Customer Reviews

The Craft of Silversmithing: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

A poor effort. I do not understand why books of such low quality are in print. Not one of the pieces she presents is up to the standards of even a first year student. She presents a couple of projects, such as the baby cup, the techique of which is questionable. The bottom can indeed be soldered to the soldered tube, but why bother as it is perfectly feasible to raise the cup from a sheet? If she would have explained sinking, raising, chaulking (this technique is not even mentioned), planishing and finishing this cup methodologically, the book would have had worth as it is a general pattern which can be used for many other shapes which require deep raising. Now it is just a heap of poorly executed stuff wihout any elegance. The book ends with a gallery - the difference between those pieces and Austin's ones are staggering.

As a new silversmith, this book was fantastic. It gave enough of the basic information to get started in the craft. No, you won't learn everything there is to know from this one book. But it presents the material in laymens terms without talking down to you. If you are already crafting in silver, then this book is probably not for you. But if you are new to the art or are considering it as a hobby, then this is the perfect starting place.

Not a terrible book, but there are so many other books that do the same thing better. This book is poorly written, poorly organized, and hastily compiled. Pretty pictures, but you really should buy books from others such as Oppi Untract and Tim McCreight.

There are many good silversmithing books out there, this is not one of them.
For all the potential this book had it didn't live up to my expectations. Many of the pictures were of unfinished or poorly finished work, things out of round, rough edges. Fundamental bits of knowledge were left out. It seemed poorly researched and rather hastily thrown together. The tone alternates between sophomoric and pedantic.

Was this a vanity publication? There is no information about the education or background of the author.
If I had the opportunity to look through this book in a bookstore I'd never have bought it. This seems to be an example of someone who might have graduated from a university metalsmithing program and is trying to make a name for herself.
There are photos of work from well known metalsmiths which serve to redeem the book a bit...a little bit.
If you're looking for a book on silversmithing I recommend Feingold & Seitz, more expensive but worth the money.

This is an inspiring book and makes forging look easy. The book begins with simple pieces to gain technique, gaining complexity as one develops the skill and familiarity in working with silver. There are descriptive details accompanied with imagery for each stage of the forging process. For the novice such as myself I picked up quite a few tips and an understanding of how to begin working the silver. The designs the authors provide are modern and useable in daily life.