Traditional and Contemporary Techniques, How We Use Them and Why.

Choosing when to use traditional versus contemporary techniques is a non-trivial task. Traditional techniques endow objects with a feeling that can't be replicated with contemporary methods. The little imperfections, the textures, and the colors are tangible evidence of the processes used to make them. The drawback is that traditional techniques often have a high barrier to entry and are costly to implement. Contemporary techniques are efficient, but I find that they leave objects with a sterile, or worse, cookie cutter feeling. That said, they can reduce cost and increase efficiency, which has led many makers to reduce or eliminate traditional techniques from their production entirely.

I take a different approach. When I make an object I lean into my strengths and start with the traditional approach: hand forging, hand finishing, start to finish. After I work out the kinks and make a prototype, I examine the processes I used to take that object from an idea into a physical object.

My copper pan handles are a good example. The first handles I made were cut with a chisel out of stainless steel sheet stock, filed and ground to final shape, then fitted to hand raised pans. That process was wasteful; a significant amount of stock was discarded, and it took a very long time, several hours per handle. That time consuming process increased cost to my customers without adding true value.

Cutting the shape with a chisel leaves no identifiable finish in the finished product, since the edges are ground and filed smooth regardless. The waste also significantly impacted the sustainability of the process.

So, I looked to more contemporary methods to reduce waste and cut the time involved in shaping the handles, while keeping the forging and fitting process intact. That portion of the handle is identifiable in the finished piece and matters in use: the texture left from hand forging isn't just aesthetically pleasing, it actually helps reduce slipping and rotating of the pan during cooking.

I traced one of my hand forged handles, worked with a CAD designer to create a digital version of the profile, then worked with a company to have the handles laser cut from stainless steel sheet. That reduced waste significantly and sped up production. From there I take each blank, forge it to final shape with a hand hammer and charcoal forge, and fit it by hand.

Implementing contemporary methods where they make sense, and continuing to use traditional methods where they count, has meant I can reduce the price of my cookware, reduce production associated waste,  increase the quality, and most importantly, increase the value to my customers.