Critique Request First Knife

EvanCharuk

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Mar 9, 2016
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This is a link to a gallery that shows my progress
Knife.jpg KNife2.jpg

I wrote " finished" in the gallery because I havent done any shading at all on the tendrals. Not sure how I feel about that. I made a few slips,some show more then others. mostly pretty clean. I inked this engraving with sharpy and then black nail polish! Wheres a can of paint when you need one?
 

EvanCharuk

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Mar 9, 2016
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No takers? I did this with the 120 degree graver I complained about in a previous post. Its hard to cut with a zero heel graver! much better with the small heel I added.
 

dlilazteca

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Why no heel? I would keep a heel on it, i use no heel gravers on bulino work, i would start with a 90 degree graver vs the 120, it looks like you need to focus on Graver control and maintaining consistent with lines when you're cutting that should be your first step, a 90-degree Graver will make that easier it's one less variable that you need to focus on to help in the learning curve. But keep on cutting don't ever give up keep this as a sample and study it one yearbfrom now see where you're at

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EvanCharuk

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Mar 9, 2016
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Why no heel? I would keep a heel on it, i use no heel gravers on bulino work, i would start with a 90 degree graver vs the 120, it looks like you need to focus on Graver control and maintaining consistent with lines when you're cutting that should be your first step, a 90-degree Graver will make that easier it's one less variable that you need to focus on to help in the learning curve. But keep on cutting don't ever give up keep this as a sample and study it one yearbfrom now see where you're at

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Im saying that was the issue beforehand! Ive since added the heel which has made this all possible. Ill be attending a basic engraving class at the GRSTC in june.
 

Flashmo

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No takers?

Everyone is trying to be polite after you self critiqued it as "couple slips, mostly clean..."

This is not written to be mean, grumpy, arrogant or discouraging.

It is bad enough you should keep it forever to keep you humble in the future, but never ever show it to another person again.

Time for you to go back and start from scratch. It is obvious you skipped ahead a few chapters thinking you have this all figured out.

Use a small drawing template to lay out strait lines, squares and circles on a practice plate. Cut those until you can cut them perfectly, then think about cutting a very simple design.

If you want to progress, come back to this thread in a few days or a week and post a pic of your THIRD practice plate with 20 1" long strait lines, and 10 each of 1\4" squares, circles and triangles and ask how to make them better.
 

monk

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cutting control must be learned by practice, boring practice. you show a serious need to practice drawing and designing. time will get u thru all this. i wish you luck in your pursuit of this art.
 

Sam

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I'm confident you'll be able to cut ok with practice, but what's far more important at this stage is to hone your drawing skills. :pencil: :drawing:
 

Southern Custom

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You made the most important step a beginner can make and that's posting your work here for critique. Just be prepared that you probably won't get many pats on the back for a while. They don't help you grow. My wife gave me plenty. When I finally handed a piece to someone knowledgeable enough to properly critique it, I was promptly brought back to earth, told to put down the graver and pick up a pencil. Best advice I ever got. There is too much going on in this piece to properly give you a critique. Cut some practice plates as mentioned and try some simple scroll backbones. Post them here and work your way up. You'll get more out of it and learn faster that way.
Learning to cut is the easiest part. You can become competent fairly quickly. Design is the hard part. It can take years to perfect and expect to practice it for quite some time before applying it to an actual knife or gun.
Get some books. Lee Griffith's or Ron Smith's are great starting points. After you can draw and cut a proper simple scroll backbone, I would order up a few engraving castings from FEGA. Books are great but castings give you everything in 3D.
Most importantly, don't try and run before you can walk. Too easy to fall that way. Slow down to a stroll and enjoy the process. You'll be learning the rest of your life so there's no hurry.
Layne
 

Crossbolt

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Ill be attending a basic engraving class at the GRSTC in june.

I can speak from experience that classes are great benefit.
Personally I think if you did that without any training or input before starting out that's rather damn good and shows a lot of promise.
It's obviously not experienced or professional engraving with a lot of scope for improvement but I assure you if I posted my latest hacks you'd see you're not alone in that and are probably doing better than me by many measures.

As a fellow beginner I like seeing others beginning efforts for a sense of perspective, so thanks for posting it.

I see a lot of good advice both here and in general on the forum so as others write elsewhere search the archives and keep posting and trying to see your own work with critical eye. That's what I'm trying to work on at least; I find enough wrong with my own work to keep me busy in my limited time trying to improve / correct what I see but maybe I should post like you to get feedback on additional things I'm missing ... and to give forum members something to laugh at :)

Jeremy
 

EvanCharuk

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Mar 9, 2016
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There's a lot of good advise in this thread.
Exactly why I posted it and followed up after I saw no one commented.Almost 100 views and no replys. I wasnt saying "no takers?" as if my work was without flaws... YEAH RIGHT! I never claimed to have " it all figured out" as some critics in this thread insinuated. Far from it. Im a hobbyist with grand aspirations for the future. Didnt come here for a pat on the back.. if I wanted "likes" I could post it to facebook! I posted it here because this is an online gathering place of some of the worlds best engravers.

I'll be sure to check out some of Lee Griffith and Ron Smiths books and check out some of Sam's on demand content for building up my design skills. invest in a drawing pad and pencils. I prefer the act of engraving over drawing but I guess its time to bite the bullet. How many times can you get the same advice without acting on it? Lets not find out. Does anyone have a recommendation where to grab practice plates locally? Home depot? Find a metal shop and get friendly? I follow some ready great artists on instagram who inspire me with their cross hatching. I feel I may have overdone it in some spots and taken away from the work I had all ready done. Anyone that has a .pdf or a link they think I would benefit from, please feel free to PM me. Thank you to the people who took the time to type up a response,
 

Crossbolt

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With regards to practice plates I find the plates from GRS are good and ready to use. Steel from the "hardware store " is cheaper and requires more preparation. I also find it more difficult to cut in some cases which as a beginner adds to my problems. However it can be cut to larger custom sizes and is useful from that perspective.

Jeremy
 

Flashmo

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Sep 17, 2015
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Locally sourced practice plates are definitely the least expensive, and the more you have, the more you practice.

Home Depot sheet metal is good... if you have the tools to split it up into smaller pieces.

Sheet metal shop...ask them to run their scraps through the shear.

If you know someone with a shear or metal cutting bandsaw then the recycle yard will prove bountiful. Even a grinder and cut off wheel works fine.

14-18 guage work great. They dont have to be the standard 2x2 inch squares, any shape smaller than about 4x4 inches will be useful at some point.

Get some wet/dry paper and take each piece to 400 grit or so as you go to use it. Metal prep will be an issue in the future, so practicing that as you go helps as well.
 

Flashmo

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If you search "shading practice" (I think that will get you there), there are a couple good practice scrolls and a corner from Sam and Lee that are in downloadable files specifically for practice. Ready to both transfer and study.
 

BrianPowley

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On my way "up the ladder", I would take every new piece of work and compare it to the work of a Master Engraver.
I took physical and mental notes of the differences between mine and theirs.
All I had to do was keep asking myself "Why does theirs look so much better?"
The answers were obvious to me:
Their scrolls were smooth and consistent. No lumps, bumps, flat spots or elbows.
The shading was light and delicate, or bold where it needed to be.
Their guns or knives, or whatever look like they were designed around the engraving.
Every time I cut a scroll, I make it my life's goal at that moment to make it perfect.
My overnight success only took 29 years.
 

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