90-120 for linning?

I'm very new to this art form and I'm having trouble in shading and have seen reference made to using a 90 or 120.
Could someone please explain or post a picture of one, also do you use in a push tool or power assist? I' m using a gravermiester equiped with both handpieces
Thanks for your help
Bob

Hi Bob. Follow this link for sharpening instructions and a description of both the 90 (square) and 120 gravers. I use a GraverMach for all of my work including shading. A Gravermeister will do the job as well. / ~Sam

Sam
Many thanks as soon as read the info I went out to the boars nest ( wifes name for the area in the garage where my shop is) and made up a 120 and will try it in the morning.
I really enjoy and have learned alot from from this web site and also the Fega site.
Bob

I don't know if this will do you any good or not but...

When you're shading to create dark areas like shadows the idea is to keep the light value darker than the surrounding surface. The deeper, and especially the narrower the furrow you cut, the harder it will be for the light to bounce back out of it. Ambient light entrapment is what makes it dark (if you use no ink).

If the 90 is used the groove will be narrower and conversely with the 120 it will be wider and therefore reflect more light rather than absorbing it. However, this is not to say that one is better than the other or more efficient per say, I think it's mostly in the application of the graver and the hand weilding it.

Either one will give you good results and with most engravers I have found it to be merely a matter of personal choice and I guess what you get used to. Sam Welch for instance cuts his scroll work with an Onglette graver the results speak for themselves. Look anywhere on the tips site at Sam Alfano's work and he did most of it with a 120 shading and all.

Certain angles work better for certain purposes and experience will teach you what those are. Make up a 90, 110, 120 and see what they do. I'm told by my mentors that the main thing as for the learning curve is finding out what your particular graver will and won't do and developing graver control above all else. Happy trails... and a great big Ho Ho Ho to you and yours.

One thing for sure is that there are no right or wrong gravers or graver angles (within reason). Sam Welch and Winston Churchill using onglettes for cutting scroll are perfect examples. I've not seen Sam's onglette, but Winston's is hand sharpened and its heel (or foot, as Winston refers to it) is not like a square or 120's heel sharpened with a sharpening fixture.

Winston's one of the greatest engravers America has ever known. Is his hand sharpened onglette the Holy Grail of gravers? Even he will tell you it's not. As Tim said, it's all about control (and artistry, of course).

Just as no single tennis racquet or baseball bat is suitable for all players, there is no one-size-fits-all graver. Eventually every engraver settles into a combination of shapes and angles that produce the best results for him or her. That ideal combination will come with practice and a willingness to experiment.

thank you all for your answers and quick responce it cleared up alot of questions that I had