Critique Request Handmade belt buckle

ctague

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Dec 27, 2010
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Rifle Colorado
This is a handmade belt buckle that i finished up tonight. I would really appreciate some advice on my layout and what i could have done to make this buckle look better. This is the 8th trophy style belt buckle that i have made. The buckle is made out of nickle with brass overlay. I have been engraving for a year now last week. I went to a western bright cut school at GRS with Diane Scalese last fall. I would like to think I paid attention why I was there. I will let you be the judge of that. Thank for taking the time to look. Cody
 

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monk

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well, it seems your money was well invested. a really cool looking buckle. ;)
 

Andrew Biggs

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Hi Cody

I can't offer any advice on the design as I don't know anything about western brightcut.

But I do like what I see. A very pleasing belt buckle that anyone would be proud to wear and I'm sure Diane would be thrilled to see it.

Cheers
Andrew
 

silverchip

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Hey there Cody,
Honestly, I think you did a nice job of putting the buckle together from what i can see in the picture.As far as the engraving is concerned,I don't particularly like all that background fill around the letters.Your cuts are a little short and crowded and the scroll structure is a little weak. you need to layout the transition for the interlacing scrolls better before you cut them.This is what my 8th buckle looked like too.Keep on "truckin".
 

Doc Mark

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Well, like Andrew, I'm not very familiar with Western Bright Cut, but I like the overall design. I see where Silverchip critiqued the scroll structure and to be honest, I didn't see it until he brought it to my attention. That's the difference having someone who knows what to look for, critiquing your work and an amateur like myself. Really, the only thing I saw that I didn't particularly like, was the cross hatched flower centers. These looked rough and unfinished to me. I would have used a much tighter cross hatch or a curved, textural line pattern that suggested a more 3-D, "domed" surface to the eye of the flower.
 

KSnyder

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I don't know squat, but I like the buckle! for me the xtra negative space is more to my liking than to packed in with scroll. Cutting looks nice & clean and the wiggle work is great imho.
 

GTJC460

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I think the cutting and overall design looks good. I agree the bottom interlaced scrolls need a smoother transition. I comes off rather sharply. Otherwise it's quite nice.
 

RT Bit and Spur

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May 17, 2007
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I like the way you cut the basic flower. You cut the leaves the same way. I am going to study it a while. Did Diane teach you that type of flower? I love the peddle structure. You do a lot better wriggle cut than I do. It ts very uniform. Thanks for posting. Keep it up and keep posting.
Rod
 

Ed Westerly

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You should be quite proud of this work. I see a few (very few) elbows in some of your shading cuts, but the overall effect is very pleasing. I am sure you are on the right track and am waiting impatiently for you to show us your next buckle!
 

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