The hammer that brought me zen...

I have a drawer full of hammers I've collected over my almost 20 years of metalsmithing. Not one of them have brought me to the groove I get into when using my newest beauty. It's a Fretz. Beautiful to look at, well crafted, feels like "butta" in your hand. I have had several riveting/goldsmithing hammers over the years I tried to shape like this, but I never quite got the right length or edge to it. Now the problem is I want to put it on everything. (Check out panicmama.etsy.com if you want to see the results.)

I just love how it brings me to such a calm & peaceful place when I get a hammerin'. I named the texture zen. Now, now, I know I haven't found the all encompassing meaning of life through tapping a piece of metal with my favorite hammer, but, man, it feels good to use it. It appeals to me on so many sensory levels: the little "tink" it makes when I hit the metal, the chiseled line it makes with each tap, the feel of it in my hand, mmmmmm. See, what'd I tell ya. Zen. It my answer to a little bit of happiness in my teeny tiny world.