Creating the lobes is the first sinking operation performed on the acanthus leaf. I started by using the ball peen hammer with the small half round bottom swage and worked the smaller lobes from the outside in. The same operation was then done with the larger swage.

Since there will only be one annealing (softening) procedure, these first sinking operations are used to set the overall form for the lobes. The final forming will be accomplished after annealing the leaf.

This sinking process is what creates the typical lobes found on the acanthus leaf and it is an important step which must be done prior to any other procedure so the curved lobes are properly set into the leaf.

You should also note that the cold working is performed on the back side of the leaf and that the overall form of the leaf closes up naturally as you continue to work the lobes.

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