Forged Roses


templates for rose petals
An example of rose petal templates

I've found two basic methods for making a rose. The first involves stacking a series of pre-cut petals on a rod and folding/curling the petals upwards until they resemble a rose. I've made a number of these and to be truthfull they make a pretty decent rose. I've powdercoat painted them in either red or yellow. You can shape the stem into a stand so they stand up on their own. Many places sell the petals in a kit form so you can practice on your own. If you want to pursue this type of rose then all you'll really need to make the petals is a pair of tin snipes, a shear, or a plasma cutter. Below are examples of roses made this way.


rose made by me

Forging a Rose from a Single Bar

For sometime I've been searching for instructions on how to forge a rose from a single flat bar. I knew it had been done, but not how to do it. Eureka!!! I finally found it, after numerous Google searches, on the website for Northwest Blacksmith's Association (guess I need to renew my membership that I'd previously let lapse). I found the article, a beautiful PDF format article complete with color photos on their site. It was written by Steve McGrew of Incadescent Ironworks and the real surprise was that it was based on a class by Gordon Williams, one of my first blacksmithing teachers. See the link to "Wrapped Rose" below.

Today (11/10/2017) I found another way to make a rose from a single piece of metal. The method is used by Helmut Hillenkamp of Iron To Live With Blacksmith Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I first met Helmut when I was attending a hands-on workshop with Randy McDaniels put on by the New Mexico Artist Blacksmith Association in 2015. There is a link below to go to the instructions for making this rose.

Below are examples of roses made from a single bar.


Olson Ironworks
 



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    Gee Mom, look what else I've found!


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