The Fretz HMR-14 is a texturing hammer with a fine, irregular pattern that genuinely looks like woven silk pressed into metal. One face carries the texture, the other is left plain, so you get two tools in one. Switch faces depending on whether you want texture or a clean planishing strike on the same piece.
Because the texture is handmade, no two heads are quite identical. That's not a flaw, it's part of what makes this jewellers hammer worth having. The pattern reads as fine and organic rather than mechanical or repetitive, which is exactly what sets it apart from a standard chasing hammer.
Like the rest of the Fretz range, the head is cast from 420 stainless steel and hardened to 50 HRC, so the texture stays sharp and doesn't round off with use. Oxidising your piece after texturing brings out the pattern properly, since the darkened recesses catch the light against the raised silver or metal around them.
This is a finishing tool, used once your piece is shaped and ready for surface treatment. Rest your work on a steel bench block for a solid striking surface, and build the texture gradually across the area you want covered.
