Tien Chiu

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You are here: Home / Travels / Thailand / Akha silversmithing

Akha silversmithing

I spent one day studying silversmithing with an Akha tribal smith.  Mostly I learned how tricky it is; it would have taken me weeks or months to master the simple part: hammering things flat.  I came away in awe of his abilities.

Since my polyclay spindles were wearing out, I asked him to make me a silver spindle.  Here are some photos from the process.

You can read more about my adventures with the Akha in the Thailand section of my travel blog.

Tien Attempting to Work Silver Me silversmithing. I was really, really bad at it, being a rank beginner, but at least I could hit things with a hammer!
Heating Silver I asked the silversmith to make me a silver spindle. First step: heating the silver to anneal/soften it.
Cutting the Disk with a Machete The second step was to hammer it flat and roughly round. In the course of doing this, the silversmith realized that it was too big. Here he is cutting off the excess with a machete and hammer.
Hammering the Disk Flat and Round Here is where the black magic came in. He hammered it flat and perfectly round, with just a hammer and anvil!!
Finished Spindle Whorl The spindle whorl - flat and perfectly round.
Decorating the Spindle Whorl I asked him to put some decoration in the whorl. Here he is working on it.
Finished Spindle The finished spindle. It is perfectly balanced!
Finished Spindles Closeup A closeup of the finished spindles. They are lovely - works of art, really.
Hammering Silver Here he is at work on another piece, part of the Akha headgear.
Patterning a Headband Here he is carefully hammering in the patterning for a headband.
Finished Pieces And here are the finished pieces.
Silversmithing Tools Here are his tools, and some completed work. Those balls are HAMMERED into shape!
Ball Forms for Silversmithing And here are the forms for the balls. He said he used to use wood, but water buffalo horn is better.

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