool guy. You’ll get a kick out of talking to him.

ETA: For those who are interested here’s an article by Jerry Tucker about how the tools are made.

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Looks like you have given Aaron more project choices. :+1:

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Thank you, Mike! You didn’t miss anything, I just never mentioned it. Although I most certainly should have. What an awesome share! :+1::+1: Thank you for posting the info about Jerry Tucker and for the priceless article.

Only because links have an unreliable nature, I wanted to somewhat solidify the information. Here are photos of the article that @mmrogers so graciously shared.

Thanks again, Mike!!

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:face_with_peeking_eye:

Just ask @TAH, this is the last thing I need…unless, of course, someone needs assistance with a belt buckle. :grin:

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Hmmm…:thinking: “Assistance” huh? I hate to ask, but I have these spare prongs in need of custom belt buckles. Can you help a brother out? :innocent:

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:rofl:

:face_with_open_eyes_and_hand_over_mouth::zipper_mouth_face:

:relieved_face: Sure thing, Tom. Send ‘em my way.

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