What finishing actually is
Finishing is the final series of manual operations — filing, polishing, setting and inspecting — that determine how a piece reads in the hand and in light. Machine casting gets a piece close; finishing makes it right.
Even pieces made with computer-aided design and precision casting require hand finishing to meet the standard that a critical eye demands.
The skills involved
Polishing requires knowing when to stop. Overworked metal loses its crisp geometry — edges soften and relief flattens. The finisher reads the piece under directional light, feeling for ridges and working to a standard invisible in photography.
