Educating the Masses

vilts

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What a wonderful thread and many professional viewpoints. Definitely lot of food for thought, especially for beginners like me, who are just starting out with engraving and wondering what and how to do.

I agree wholeheartedly that educating the crowd is the way to and I really try to do my part of it. Being as good or bad as I just happen to be. Actually if one wants and has the motivation to look around, there are many ways skin that particular cat. Many magazines and even TV shows/stations are interested in providing interesting info to their viewers. There was one 5+ minute show about Roland Baptiste where he explained his engraving. Tho I don't understand a word of French, it was still interesting.

One very good and 'modern' way to promote your art is blogging. When you write 1 to 4 times a month about your doings, post pictures and explain how things are done, it can and will create quite a following and will educate the interested people. Just as an example - I started my 'Programmer to blacksmith' blog in April 2007. Now I get constantly around 100 views per day, peaking to 180-190 at some days.

So when you write about the stuff you do, Search Engines will pick up the keywords from there and when people search 'engraved wedding rings' or whatever they find your blog/page. They see that there's an alternative to factory stuff and get something really personalized. When they read your blog, they also see what the work involves and understand the price too. (That was crash course to SEO, search engine optimization :)).

One more example. Our local Estonian TV station has a show about different (interesting!) occupations people can have. So one show was about me as 'swordmaker' (it's more romantic/exotic, I guess), but anyway I had a chance also to talk about engraving. When I said I can fit 10 lines into 1 mm, they had quite big eyes... It lasts only 3 minutes, but it's a start!

If you don't mind listening some Estonian language and see me working, check out: http://www.delfi.ee/news/toomurdja/toomurdjad/article.php?id=19407220 (Just click play button inside that small video window).
 

Peter E

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Vilts,
As you mentioned about your experience viewing Roland Babtiste's video in French, I had a similar experience watching your video. I did not understand a word but it was very interesting.

Is that your shop where you were forging the blade? If so, it looks like a nice set up.

This is a great thread and I had seen the one on Steve Lindsay's forum.

I would add that in my opinion similar feelings of ignorance, arrogance or whatever you want to label it, exist in many realms. I had attributed it to basic human nature. It is hard to refrain from engaging some of those types but in the end I have found it just isn't worth the trouble or aggravation. :D

Peter
 

vilts

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That's my shop indeed. Well, mine and my fathers and you didn't see a half of it ;)

When I get the videos source I will make English subtitles for it, until then you have to study Estonian :)
 

Mike Cirelli

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Nice little video Vilts didn't understand a single work but didn't need to. It looked like you was a little nervous around that pretty announcer girl:)
 

Roger Bleile

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Villu,

Estonian must be a very unique language. It doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard. However from your web site I would guess that "graveeringuid" may mean engraver and "galerii" may mean gallery so there must be some connections to other european languages.

Sorry about getting off topic here.

Roger
 

Sam

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Weldon, a most excellent post! Thank you for taking the time to write it.

Thank you, Andrew. The Cafe in competition with no one, including Steve Lindsay's forum. We have a link to his forum in the Resource sticky. It's not prohibited to mention it nor has mentioning it ever been prohibited or discouraged. The more our forum grows the more his will grow and vise versa. The more participation both forums get the more the art of engraving will grow and flourish. And THAT is the Cafe's goal.
 

Weldon47

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Roger,

I know the "is it factory" feeling too. I am sure those of us who have been involved in firearms engraving for any length of time can share similar experiences.
Here's one: Sometime before I began engraving, dad delivered a Colt to a gentleman(?) at a gun show. At the next show, on another man's table, there was the Colt dad had just engraved along with a (very real looking) factory letter authenticating the engraving as having been done at the factory! Dad asked if he could look at the gun and with it in hand, asked the new owner if it was factory to which the reply was, yes. He then asked what the engraved initials WEL by the cylinder pin stood for. They guy didn't know (or so he said).
Well, that is kinda like a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!! Needless to say, Dad did not do any more engraving for that particular fellow.

That is what some unscrupulous fellows who turn their nose up at us unworthy, non-factory engravers do when they think no one is looking. How sad is that?

Today with the internet and forums such as the Engraver's Cafe (thank you, Sam!), Steve's forum and the FEGA site, it is so much easier (and faster) to get information out. Back in the day it was much more difficult to know what was going on which made it easier to perpetuate fraud (as in the above mentioned case).

This is truly a renaissance of engraving. What a cool time to live!!!

WL
 

Marcus Hunt

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The strange thing is that as a non-factory engraver you have to be a much better engraver in order to make a living. Don't the collectors realise this? Also, don't the factories use outworkers to engrave some of their guns? Very strange in my view and it's a weird mindset this collecting lark.

Funny thing is that my father showed a very knowledgeable, and highly regarded, person in the gun/shooting world over here, the Churchill/Eaton Colt book. The first thing he said was that the value of the gun had been wrecked. This is someone who really knows his stuff and both appreciates and commissions a lot of engraving for his company. It must be something to do with handgun collectors?
 

Weldon47

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Wow, now thats tough to figure out!
I guess it must be pretty easy to be a critic (as opposed to being the actual artist!)

WL
 

Marcus Hunt

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I guess you're right! The thing is we know for example is that Winston's work has it's own intrinsic value and would appeal to a whole new gamut of collectors not just those of Colts. But this opens a whole new question, should you buy something just because of it's value (or potential increase in value) or because you like it? I, personally, am for the latter.
 

Big-Un

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This thread is one reason I suggested a magazine (quarterly?) to educate people about our craft. Maybe we need to look into someone to market us as a group and maybe "learn" them something about the art of engraving. Then again, we may not want to open up our world to those that don't appreciate talent.
 

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