This vintage glass jar with a metal handle is a quite simple blacksmithing project that does not take much time to make. You will only need a nice little glass jar, a couple of metal rods, and a few old coins. You could use it as a tea light candle holder, for storing nuts, candies, and other small items, or just as home decor.

How to decorate a jar with metal

Materials you will need:

• Glass jar (height 10.0 cm, diameter 8.0 cm)
• 1 mm steel sheet 10.0 x 10.0 cm
• 5.0 mm black mild steel round bar (1.0 m)
• 5 old coins
• 1.0 mm wire

Tools you will need:

• Ball peen hammer
• Club hammer
• Long nose plier and flat plier
• Sheet metal cutting scissors
• Gas torch gun
• MIG welder
• Mini drill machine
• 2 metal cylinders to form the bottom piece (the same diameter as the jar) and the top (slightly smaller)

As the first step, I cut out a 10.0 cm diameter circle for the bottom piece. I put it on an iron cylinder and formed the edges with a club hammer. Then I took a 5.0 mm metal rod, heated it with a gas torch gun, and forged the handle. To attach the handle to the jar, I made another top part from the same metal rod using a smaller metal cylinder. Then I connected both parts.

In the next step, I decorated the middle part of the jar. Using the same rod I made a spiral shape around the jar. It helped me connect the bottom part with the top and gave me more surface to attach some blossoms as decoration.

Finally, I made three blossoms for the middle part and a tiny one for the handle. For that, I used some old coins. It is a great metal alloy and adds a slightly different color. So I forged the coins and shaped petals. Then I drilled a 1.0 mm hole in the middle of each blossom and attached them to the spiral using a 1.0 mm wire. Done!

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Not so long ago, I decided to forge a steel rose for my mom. I imagined creating an elegant, small, not heavy rose with cute rose petals. It was my second attempt to make a rose more realistic and alive.

How to hand forge steel rose

Materials you will need:

• 1 mm steel sheet
• 6 mm black mild steel round bar

Tools you will need:

• Plasma cutter
• Oxy/Acetylene torch
• MIG welder
• An angle grinder
• Ball peen hammer, cross peen hammer, and club hammer
• Flat chisel (small)
• Long nose plier and flat plier
• Steel brush
• And a little bit of your heart

In the first step, I cut the paper stencils to make petals, sepals, and rose leaves. The paper stencils below show the size, quantity, and shape of the rose petals and the size and shape of the rose leaves for the stem.

I used a plasma cutting machine to cut a 1 mm steel sheet, which helped me cut fast and smoothly on the cutting lines. I cut 3 pieces of shape no. 1 (7 cm diameter) and 1 piece of shape no. 2 (6 cm diameter) to make blossom petals, 1 piece of shape no. 3 to make sepals and 1 piece of shape no. 4 to make the leaf for the rose.

Using an oxy/acetylene torch and a cross-peen hammer, I flattened blossom petals and rose leaves from both sides with a cross peen hammer going from the center of each petal to the sides to get more realistic marks. Then I used a flat chisel to mark the central lines of each petal (shape no. 1 and no. 2) and sepal (shape no. 3). The rose blossom petals and sepals (shape no. 1, no. 2 and no. 3) should have a cup shape before attaching them to the stem.

I flattened the stem of the rose to give a shape and prepared to assemble the petals using an MIG welding machine. The next step was to assemble the blossom. I started with 1 piece of shape no. 3 (sepals), then added 3 pieces of shape no. 1 and 1 piece of shape no. 2. Using an oxy/acetylene torch, and a long nose plier, I formed the blossom petals into one piece. I started forming petals from the middle: first, I formed shape no. 2 and then continued with shape no. 1, etc., until I was happy with the blossom’s shape.

The last part of the rose – rose leaf. I flattened the leaf from both sides and rounded the stems the best I could. Then, I attached it to the rose stem with a MIG welding machine. Finally, I painted the whole rose with a clear coat to prevent rusting.

It took me about ten hours to make the rose, and I am quite happy with the result.

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This welding helmet is painted with an idea to create a knight’s helmet look. The welding helmet has a very nice shape, that allowed me to draw out shapes and bring out a medieval knight’s style. This is my second welding helmet where I used the airbrushing technique (you can see my first welding helmet with riveted metal plates here).

Usually, all welding helmets are made from plastic. However, for this style, I had to bring out a heavy-duty look. My first step was to find out, what colors I should use to get an old metal look and create a design.

So, I took apart the welding helmet to avoid masking more parts that should not be painted. Then I smoothened out all scratches and plastic bumps and prepared it for a primer. To get a better result I applied the primer twice lightly. When the primer was dry, I covered all the parts I was not painting with masking tape.

The first color that I painted was black. It was my base color. When the paint was dry, with a pencil, I marked the main lines of my design: the black shapes in the front of the helmet and on the sides where it covers the ears. These black parts I masked for the next paint layers. The second color layer was light brown, which was my background color, to come closer to the old metal texture.

The next step was to mark the rest of the main lines and decide, where exactly I should paint my rivets and other details. After that, I prepared two new colors: black and gold. These colors help to get an old metal look. To get a better result of the old metal texture look, I took a thin abrasive pad, which let me spray paint through it. So, using two colors, black and gold, I started to create an old metal texture look.

The next step was to paint rivets and other details. For this, I used three colors: black, gold, and white. With the help of a few stencils, I tried to do my best. For the last touch, to make some highlights, I used black and white colors.

When painting was finally finished, I put a clear coat lightly 3 times. When the surface was completely dry, the last step was to polish it.

I hope you like it.

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This metal coffee cup with a truck is used by truck drivers. Every driver has an integrated coffee machine and uses such a metal cup to make his/her coffee. It is always nice to have personalized items in your truck cabin when traveling long distances. This cup is a present to my friend who is a truck driver.

I used the metal etching with electricity method to transfer a picture of a truck to the front of the cup. This method allows to transfer an image with high precision. It does not use corrosive acids like other metal etching methods, and it is much more environmentally friendly. It is also an inexpensive and easy way to etch metal.

For this project, I took a standard, used metal coffee cup with a plastic handle. As the first step, I removed the plastic handle to protect it from the metal etching process. Then I properly cleaned the surface of the cup inside and outside.

To transfer the picture on the cup you have to apply paint primer on the outside of the cup. Make sure that the layer of the primer is not too thin or too thick. It is a good idea to paint it lightly two times. Before painting, I removed all fingerprints with a paint thinner. I protected the inside of the cup with regular painting tape because the metal etching process can damage the unprimed parts. So, I painted the outside of the cup with the paint primer and let it dry completely.

Next, I printed the image on a regular sheet of paper, cut it out, painted it with a photo transfer liquid, and placed it on the front of the cup. When the image was dry, I wetted it with water and carefully rubbed the paper off. As a result, only the ink image stayed on the cup.

Before starting the etching process, you always need to scratch off the image lines carefully to remove the primer. For that, I used a knife, but you can use any sharp metal tool that allows you to work with precision. At this point, I was ready to begin the etching process. After the image was etched on the cup, I removed the rest of the paint primer with a paint thinner and attached the plastic handle back.

I hope you like this metal coffee cup with a truck. Perhaps it will inspire you to make your own personalized coffee cup.

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This welding helmet with riveted metal plates is the first helmet where I used the airbrushing technique. Usually, all welding helmets are made from plastic, but I wanted a more heavy-duty look. Therefore, I decided to airbrush different shapes of metal plates riveted to the helmet.

The helmet was not new. So, I cleaned it properly, smoothened out all scratches and plastic bumps, and prepared it for a primer. To get a better result I applied the primer twice because the scratches were quite deep. When the primer was dry, I sanded it lightly. Then I covered all the parts that I was not painting with masking tape.

The first color that I painted was white. When the paint was dry, with a pencil, I marked the main lines of my design: the shapes of metal plates and the spots for rivets. The second color was black. I painted the rivets and the main lines that I marked. Finally, I took the white color again to make some highlights for the rivets.

The parts of the helmet where it covers the ears, I painted like a dust protection net. To get this effect I used a plastic net bag for garlic, which worked perfectly.

When I was happy with the design, I painted the clear coat lightly three times to get more protection and shine. Then I had to wait for a couple of days to be sure the surface was completely dried. The last step was to polish the surface.

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This metal wall hanger with a poppy flower is one of my latest small blacksmithing projects. I wanted to make something practical, that would be not only a piece of home decor but also a useful item. It took me about eight hours to make it and I am quite happy with the result.

To make the hanger I used a 5.0 mm metal plate that I roughly cut with a plasma cutting machine. The length of the plate is 35.0 cm and the width is 5.0 cm. Then I sanded the surface to remove any rust and make it shiny.

All seven nails are handmade and they have a unique shape. To make the nails I used a round 6.0 mm steel rod. To attach the nails to the prepared plate, first, I drilled seven evenly distributed 5.0 mm holes. Then I inserted the nails into the holes and welded them to the plate from the back side. After that, I polished and smoothened out the surface.

To fix the hanger to the wall, I drilled two holes on each end. The four smaller handmade nails are used to attach the hanger to the wall.

The poppy flower is made out of a thinner 1.0 mm metal sheet. First, I cut out a circle and drew six petals. Then I cut them out and gave more texture to each petal. The effect turned out very subtle: the thin lines on the surface reminds me of a real flower. Then I started to shape each petal using heat and a ball-peen hammer. The middle of the flower, that resembles the head of a nail, I made separately and welded to the hanger.

To attach the poppy flower to the hanger I used a 2.0 mm steel wire. One end of the wire I welded to the back of the hanger plate and the other end I curled to give it an interesting and light look. As the last step, I decided to paint the whole hanger with a clear coat to prevent rusting.

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This club hammer with forest and raven is one of my favorite recent works. For the design of the hammer I chose a forest theme: one side of the hammer head has a line of trees in the horizon, and on the other side there is a black bird. I decided to cover the wooden handle with black leather to give it a smooth and soft look.

The club hammer with forest and raven is made using the metal etching with electricity method. This method allows to transfer an image with high precision. It does not use corrosive acids like other metal etching methods, and it is much more environmentally friendly. It is also an inexpensive and easy way to etch metal.

For this project I used an old hammer with a broken plastic handle. Before etching the metal, I removed the metal head of the hammer. Otherwise the process would be more complicated: it is easier to work with the metal part only. Then I cleaned the surface with sanding paper to remove rust and smoothen it out.

To get a light 3D effect for the forest I etched the metal twice. In this way I got three layers of depth. When I was etching the metal for the second time, I also transferred the image of the raven on the other side of the head. To make the metal head shiny, as the last step after the etching process I used metal polishing paste.

I attached a new wooden handle to the hammer head and covered it with velvety black leather. First I took an old piece of leather from an old leather jacket and sewed the leather cover as a sleeve. For that I used a sewing machine. Then I wrapped the cover tightly on the handle. To prevent it from sliding, I used universal glue.

The trickiest part was to finish the end of the handle. I decided to fold the edge of the cover as an envelope and then I used a handmade metal nail to secure the edges. As a final step I decorated the hammer by wrapping a thin leather string that I cut out from the same leather jacket at the top of the handle. I used glue to secure the end of the string to prevent it from unwrapping. I hope that you will like it!

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This hammer with a cat was the first project where I tried metal etching using electricity. I was not sure whether a picture will be transferred accurately or if the thin lines would be blurred. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the final result and now it is one of my favorite techniques to decorate metal items.

For this project I used an old rusty bench hammer with a broken wooden handle. Before etching the metal, I removed the handle and discarded it. On one side of the hammer I etched the profile of a cat and on the other side I added an abstract Viking ornament. When the etching was finished, I properly cleaned it, sanded and used a metal polishing paste to make the hammer shiny.

I added a new wooden handle to the hammer head. To add more texture, I wrapped a piece of velvety leather at the top of the handle and glued it to secure from sliding. Then, on top of the leather, I wrapped a thin black string. As a decoration, and also to secure the edge of the leather, I attached a handmade metal nail.

Finally, I decorated the wooden handle by burning a few Viking signs. For that I used a solder. All signs have a meaning. On one side it says: health, energy, strength; and on the other side: man, power, need, water, sun, warrior, wealth.

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