Short promo video engraving “In Flanders Fields 1914 – 2014â€￾ on 20 Celluloid Pen

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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When I started hand engraving I thought the canvas always should be metal.
I was asked to hand engrave 20numbered Celluloid pen as a limited edition for commemorate “In Flanders Fields 1914 – 2014â€￾
These pen made by CONID have a patented filler system, never leak and always write.
At first I wanted to use Damar Varnish to do the transfer, but it damages the celluloid. I neither could find any lubricant that was safe enough to remove the Varnish when finished.
That is why I engraved the text on a steel plate and making the transfers by using Sam Alfano’s Authentic & Original TRANSFER WAX and Scotch tape.
Sure the blend of waxes and oils don’t damage the Celluloid.
I made a 2 minutes video for promo purposes. I used a Life Cam Cine mounted next to microscope.
Problem was the LED light of the microscope.
I will have to look for a better not too expensive way to make engraving video’s to show what hand engraving is all about.
This short video isn’t really high definition, but at least it shows the engraving process.

I have to thank all of you who shared know how. Without it I would never have been able to make this client happy.

Arnaud

[video=youtube;woXYnyvnsDc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woXYnyvnsDc[/video]





 
Last edited:

Willem Parel

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Beautiful engraving Arnaud, when you put it on FB I wanted to ask how the heck did you put your text on the pen but now I don't need to ask, thanks for the explanation.
Still have a question, what font is this?
Thanks for sharing.
 

Sam

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It looked to me like the celluloid produces a curled chip similar to metal. I've done a bit of plastic and it was never this good. There's confidence and control in your cutting, and the end result is perfect. Congratulations :clapping: :thumbsup:
 

mrthe

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Very nice Video and great job in the Pens!
With my Logitech c910 webcam full hd work better a cold lateral light to take videos ,maybe you can try,but all the way the video look good !
 

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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Thank you Sam, indeed the Celluloid produces a curled chip. That probably means my graver was highly polished and sharp. I engraved 20 pen without having to resharpen the graver

Thank you Paolo, indeed when using other light than LED, my Life Cam Cine HD has less problems with the flickering. But I'm gonna look for something better. My Canon Powershot works too and has less problems with the light.

Thanks Fred, and I understand the difference between carving and engraving. However CONID will promote this as "hand engraved".

arnaud
 

BKJ

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I have collected fountain pens for years and when one restores/cleans a pen, you better know what material it is as celluloid will shrink, crack, craze and melt if not handled carefully. It is however some of the most beautifully colored materials made. Plastics can't seem to replicate the colors in the same way.

Very beautiful fountain pen!
 

dlilazteca

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Very nice Video and great job in the Pens!
With my Logitech c910 webcam full hd work better a cold lateral light to take videos ,maybe you can try,but all the way the video look good !

Arnoaud,

great gob!

I agree with Paolo about the camera it works, great, I use a microphone stand to hold it close to my work.



Saludos,

Carlos
 

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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Thank you BKJ and Carlos.
I think my Life Cam Ciné is about similar than the Logitech c91. Thing is when your webcam is about one year old, there are better ones for sale for less money.

This is another video I captured using the life cam ciné by mounting it on one eyepiece of the microscope, using the other to make the cuts.
Sure it is hard to see clearly what you are cutting with one eye, but for demonstrating purposes this makes the best video result so far.

[video=youtube;HKOdRR3jX3E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKOdRR3jX3E[/video]
 
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Chujybear

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Never heard the distinction that engraving was just for metal. I thought that it just applied to the technique. Engraving being a surface decoration, and carving being a shaping of the material. When I carve metal it feels nothing like engraving it.
Is the material really the distinction?
 

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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Never heard the distinction that engraving was just for metal. I thought that it just applied to the technique. Engraving being a surface decoration, and carving being a shaping of the material. When I carve metal it feels nothing like engraving it.
Is the material really the distinction?

I think you are right about the definition "engraving" but of course I'm not the person to argue the English language. Even in Dutch I have no idea.

arnaud
 

Eddi

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Great work Arnaud.
The video camera I use is fairly cheap. It´s a JVC everio. It was cheaper than the Canon and Sony cameras that I tried, but still got much better results. The key thing was 40x OPTICAL zoom. The digital zoom is no good.
I can send you all the info if you like.

Eddi
 

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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Eddi, I have seen some of your video recordings and they look great. I couldn't find out what camera you are using.
So my question to you is if for instance this video of yours is it recorded using the JVC everio? if so I would like to have more info about the camera

arnaud

[video=youtube;rTesAsptYhE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTesAsptYhE[/video]
 

Eddi

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Sorry for not answering you sooner Arnaud. June 17th is the independents day of Iceland, so I had the day off.
The camera I bought is called JVC GZ-HM430
I think all the JVC HD cameras with 40x optical zoom will work. European and American models don´t have the same numbers.
When I was buying mine, I took a few practice plates with me to the camera stores and they let me try out a few models. We just tried zooming in on the engraving from a distance that is similar to the distance from my microscope to the engraving ball.
I found a review of the camera on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPr68HBeeWM
You probably understand what the man is saying better than I can.
You can probably get this camera much cheaper now than when I got it. Or get an even better one for a similar price that I payed.
I bought a video camera and a TV to use with it for a much lower price than the camera setup GRS sells.

If you take a look at my other posts, you can see a picture of my video setup.

Hope this helps. If you need any more info, just ask. I will try to help.

Eddi
 

zahar

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Arnaud, but why not draw text directly on the handle? and engrave?
 

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