Question: difference between heels

There is so much talent and skill on this forum it's fantastic. As a beginner, I can hope to soak up as much as possible.
My question is about heels with h/c. I understand that a long heel is best for straight lines and a short heel is best for turns and curves. But, please explain the differences between parallel heels from the Lindsay sharpening system and the heels done by the grs system. How are they different ? For h/c, what do us beginners need to know about them ? I also want to thank everyone for the information you do share.

Belprime said:

There is so much talent and skill on this forum it's fantastic. As a beginner, I can hope to soak up as much as possible.
My question is about heels with h/c. I understand that a long heel is best for straight lines and a short heel is best for turns and curves. But, please explain the differences between parallel heels from the Lindsay sharpening system and the heels done by the grs system. How are they different ? For h/c, what do us beginners need to know about them ? I also want to thank everyone for the information you do share.

Click to expand...

Being "new" also I have sharpened parallel heels on my dual angle sharpening fixture and am using H & C only at the moment the longer or shorter the heel on a parallel in my opinion depends only on the user I have sharpened 90, 115, and 120 all with parallel heels but I am inexperienced also and am currently using a 90 for most of what I have been doing, aside from the heelless bulino gravers that I sharpened also all of my graver chisels have a 50 degree face as that is what I prefer....good luck and keep on hammerin!

I can only help a little but I'll do what I can.

The Lindsay template system is set up to do a nice parallel heel. Use it and that's what you'll get.

On the GRS Dual Angle you can do any kind of heel you want. If you make a 90 degree V graver and grind your heels at 45 degrees you'll get a traditional heel - it will be wider at the bottom and narrower (or non-existent) at the top. If you want a parallel heel you have to grind it at about 50 - 55 degrees (depends on your face angle). Being parallel it will be the same width at the top and bottom.

Some people - including our Glorious Leader Sam say that for push and perhaps H&C the parallel heel can be a bit harder to cut with. I don't do enough push or H&C to worry about it but since you're doing H&C I think it would be worth making a pair of gravers with each style heel and cutting the same design with them to see if you see a difference.

There is some advantage to a parallel heal. When cutting with a regular heal it is possible to get into the metal over the heal depth. In that case the graver will just keep diving. With a parallel heal that is not possible at least that is my experience. However it is also my experience that if that happens you are probably trying to cut too deep anyway.
I use heals that range from 12° to as high as 30° for different purposes. Personally I don't think a long heel helps one bit when cutting a straight line. I think a long heel makes it harder to maintain a regular depth and that makes a line appear crooked even if it is straight because of the difference in width as the depth varies. With the GRS duel angle system you can make any configuration you can imagine. I have a rule. No graver should have an included angle of over 80°. It takes a few years to learn what angles work best on different metals. I wouldn't be to concerned too much with all the different configurations to begin with. I would keep the heel short. .020 or less. Most cuts are not over .010 deep and a lot of them are only .001
PS. Parallel heals change the belly angle some.

Top photo: Engraved with a 120° graver with standard heel.

Second photo: Engraved with a 90° graver with standard heel.

Bottom photo: Engraved with a 105° graver with GRS EasyGraver parallel heel.

A appreciable difference in the quality of cut between any of the above? No. Your mileage may vary.

p.s. The reason for these particular examples is to show that the different geometries can produce small, tight scrolls without heel drag. Of course they can do the same with larger scrolls, but smaller work often places greater demands on proper sharpening, heel length, graver control, etc.

A parallel heel does have some advantages when cutting deep, as Jerry pointed out. For all practical purposes I can produce equal quality work with either geometry. Some engravers swear by one or the other. As always, it's whatever works for best for ya that counts.

some gravers, rounds & flats-- i don't like heels at all. this does bring problems-- clearance for your fingers. on larger flat areas, you really need to do a "juggling act" to maintain your grasp on the graver, as well as get the point to do what you want it to do. not too pleasant to be cutting along, and suddenly lose your grip. i don't mean that i don't put heels on them, but do so only when there is no alternative. as mentioned, it's nothing more than personal preferences based on the level of practice involved. to a rank beginner, i think consistency with one graver geometry should be achieved before worrying over a bunch of others.