joseph engraver
Elite Cafe Member
After seven years away from a hammer and chisel, and with the applause given for my first coin, I wondered if I could actually engrave in steel. A friend of mine gave me this Smith and Wesson stainless steel knife. It has been in my salt water tackle box for many years; it has gutted fish and cut bait and never had a trace of rust. It is scratched and used, and I decided to see if I could engrave it. English scroll is what I first learned to cut when I studied at Bottega Incisioni di Cesare Giovanelli a long time ago.
I remember my teachers insisting that my cuts were too deep and that I must learn to control the chisel until I could make smooth hairline cuts. I practiced day after day until I could cut a line the width of a *****’s hair. Then my teacher said,†Now you must learn to cut deeper.†On this knife the first cut was along one side next to the blade. As you can see I was out of practice and badly mangled the cut and the tool point. It took awhile to adjust to the hardness of the steel and recover the rhythm of hand engraving. I enjoyed the work so much that I have sold my boat, jettisoned the rock and fishhook and am going to buy a decent vise and a few good engraving tools and return to work at a leisurely pace even though, at 70 years old, my coordination is not what it once was. My teacher one day said to me, “You will never be a good engraver.†Why? I asked. His answer was,†Because you have too many tools. To be a good engraver you must learn to use one tool and make it do every thing that those other tools are used for†Recalling those wonderful Italian school days, here is my rusty version of English scroll and my limited tool selection.
I remember my teachers insisting that my cuts were too deep and that I must learn to control the chisel until I could make smooth hairline cuts. I practiced day after day until I could cut a line the width of a *****’s hair. Then my teacher said,†Now you must learn to cut deeper.†On this knife the first cut was along one side next to the blade. As you can see I was out of practice and badly mangled the cut and the tool point. It took awhile to adjust to the hardness of the steel and recover the rhythm of hand engraving. I enjoyed the work so much that I have sold my boat, jettisoned the rock and fishhook and am going to buy a decent vise and a few good engraving tools and return to work at a leisurely pace even though, at 70 years old, my coordination is not what it once was. My teacher one day said to me, “You will never be a good engraver.†Why? I asked. His answer was,†Because you have too many tools. To be a good engraver you must learn to use one tool and make it do every thing that those other tools are used for†Recalling those wonderful Italian school days, here is my rusty version of English scroll and my limited tool selection.
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