Michon Jewelry Blog

How to Stamp Metal

March 10th, 2010

Stamping metal isn’t difficult, and with a little practice, this easy metalworking technique can be used to personalize your jewelry and other metal creations.

You will need metal stamps – alphanumeric if you want to stamp things like words and dates, or shapes and symbols to decorate your piece.

You’ll also need a piece of sheet metal – pre-cut circles work well – and a hammer and a hard surface such as a steel bench block to stamp on.

Place the metal on the stamping surface and position the stamp where you want to make your mark.

Now take your hammer (I use a heavy rubber mallet) and whack the back of your stamp. Practice this a few times on metal scraps so you get the hang of how hard you need to hit the stamp to get a good impression – too hard is just as bad as too light, so get a feel for how much force works.

I get the best results with three (or more) taps: one dead on, one holding the stamp slightly angled to the right, once holding it slightly angled to the left.

Here’s a video of me stamping with my new heart & flower stamps from artbeads:

Unfortunately, you can’t see how the stamp looks due to me being a total novice when it comes to making video, but at least you get a quick idea of the process!

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3 Responses to “How to Stamp Metal”

  1. Engraving your jewelry | Charms to Treasure Blog

    [...] are uncomfortable with doing it, you can always consult an expert! Check out the original article here. Come look at some silver charm bracelets! Fancy Charm Bracelet in Sterling [...]

  2. iluvm

    Do you not rub over the stamped area with some thing like scotch 3M foam etc to remove the flared edges from around the letters and then repeat. This creates a deeper stamp.

  3. Leah

    I’ve never heard that tip actually.

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