Question: antique push gravers

[Jared Eason]

I purchased some antique mushroom handle push knife gravers here awhile back when I first had interest in engraving. Had no clue how to use the but bought them at good price.14 in all. Different #s . Anyhow, they are made in Switzerland . Have what looks like a pipe stamped on them with 2 saying ( vautier a geneve ) 2 more say ( swartchild ) and dont have pipe stamps.and the rest just say ( vautier ). Has anyone heard about these brands.

 

[Haraga.com]

........yes

 

[Jared Eason]

Guess I should ask can anyone also tell me a little bit about the company that made them . About how old they might be etc. And are the worth cleaning up and using them

 

[Marrinan]

If you have a need for the tool you should use it. Fred

 

[Brian Marshall]

And if you don't have a need for a tool, you should still find a special place for it and mark at least one day a month on your calendar to go and pet it...

Or just lay your hands on it - if you are not into perversions...

All tools should feel needed and wanted. Loved even.



Brian

 

[JJ Roberts]

Antique Engraving Tools

Here a few antique and new hand push engraving tools I have collected over the years and use.
JJ

 

[j.c.]

I get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I touch my gravers...in a certain way...

j.c.

 

[Red Green]

Brian, aren't you to sharpen and polish the gravers in the light of the new moon facing north and chanting the engravers mantra, even if you are into perverted engraving (air assist)? Wow am I gonna feel silly if I've been doing it for nothing. Fuzzy feeling? Have you checked your blood pressure?

Bob

 

[Jared Eason]

Wow those are some fancy looking gravers. Mine look like hobo gravers next to them. I bet y'all would be a hoot if put in a room together .. crazy..

 

[Brian Marshall]

That is precisely why each of us is incarcerated in a separate dungeon, cell or in the case of JC - a dark cave - far, far away from each other.

Leonard, the man of few words, stays chained to a tractor most of the time.

If we all got together, well, never mind... best not to think of such things.


B.

 

[Haraga.com]

Brian, it's tractor time here.

 

[monk]

why not just use them ?

 

[Red Green]

Monk, I think that's what he has in mind. So it's our responsibility as forum members to talk him into something else, how about hammer and chisel? We could tell him those gravers are cursed, and will cause him to slip endlessly and be very difficult to sharpen, do you think he'll believe us?

Bob

 

[Peter E]

I have about 20 of them also, some the brand you mention. I've tried using a few of them, but I work with a Gravermax, and the high speed steels and carbide/carbalt, etc. are far superior to the carbon steels in a pneumatic handpiece.

 

[Jared Eason]

Yeah planing to use them . But will use them in the old push fashion. I just got my Enset yesterday and looking forward to playing with it. But also want to learn the proper technique for traditional hand engraving. Keep in mind I have only used high speed rotary tool up to this point. Have so much to learn about hand engraving.

 

[Red Green]

You should learn to push engrave but I don't think I would make it any great priority. The Enset looks to be quite a tool, I'd concentrate on maximizing its potential.

Bob

 

[Jared Eason]

I'm focusing my efforts on learning scroll structure and drawing. After I get the Enset hooked up I'm going to practice lines and such. All in all I was just wanting some background on those old tools. I like knowing the history of things. And something I have always said you need to know how your tools work before you can use them effectively.

 

[diandwill]

" But also want to learn the proper technique for traditional hand engraving."
So, being from Mississippi, do you occasionally ride the mule to town, to be familiar with traditional modes of transportation?

I truly believe that most of the production engravers of the 1800's, Nimshke et.al., would have used air assist had it been available. Many hammer and chisel and prefer it, just as some hand push, but for production work, and the least wear and tear on the body, use the En-Set and magnification. You will be able to engrave for a much longer time and the quality will not suffer.

 

[Jared Eason]

Good point. And no , I don't even have a mule. If I had she would be called Bessy May and have a straw hat with a sunflower in it. Lol.

 

[Haraga.com]

Jared, just keep the old gravers around so when you take pictures of what you engraved you can put them in the picture. That way people will think that you engraved it the hard way.