How to Make Hobo Nickel | CRATEX Abrasives

Step #1: Get ‘em Nickels!

The first thing you’ll need to make a hobo nickel is – a nickel. If you are just starting out, just get any nickel you can get your hands on. Before putting your carving skills to test on a valuable coin, such as the Buffalo nickel, it’s better to start with a regular nickel you probably have in your pocket or lying somewhere around the house. Jefferson nickels or no date nickels would be a good place to start (you wouldn’t want to ruin a valuable coin, now would you?). The no date nickels can be easily found on eBay and they are quite cheap as they have almost no value at all from a collecting standpoint.

Step #2: Get Some Engraving Tools

As described in the previous chapter, gravers are small, hard chisels you’re going to use to carve your designs into metal surface of your coins. The recommended optimal tools would be the flat graver which a square-shaped tip tool used to flatten the background and to add depth, and a V graver which is a triangle-shaped tip tool used to create lines.

You can use your bench grinder to shape your V-shaped gravers. Important is to get an 80-90-degree angle between the three flat sides below the cutting point, so that your tool has a triangle shape. The angle between the point and the bottom of each flat side should be around 45 degrees. Make sure you keep your sides as flat as possible, as smooth sides provide a sharper edge and a better finish.

Beginner's tip: Use a "bridge" - small metal ring with a handle that you can easily create on your own. You should use it until you establish control over the gravers just by pushing them with your hand. To use it, place the metal loop on your coin, place the graver on the marked line and use the bridge as a lever. Simply move the lever and have the graver follow it along the line

Step #3: Secure Your Nickel

To get some work done, you’ll need to have a nickel holder. It will help you free your hands and keep the hobo coin in place.

There are some nice ball vises designed specifically for nickel-jobs, but they can be quite pricy. The easiest DIY way would be to get a wooden dowel or a rob and to attach the coin on its top with some melted glue. As mentioned previously, you'll also need a vice to keep the dowel erected and steady, and vice is something that you probably already have in your garage.

Step #4: Practice Until You Get It Right

Perhaps it won’t be perfect right away, but hey – that’s why you’ve bought a whole bag of coins! You’ll need to get a sense the softness of the nickel and the way it cuts. Practice with creating straight and curvy lines, see if your tools need adjustment, get a sense of the pressure you’ll need to apply and the angle between your graver and the coin surface; see how existing features can be adjusted, how new ones can be added. Sometimes artists carve previously polished surfaced, and sometimes incorporate the existing elements into their final work of art. Play with those options, find out what works for you best.

Step #5: It’s Show Time!

Since the classic hat-beard hobo nickel design is the easiest to make, we suggest you start with that one. A good beginner tip would be to draw the outlines of your design on the nickel surface as that way you’ll clearly see what needs to be carved (master hobo coin artists don’t need sketches, and pretty soon you won’t either!).

Start from the borders and work your way inwards – remove all unnecessary parts of the old design with a flat graver and make sure the new flat areas are as smooth as possible, as it will save you from additional work later.

Start with the largest feature of the new design and combine your flat gravers to remove the material and V-graver to draw lines. Be very careful in case your nickel has letters, because you probably won’t be able to fix them in case you mess them up.

Beginner's tip: Don't cut deep at the beginning. It's better to cut shallow and then go back and cut again until you get the desired depth.

Step #6: Background Time

After you finish the center-piece, it’s time to remove the tool marks from the background. There are two ways to do this: with a flat graver, in case you are a careful and precise, or with an extra fine grit sandpaper.

If you want to make your work stand out more, you can color the background. Some people use a permanent marker, but it’s not a permanent, so the paint will get wiped off in case the coin is being handled too much. Other people use cold bluing solution or pain for a more permanent effect.

Step #7: Sign It and Kiss It!

The last step would be to sign your coin and that’s something that needs practice on its own. But don’t worry, here’s a small tip until you start signing your coins like a calligrapher – just put your signature on the back of your coin and the problem is temporarily solved!

Now grab another coin and do that all over again!