I can help you here.
Ive just got out my 3 elastoplast tins and laid out all the hand
punches Ive made over the years.
there is a total of 56, without my official gold/silversmiths
registered marks, and all the sets of letter and number stamps. There
are 20 about 4 to 6in long by up to 1/2in dia and 36 3 to 5in long
1/4 to 3/8 in dia.
all made from small cold shisels mostly octagonal, some hex and some
round.
I made these to decorate with deep punching into copper strip some
1/2in to 1in wide by 1/8 to 1/4 in thick, as bracelets.
Id then oxidise or have silver plate the finished item.
the designs are generic, ie, a fish, tree, bird, eye of osiris,
gear, water, ankh, wall zigzag, dots squares etc.all different. Now
how to make, anneal the steel, hold in leg vice upright.
take drills, needle files, jewellers saw and anything else you want,
cut the design in the steel, allow suffienct taper on the metal,
then harden by quenching in oil and temper.
Polish up.
Test in lead.
For decorating in thin silver sheet, hammer the punch into the metal
on a lead block. Experiment on thin copper sheet first.
Its a hand eye thing.
Made hundereds of them.
The most popular deaign was a pictogram of a house by a lake with
trees , fish in the water, sun in the sky a stick man on the other
bank. Inside the bracelet is stamped to order the owners name and
date of making., or another amate amate. Latin for love one another.
hope this helps.
Ted
Dorset UK.