I've been researching this method on/off for over a year. I took a short workshop at Wrought Academy from Jim Austin using the techniques associated with Koftgari which uses a knife blade rather than a chisel. Took a very short workshop from Mitsusuke in Kumamoto, Japan. Finally, I took a Japanese inlay class in Seattle from Momoko in the fall of 2019.  All of these workshops covered little bits here and there, but most of the heavy lifting was done by the instructors. So... I decided to start with the basics and tie all these bits together. 

The first step is making a stamp for the heavier silver and gold that I will need to use for higo zogan. Higo Zogan and Kyo Zogan are Japanese overlay methods for steel, while nunome zogan is overlay for brass.  The techniques are roughly the same, but the tools are different.  I have made most of the tools, but the last challenge was the stamp for the heavier silver or gold.  

I've only tried it on thin copper and silver, but it seems to work very well.  This will be the basic segment of an inlayed aspen leaf.  

Had a few folks ask about purchasing these so I thought I beat out a few more. I've spent so much time on my sundials that some of my basic forging skills had gotten rusty. Anyway, here's the result of a few hours well spent. 

Hadn't made a bottle opener in a long time and wanted to try out my new CREEDE stamp. I can see a wonderful future in store for me ... 

Custom forged bolts for mounting the sundial

BBQ utensils usually disappear before I actually get to use one. Not this time. 

Copper, brass, steel. Just a bunch of spoons for some guests

Some quick BBQ utensils: forks and steak turners

Pretty sure only a blacksmith would appreciate this picture.  It's been a while since I punched a hole in steel. Nice and clean plug.  

The weather has finally gotten good enough that  I can work outside and do some stone work.  Started to layout the digital armillary and found a serious mistake... can you spot it? 

Depending on how you look at it, the numbers are either cut upside down or laid out in reverse order.  Back to the CNC ... hopefully in a few days I can finish this one.  Sigh.