Creating Steel Jewelry

Creating Steel Jewelry: Etching, Fusing, Keum Boo, Enameling, Stainless and More by Bette Barnett is a landmark manual and artistic reference for jewellers, blacksmiths, bladesmiths, and metal artists exploring the expressive possibilities of steel.

Winner of the 2025 Silver Medal for Excellence at the Independent Book Publishers Awards, this hardcover volume (160 pages, over 300 colour illustrations) combines deep technical expertise with an innovative creative approach.

Barnett presents a comprehensive study of steel as an artistic medium, covering low-carbon, stainless, and powdered metals. Each chapter offers a clear, step-by-step guide to essential techniques: etching, fusing gold and other metals, applying powdered metals, Keum Boo on steel, patination, enamelling, and protective sealing. The text is supported by hundreds of close-up photographs and practical charts designed for real workshop use.

Contributors include Amanda Denison (UK), specialist in enamel on steel, and Andy Cooperman (USA), known internationally for his pioneering work with stainless steel. The foreword, written by master swordsmith Peter Johnsson (Sweden), situates Barnett's methods within a broader artistic and metallurgical tradition.

Reviewers across the metalsmithing and blacksmithing communities praise the book for its clarity, adaptability, and inspiration. The techniques described can be applied not only to jewellery but also to blades, sculptural pieces, and forged decorative work, making this guide relevant to artisans working at any scale.

Rich in both technical instruction and artistic insight, Creating Steel Jewelry is the most comprehensive and beautifully produced book available on the subject. It is a must-have reference for metal artists, jewellers, and craftspeople worldwide who wish to master the union of steel with colour, texture, and precious metals.