WORKING -- Sam Kutz

-- Andrew Glazer

HE IS

Restoring faded glory.

ANTIQUE FREAK

Silversmith Sam Kutz has a fascination with all things old.

“I comb garage sales for something interesting,” Kutz said.

His shop, a corrugated tin igloo-like structure on West 17th Street in

Costa Mesa, is a museum of restored bicycles, transistor radios, antique

silver vases, Lenny Bruce posters and a pinball machine.

Even his table saw, fans, engraving tools and stools have deco curves and

a dull, metallic sheen sought after by astute collectors.

Kutz -- 43 years old with jet-black, spit-curled hair, a tattoo on his

arm and a barrel chest -- looks a bit like a World War II hero from a

1950s movie.

SHIMMERING STUDENT

Kutz started polishing silverware and plates at his father’s shop when he

was 16.

“You have to pay your dues before you ever touch solder,” he said.

When Kutz was 19, he joined the Marine Corps. When he returned, his

father owned a silver shop in Laguna Beach and he continued his

apprenticeship, learning how to engrave, solder and sculpt silver.

But instead of continuing in the trade, Kutz took a brief hiatus, touring

the comedy club circuit. But he realized it was time to stay put after

the birth of his daughter, Brittany, who is now 11. He once again became

a silversmith, making jewelry and repairing antiques.

In 1998, Kutz moved into what he calls the “tin can,” the first shop of

his own.

Kutz said no job -- fixing parts of garbage disposals, polishing candle

holders, flattening knives -- is too mundane for him. Those projects pay

relatively well compared to the amount of time they take to complete.

This frees up time for Kutz’s paintings, his true passion. He is working

on a painting of an alien woman riding a flying saucer in the style of

World War II aviation nose art.

A TEST OF HIS METAL

“To be good at this, you have to have a steady hand, good hammering

technique and a good eye for symmetry,” he said, pointing to a silver

vase that he recently restored. Each intricate etching, each groove in

the metal, each rim, looked precisely like its invert.

Kutz’s three years of apprenticeship trained him to use the table saws,

etching tools and soldering irons needed to do his jobs. The additional

15 years taught him the importance of being as flexible as molten metal.

“Each job has its own set of problems,” he said. “You have to adapt by

learning from yourself.”

For instance, what tools does a silversmith use to repair a match safe?

For that matter, what exactly is a match safe?

A Newport Beach doctor, claiming to have the second largest collection of

the antique silver match holders, asked for Kutz to help polish and

restore them.

“You can’t go to The Home Depot and buy match safe tools,” said Kutz, who

instead made his own.

SILVER DYNASTY

Kutz hopes to one day pass the shop onto Brittany or his 4-year-old son,

Sammy J.

“I have dreams for this to become something lasting, but I won’t pressure

them,” he said. “There really aren’t too many silversmiths left. But it’s

a trade everyone should know is still around.”