# Forging and hammering metal

> Forging shapes metal with hammer and anvil: stretching, bending and planishing sheet and wire, and hardening it by working it.

- Source: https://www.711grados.com/en/forging-and-hammering/
- Language: en
- Note: This entry was drafted with the help of AI and is pending review by the author.
- Published: 2026-06-27
- Updated: 2026-06-27
- Translation (es): https://www.711grados.com/es/forja-y-martillado/
- Author: Sandra Sánchez
- Site: 711 Grados (https://www.711grados.com/)

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To forge is to shape metal by striking it. In jewelry it is almost always done cold, with small, precise hammers on an anvil or steel block.

![Steps of the technique: Anneal, Support, Strike, Turn, Anneal again, Planish](https://www.711grados.com/media/diagrams/forja-steps.en.svg "Summary of the steps")

## What it involves

Striking compresses and moves the metal: a bar can be stretched, a sheet flattened or a wire curved. Non-ferrous metals such as gold, silver and copper work-harden as they are forged, and are softened again by [annealing](https://www.711grados.com/en/annealing-metal/).

## Common operations

- **Drawing out:** lengthening a bar by striking it.
- **Flattening and planishing:** smoothing and hardening the surface with a polished-face hammer.
- **Curving:** forming rings and bangles over a mandrel.
- **Texturing:** leaving the hammer marks as decoration.

## Tools

Ball, planishing and flat-faced hammers and rawhide or plastic mallets; an anvil, a steel block, mandrels and stakes. Hammer faces must be polished: any mark transfers to the metal.

## Tips

Strike with the flat face and evenly, anneal when the metal stiffens and protect your ears: hammer work is noisy.

## Step by step

1. **Anneal.** Soften the metal with heat before starting.
2. **Support.** Rest the piece on the clean steel block.
3. **Strike.** Hammer evenly, without skipping areas.
4. **Turn.** Flip the piece so it does not distort.
5. **Anneal again.** When the metal hardens, soften it again.
6. **Planish.** Smooth with the flat, polished-face hammer.

## Tools and materials

- Forging and planishing hammers ([see hammers](https://www.711grados.com/en/jewelers-hammers-and-mallets/))
- Steel block or [anvil](https://www.711grados.com/en/anvil-steel-block-and-stakes/)
- [Torch](https://www.711grados.com/en/jewelers-torches/) for annealing
- Copper or silver sheet or rod to practice

## Common mistakes

- Continuing to hammer hard metal: it cracks.
- Striking with a dirty or pitted face: the marks transfer.
- Hitting one spot only and distorting the piece.
- Not caring for the steel block: its polish is lost.

## See also

- [Annealing: how to soften metal](https://www.711grados.com/en/annealing-metal/)
- [Bending, curving and twisting metal](https://www.711grados.com/en/bending-curving-and-twisting/)
- [Sinking, raising and dapping: hollow forms](https://www.711grados.com/en/sinking-raising-and-dapping/)
- [Rolling mills: how to flatten metal](https://www.711grados.com/en/rolling-mills/)
- [Jeweler's hammers and mallets](https://www.711grados.com/en/jewelers-hammers-and-mallets/)