List of Most Commonly Used Lettering Styles

[mdengraver]

I was wondering if some of the more experienced engravers may be willing to contribute to a list of the most commonly used letter styles and perhaps generally the one's to be avoided. I imagine the list is actually quite small. Of course there are many variations of the same styles some more or less acceptable and readable for the engraving audience at large.

 

[pilkguns]

to do: Engraver's Script, Old English, block

to avoid: everything else, especially computer font's LOL

 

[monk]

my likes depend upon what it is i'm engraving. i tend to favor plain looking fonts. in most cases i will let a client choose the font they prefer, and go from there. if their choice is not really appropriate ( i advise them so), and try to suggest something that fits the project more suitably. ex: belt buckle for , say a construction worker-- this guy aint gonna get fine script on that buckle ! a bank exec might get old english. here's a foto example of inapropriate font. done on a sterling dog tag, for an ex military man. as irecall i did this with a #52 or #53 round graver. the font was done at the clients' insistence. i wanted to use a more bulky block style.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

On fine shotguns and rifles the font is usually Roman or italic Roman (i.e. slanting to the right). Block and Old English are also used but not as often. Script is sometimes used on the stock ovals.

 

[mdengraver]

Monk question?

Why is that font necessarily inappropriate. Isn't that also a matter of the clients personal taste. Explain?

 

[monk]

well, would that look good on a garbage truck ? it would look good. but would it look "appropriate" ? i dont think so. any more than thunderbird or a "gadget" font would look on a hearse. i believe there's a difference between looking good, and appearing appropriate, that's all i meant.

 

[Tim Wells]

Say you're engraving a watch back or something belonging to a man. You are asked to engrave some names or initials in script. If you choose a traditional script letter style something like Engraver's Script or Edwardian Script you are most likely pretty safe.

However, if you should decide to put a few too many flourishes or embelishments or choose too fancy a letter style it can look too "feminine" for a man's tastes.

Lettering styles are typically drawn originally by artists that do that as a specialty. Some are geared more toward engraving than others. Fonts are what you find in a computer program and most are not made with engravers in mind, so if you find one you like you may have to modify it some.

Lettering out of a computer isn't always spaced right for engraving so you have to tweak it or sometimes change the size of a letter within a word or a set of initials so it looks right.

 

[monk]

yeah, for sure sticking strictly with the computer stuff is not always good. the computer can be a timesaver, but it's not the answer for everything. i do use computer fonts, but i almost always fiddle with with them one way or another. or sometimes, just draw "out of my head". that works too.