Some lettering on a Zippo

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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Today I finished a Zippo for a client. Although I'm novice engraver I took the challenge to engrave some letters on this very shiny lighter.

I didn't have to buy a practice plate, had some new experience and got paid for it.
On top of it, there is one hand engraved Zippo in my neighbourhood.

I don't know how it is in de US, but here you can't easily find a engraver who don't work with engraver machines. And although it is not top work, I think it has more character done by hand.

I only charge my client 20 euro for it, to cheap I know, but I'm still practicing.

any comments are welcome

arnaud
 

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KCSteve

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Somewhere on here there's a thread I did where I give the model numbers of the most engravable Zippos - the solid brass and solid copper ones. They only run about US$20 retail so even if you mess up it's not too big a loss, and if you do well you've got a really nice little item.
 

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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Thanks Steve and D,
I found the tread I think, I have cut this one with a 120° carbide engraver that I made of a blank square.
Cuts really good and is still sharp

arnaud
 

Scratchmo

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Love conquers all

Boy, I haven't translated Latin for 48 years.

Dave

I did a ring for a friend of mine many years ago. He wanted his "family motto" engraved on it, but in Latin. The phrase was "Eos futite quo spiratum" Just wondering if you know what that means.
 

KCSteve

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Arnaud

Yep, that's the thread all right! I'm pleased to hear the bright chrome cut well - the very cheap brushed chrome one I carry was a bugger to cut.
 

Marcus Hunt

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Arnaud, good lettering is one of the most difficult things for an engraver to achieve. A lot of people don't understand scrollwork so the odd mistake here and there will probably get overlooked in the mix (not by an experienced engraver though, lol) but lettering is all around us and everyone sees it every day so any flaws will show. In another thread you showed a wonderful pocket watch that was beautifully and flawlessly engraved with script. If you noticed how this was achieved, every letter ran evenly along a line, it didn't undulate above or under this line. Something perhaps to aim for in the future?

The 'block' font you chose, likewise, should not vary in width on any letter and each letter needs to be using the same measurements. So, for example, if you start with a letter A the diagonals and crossbar need to be the same width, the same with an M; the uprights and diagonals need to be the same width all the way through. And the dimensions you chose for one letter need to apply to every one on the job you are engraving. The best thing to look at for this font is a newspaper; here you'll notice there is no serif on the I either (makes it easier for the engraver!). Block lettering is actually quite difficult to execute well and it is also one of the most boring. Roman is a much more interesting font and looks good when the wide strokes are shaded if you are engraving it large.

This is a good attempt and if you got paid to practice then that's great! But keep practicing and aim to get things a little more regular.
 
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Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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Thanks Marcus, it was the customer who wanted the block letters, and indeed I realised it wasn't so easy as I thought.

But I keep practising.

arnaud
 

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