multicolored gold inlay

[fegarex]

Alain,
Thank you! I enjoy the town. The show is very impressive! I haven't had time to see any of it yet but hope to get there early on Sunday or Monday before I start my work. Too bad you can't make it but I understand.
Rex

 

[finn]

Very nice work.
I like how the ball how it comes up and follows the line of the border.
And the tip of the feather where it starts is fuzzy wow I don’t even know how you would do that.
And the shading on them men like the rib cage is nice I wonder when you did your bulino if you added some ( pain ,or Acid) to darken up your Bulino dots.

Any ways very nice work thanks for sharing!

 

[Roger Bleile]

Alain,

I have always been stunned by the beauty and precision of your work and this piece is just as wonderful as the others I have seen pictured. Unfortunatly I have never seen any of your work in the flesh so to speak. I hope that I will someday see your actual work which I'm sure is even more impressive.

Roger Bleile

 

[Christian DeCamillis]

Alain This is fantastic!! Its great that you are participating on this forum. Its an honor to have someone of your caliber, by that I mean one of the top engravers in the world , participating here in this forum is wonderfull. Your caliber of work is what we strive for. Thank you for sharing. Chris

 

[rod]

Alain,

This is artistry and engineering at the peak of perfection, and thank you for letting us see what you are up to!

You told me in Reno your were too busy to be playing Scots tunes on your fiddle, and now I see why. I love your willingness to go where others fear to tread, and your ability to produce such wonderful results is inspiring.

best wishes!

Rod Cameron

 

[joseph engraver]

Almost perfect in every respect. A wonderful showing of your talent.

 

[Sam]

Alain, that is just fantastic! Brilliant design and execution by a true Grandmaster.

Alain's Gransmasters bio

Alain's Cafe interview


~Sam

 

[Joe Mason]

That is wonderful. The different color golds are great. Thanks for sharing.

Joe

 

[ddushane]

Alain, That is awesome, I haven't inlaid anything yet, I've played with it a little but haven't had any results yet that are good enough to put on anything. Your work is truly inspiring! Thank you for sharing. Dwayne

 

[Ron Smith]

Alain, the wriggle cut is where you use a flat or liner and walk the tool along by rotating the wrist back and forth. The edges of your borders have a rythmetic look, not with straight deges and is obviously very attractive. I had not thought to do a technique like that, but it adds interest and uniqueness to the borders.

Inspirational, expertly done, true artistry, no doubt about it!!
Ron S

 

[Haraga.com]

Great Job!

 

[Lee]

I think this is where a fellow says "That is the way it is supposed to be done" and then sighs and says I am going back to farming. When I plow crooked it doesn't matter when the wheat grows up. No one will know.

Wonderfully done my friend. Is this the one I saw in Reno with Hartmann and Wiess. I remember looking at an Indian theme gun but perhaps a different one that was equally fabulous.

 

[Ranchman]

Wow, that is really something. When I saw that I got the same feeling I get when I'm lucky enough to stumble across an arrow head. Makes you stop and think a bit.

Great work thanks for sharing it.

Jeff

 

[Alain Lovenberg]

Thank you for the kind comments.
Here are more photos of the rifle, made by Florian Güllert , a young and talented Austrian engraver and photographer.

Ron,
what you describe as wriggle cut is what we call in French: "guilloché", a quick way of engraving, used mainly to decorate saxophones, cigarette boxes, etc.... That's not the technique used to engrave this border, it was normally cut with a flat graver ( N° 2) and inlaid. I found this geometrical border design on a book cover, when I was searching informations about the Lacrosse game. I thought that it had an "Indian look".

Lee,
this is the rifle that you have seen at the SCI Show but it was not completely finished.
I like, when it is possible, to complete the fine shading lines and dots after the case-hardening.

 

[Ron Smith]

EEEAAAOOOOW!! that border work must have driven you about half crazy!! How much time do you have in that piece if I might ask?.............Mind blowing!!! Exceptional!!......and it certainly has an "Indian look".

I didn't get to see it at the show. Didn't get to look around much, and that is my misfortune. Would have liked to see in in three dimension.

Ron S

 

[FANCYGUN]

Alain
Did you undercut the border for the gold or just "tooth" the bottom of the cut lines? I'm going to guess "tooth".
Marty

 

[Alain Lovenberg]

Ron,
I was already half crazy before beginning that damned border. It was tedious to measure , design, engrave and inlay exactly that geometrical border. The most demanding (except the red gold inlay) was to cut straight parallel lines with the same equal width all along . I don't know exactly the time I have spent with the borders but I have estimated the all work approximately 500 hrs. (I have lost much time with the red gold inlay which drove totally crazy!).
Marty,
the border lines are undercut, no "teeth". In fact,the tool we use in Belgium to prepare the dovetail is not a graver ( onglette or knife graver) but a tool which is called "relevoir". With that tool we chase instead of cutting the dovetail.

 

[pilkguns]

Alain, stellar work, thanks for posting and explaining about your work. Was great seeing you and this at SCI.

For the rest of you, here are some pics I took last year in Alain's shop.

 

[John B.]

Alain.
Thanks for showing the pictures of the complete rifle.
What a beauty and it also appears to be a take-down.
That makes it even more special to my eye.
Best, John B.

 

[JamesO]

Absolutely WORLD CLASS Engraving