New gravers from GRS

Red Green · Jun 12, 2013

"No, not misleading........only an opinion based on my own personal experience same as yours or anyone else's. People can accept or reject it............I'm happy either way.

"

Really?

" This whole forum is about sharing from personal experience and it's a bit rich to expect everything to start with In my opinion."

Really?.

Bob

Sam · Jun 12, 2013

The new GRS stepped gravers are based on the suggestions and needs of Alexandre Siderov of The Alexandre School Of Optical Diamond Setting in Antwerp, Belgium. While they might not be needed by everyone, they are obviously very important to one of the world's greatest and most highly respected diamond setters and teachers.

mrthe · Jun 12, 2013

ever is good have new tool in the market, thank you for post it

Andrew Biggs · Jun 12, 2013

I don't think there's any right or wrong with graver length. It's simply whatever suits your hand/working methods. Some prefer long gravers and others prefer shorter ones. At least with a longer gravers you have the option of shortening them easily. Making a longer graver is a lot harder (well, it is if you are someone like me that can't solder)

One thing's for sure, if the makers of gravers made them shorter, then people would complain that they like them longer

Cheers
Andrew

Beathard · Jun 12, 2013

IMHO any graver that is not to short nor to long is just right...

KCSteve · Jun 12, 2013

I take the cut off bits of graver blank and use some square brass tubing to make them the length I prefer so I get two gravers for (just about) the price of one.
I butt a piece of 3/32" square brass up with the blank section inside a bit of 1/8" brass and solder in place.

Victor.eide · Oct 6, 2016

im pretty confused, as i just started engraving. i read all of the forums &havent seen mentioned, until now, about how the gravers dont get delivered in the right size so that you can use them. jammed mine into my grs different colored handles & started graving, non stop slipping, few stab wounds to hand, all dull gravers now. then today at work i kinda just decide ill go home, cut em all in half & make em like those lindsay gravers. im currently in my kitchen using a dremel cutter to saw em all in half.....my point being that it might be a good idea to tell people that what they are buying needs to be prepped & offer a tiny directions list w/ graver handles & gravers. anyways, it's not a big deal & i know grs isnt required to teach me to use things im buying, but kinda wasted a lot of money on em so i expected em to cut out of the box.

Victor.eide · Oct 6, 2016

now that ive cut one in half, i have to reshape the back of it so that it'll fit into my grs handle. essentially, i bought some pieces of metal with an approximate geometry similar to that of a gravers cutting edge.

DKanger · Oct 6, 2016

im currently in my kitchen using a dremel cutter to saw em all in half.....my point being that it might be a good idea to tell people that what they are buying needs to be prepped & offer a tiny directions list w/ graver handles & gravers

Victor,
What size are your hands? Are they as big as mine or small like a diminutive woman? You've probably just screwed all your gravers up? The point is that you size them to fit comfortably in your hand. Generally, the handle sits in your palm and your thumb and pointer finger grasp the graver just behind the tip.

As to your other statement, Lindsay gravers are the same length as the GRS ones. Square gravers are nothing more than precision ground lathe bits for the machine tool trade. 2.5" is the standard length they all come in. That's what classes are for and you learn these things there.

Victor.eide · Oct 6, 2016

i know from watching many tutorials on sharpening that you arent supposed to heat hss at all. the amount of grinding required to get it to fit into the grs no slip handle is way too much! i really could use a tutorial on preparing these gravers!

Victor.eide · Oct 6, 2016

ok, so 2.5 inches is just the very end. so no matter what, you gotta cut the end of the graver off & just use that?

Victor.eide · Oct 6, 2016

lol i had no idea that they were supposed to be cut at all since one end fit into my handle & the other end is sharp! my hands apparently are large enough to hold the entire graver blank though!

Bluetickhound · Oct 6, 2016

Sam has an excellent video available on sharpening gravers, and several other aspects of engraving. There is a mountain of information here but you gotta dig for some of it. Check the iGraver.com tab along with the tips archive.

Victor.eide · Oct 6, 2016

no! the flat gravers, no matter what length i cut em down to, they dont fit into the qc grs handles.....not even close! someone please explain. are these handles only for round gravers? doesnt say that on the website!

vdrum4250 · Oct 6, 2016

call grs.. they are good with explaining what they sell..

Leland Davis · Oct 6, 2016

I don't know if it's right but I just grind the end to fit.

Dave London · Oct 6, 2016

Victor
If you would list you location maybe some one close can help.

Andrew Biggs · Oct 6, 2016

No gravers come pre sharpened as that is something you have to learn yourself.

Length is a subjective thing. Big hands, small hands, long graver, short graver, etc etc. So graver manufacturers tend to make them longer so they can be cut down if you so desire.

All square gravers fit the QC collets, Lindsay and Enset collets. You just have to determine length.

Traditional graver profiles like squares, onglets, etc come in two shapes............one with a pre-made tang like GRS makes so you don't have to shape it and it fits down the QC adaptor hole with no problems. The other is the old style Vallorbe yellow tang style gravers that you do have to grind a tang for if using QC collets.

Grinding down the old yellow tangs is time consuming work and do not overheat the HSS......... Dip it regularly in water. If the graver tip turns blue you have ruined it and need to grind past the blue.

And now GRS make round tang traditional gravers (flats, ungulates, knife, etc) for even more convenience.........just make sure you get the right QC holder for the right diameter graver, especially the thing C-Max carbide blanks.

As you are just beginning all this it will take you a while to figure the perfect length of graver for yourself. So you can use the rule of thumb. Hold the graver handle and hold you thumb out.........the tip of the graver should be just beyond the tip of your thumb. Over time you may want to make it longer or shorter but that is a good starting point.

Cheers
Andrew

P.S. It would be helpful for you to post a photo of your graver and handle/handpiece and QC collet so we can see what your problem is.

Victor.eide · Oct 7, 2016

Ok. Thanks for the help. Ill try to post pics later. I found a holder for vinyl that works well & have a sharpening template, chisel handel, carbide blanks & stone coming in the mail. Was just trying to get a little practice in. I think perhaps the gravers i ordered were wrong size, as they were too tall to fit into the aluminum qc sheath. They had to be growned on top all the way across & still wouldnt fit. Couldnt much get em to push into brass or steal, nor find copper after work, so I'll just regroup & see where ill go from here. I dulled em up pretty nice using a wiggling action just carving brass all night, so it was ok. I'm in baton rouge btw. I saw someone asked for me to list location.

Sam · Oct 7, 2016

See the chart I just posted in a new thread which shows which graver goes into which QC holder.

New gravers from GRS

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