Craft · 7 min read
Brass, and the Hand That Casts It
Why we want cast fastenings rather than plated ones — a look at the lost-wax method we are planning to use.
Each button begins as a wax model no bigger than a thumbnail. It is packed in clay, fired until the wax runs out, and filled with molten brass. The mould is broken to release the piece, which means no two fastenings are ever cast from the same shell.
A cast surface can be filed and hand-burnished rather than plated, so the finish deepens with wear instead of flaking off it. A button on a five-year-old garment should look better than a new one. That is why we are building toward this method rather than buying hardware in bulk.
When we do work with casters, we will ask them to leave the file marks visible. It is the clearest signature a small object can carry.
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