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Hand made versus hand wrought

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Author	Topic: Hand made versus hand wrought
jersey Posts: 1203 Registered: Feb 2005	posted 07-27-2008 07:58 PM Hello all! I would like to please know the difference between: Handmade-hand made Handwrought-hand wrought if there is any & what it is. Thank you for your time. Jersey IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 07-27-2008 08:35 PM It is often a device of pretension and marketing, but wrought, when applied to metal work, implies that it has been formed by hammering versus casting, spinning, or stamping. Hand made simply (and loosely) means the hand was involved, but without limiting the techniques or mechanical assistance utilized. A bowl raised by spinning on a lathe could be hand made, but not hand wrought. IP: Logged
Kimo Posts: 1627 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 07-28-2008 10:24 AM toe-MAY-toe vs. toe-MAH-toe 'Hand wrought' or 'ye olde hand wrought silver' is just a way some creative marketing people say 'hand made' to get more money by evoking an image of a master craftsman of bygone days. IP: Logged
swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 Registered: May 2003	posted 07-28-2008 12:14 PM Like everything else these days, language is getting sloppier. All things hand wrought are hand made, but all things hand made are not necessarily hand wrought. IP: Logged
bascall Posts: 1629 Registered: Nov 99	posted 07-28-2008 01:57 PM Handwrought has been the term of choice for gents at the Getty silversmith shop in Williamsburg, Virginia presumably because it fits language of the colonials. IP: Logged
argentum1 Posts: 602 Registered: Apr 2004	posted 07-28-2008 03:35 PM "No, I did not have sex with that woman." IP: Logged
FredZ Posts: 1070 Registered: Jun 99	posted 07-28-2008 07:17 PM The items made by the smiths at Colonial Williamsburg are handwrought. Not all items sold are made by them. I believe Stieff is still making production items for the retail shop. Fred IP: Logged
Marc Posts: 414 Registered: Jun 2002	posted 07-29-2008 12:26 AM Hi all, So then hand wrought is a subset of hand made. On the second subject, I believe that the folks at "Kitchen Aid" (they own Kirk-Stieff and several other silver makers) have stopped making silver flatware for Colonial Williamsburg. I am not sure who has picked that up. Marc IP: Logged
Kimo Posts: 1627 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 07-29-2008 09:08 AM quote: Originally posted by Marc: So then hand wrought is a subset of hand made. Only if the person doing the marking is being very precise in their use of the English language. And there is no entity that enforces the precise use of the language when marking silver in countries like the US so there is no real meaning one can count on other than there was some hand work involved in the making. The verb wrought is simply the past tense of work and so can correctly be used for most anything. The adjective wrought means 'shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)'. It carries a meaning that someone has taken a piece of metal and changed its shape to some degree by working it, usually with the thought that a hammer is involved at some point in the process. Think of wrought iron. Hand wrought, if the term is actually used very precisely, would mean that a person put at least some hand work into the shaping and that there was some banging on it to get it into its shape. IP: Logged
salmoned Posts: 336 Registered: Jan 2005	posted 07-29-2008 07:43 PM I would go a bit beyond that statement and say that 'hand wrought' should mean formed and masterfully tempered (hardened) by hand hammering. 'Hand made' should mean formed using hand tools. Either should carry an implicit 100% (from sheet or solid lump). 'Hand worked' or 'hand hammered' should mean some hand working was done. [This message has been edited by salmoned (edited 07-29-2008).] IP: Logged
middletom Posts: 467 Registered: May 2004	posted 07-31-2008 06:47 PM At ONC, we use the term "handwrought" and explain to people that wrought means "shaped by hammering". Therefore, our silver is shaped by hand hammering. As was stated above about "handmade", we feel that that is a widely misused and rather meaningless term. One of the large silver companies a number of years ago refereed to their silver as "substantially hand made" because the workers finishing the silver held the pieces in their hands for a brief time. So much terminology loses its meaning from ignorance. As explained at Williamsburg, "smith" refers to one who uses a hammer for his or her trade. But a store such as "The Paperback Booksmith" surely does not hammer books. IP: Logged
jersey Posts: 1203 Registered: Feb 2005	posted 08-01-2008 10:05 PM Hello all! Thank you for all of your responses & to tell the truth I am still confused...(just normal for me), but a bit more educated. I really appreciate you time in responding to my question. Middletom a question for you please. How would you recommend a smith mark his handmade, handworked, hand wrought work so as not to confuse. This question is also directed to any silversmith on the forum. P.S. Middletom, everytime I pass some old buildings in Hackensack I think of you........they have some great Architectural designs on them that seem to be the same as on silver flatware & holloware pieces. Especially the ones on Central & State Streets. One day I'll get a photo. Jersey IP: Logged
middletom Posts: 467 Registered: May 2004	posted 08-09-2008 10:59 AM Jersey, If there is considerable hand forging in a piece, I would suggest the maker use the term "handwrought", for it most clearly identifies the method of the piece's creation. If the buying public needs some education as to the meaning of the terminology, the smith can explain that in person or with literature. Thank you for the offer of pictures of Hackensack architecture, I would enjoy seeing those. IP: Logged

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