Copper Repousse Tools And Metal Chasing Art Supplies

Have you ever seen an elaborate piece of metal or copper sculpted artwork and wondered..."Now how did they actually DO that?"

Like most anything else that requires hard work and/or some skill to achieve, having the right tools of the trade always makes the job much, much easier.

In the case of repousse or metal chasing, this could not be more true.

Artists trained in metal working, repousse or chasing need passion and skill for sure. But they need their tools even more!

Lets take a closer look at the artist's tools so we can better understand both the history and the technique that produces such lovely pieces of art.

Please read our history of copper repousse page to gain a basic understanding of the process and also the history of this now rare art form.

Done? Good. Now let's look at the basic copper repousse tools and art supplies and materials need to create a great piece of fine art!

For clarification we'll think of "chasing" as the tooling and working of the FRONT (or viewable side) of a piece of flat sheet copper or other metal. Comparatively, "repousse" will be the tooling and modeling of the BACK side of the sheet so that the effects are seen from the front.

Often, the two are used in tandem to model and stretch the metal to achieve a more dramatic and detailed embossed effect for the final piece.

Notice the differences in the ends of the individual pieces.

There are "chasers", "stamps", "daps", "planishers" and "punches".

You can likely infer what each of these does. Basically, move, stretch, sculpt and decorate the piece of metal being worked.

These tools are held against the metal in one hand and are then struck with a small hammer to get the desired result.

Beginners may purchase these basic metal chasing/copper repousse tools here.

More experienced artisans usually wind up making their own sets of copper repousse tools.