Edge Treatment
strike the top of disc, directly opposite where it touches bench block
the wavy edge is subtle but makes a difference
Details Matter
Jewelry is an intimate object, often examined closely and repeatedly by its wearer. Finishing and design details are noticed. The pop up prong earring design in our workshop is deceptively simple, and therefore details like how the disc edge is finished are important. Options for finishing the edge of the discs include smooth shiny or upset. Smooth shiny needs no explanation. Upsetting the edge is a process of hitting the edge of the disc with a hammer to produce a wavy effect creating small facets that scatter the reflection.
Thinking ahead
When making a piece of jewelry it can be frustrating to think of something you wish you had done 10 steps back. Sometimes you can still apply the new idea when it occurs to you, but not always. The upset edge treatment is in the category of do it at the beginning, or not at all.
how to upset the edge
You will need a cross peen hammer and a bench block. The width of the cross peen affects the look. A thinner peen will produce a smaller mark. You can also use a flat hammer such as a planishing hammer for this process, but the effect is more dramatic with a cross peen.
A nice shiny surface on both the hammer and the bench block is important. The quality of these surfaces is transferred to your jewelry.
Hold the disc vertically against the bench block and strike the top edge of the disc. Rotate the disc and continue to strike with hammer keeping the hammer blows centered on the top of the disc directly above the bench block. You will see a pattern form on the edge. Continue to rotate the disc and hammering until you texture the whole edge.
The reason why
The reason you want to / must perform this action before you proceed with cutting the prongs is that the cutout area will affect the that transfer of the hammer blows, and it could crush the part of the disc weakened by the cutout.
What If I want Shiny?
Perhaps you missed the chance to apply the upset edge, or maybe you prefer a smooth shiny edge. Gotcha covered.
Discs that are punched with a disc cutter have a deformed edge that should be refined. Since we are doming the discs we wait until that happens before detailing the edge. It will be one of the steps mentioned in the class. So, you do not need to do anything in advance. Take a break.