Engraving How Too's Where do I begin?

Robert Hankins

Robert Hankins

Joined
May 19, 2003
Messages
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After visiting Bruce Evans during the Holidays (See thread in Around the Grinder...mucho pics) he inspired me to set a different course in finishing my knives.
Biggest issue is I am NOT:eek: an artist and still draw cows that look like dogs Etc.
So could use some Sage advice from those who have been and done as to where to begin...
Books?
Tools...best Types and Make?
Plan to start with hand engraving but have no problem using a machine if it gives good results and speeds up the process.
Materials to practice on?
Ultimately want to do carved blades not just the guards and pommel caps Etc!

BIG ??? How do transfer patterns to steel and where can I get the patterns to start with? Really can't draw for squat:(
 
i dont make knives but i am an artist and have done my fair share of engraving..... and i will say it is an artform that pretty much relies on being able to draw....so that said......
 
Robert, I would start at smartflix.com, and type in engraving in there search feature and you can rent dvd's on engraving for $9.99 a week, I am very visual and if I can see how its done it sure helps. they have a good selection so mabe that will help. Thoes pictures you posted at Bruces were very good and he is a wealth of knowledge he has helped me allot also.... Mike
 
There are two parts to engraving . First the mechanical ability which requires good dexterity, a sharp eye and some training and practice. The second part is the aptitude of being an artist .It's not just the ability of making a dog look like a dog but composition for layouts etc. Take courses in drawing and basic art .
 
Track down a used copy of James Meek's "The Art of Engraving" and it will give you an idea of what's involved.

I've got a full engraving setup and absolutely suck at it. It takes a great deal of practice.
 
howiesatwork , if Robert has no interest in your book I would like to make a deal with you on it.

Robert , have you contacted GRS ? They offer classes and what some say is the best engraving equipment made today. Foredom also makes a powergraver
 
If engraving was easy, a bunch of girls would be doing it. :)

Hey wait, a bunch of girls DO do it. Ok...well.....nevermind.:o
 
Robert,
I am biased because I took a class a few years ago at GRS/Glendo in Emporia KS.
It was a very good class. Unfortunately I didn't get into using the knowledge I received in a timely manner. IF you want to see what the class could do for you, Joe Keesler was in the same class and I heard that Jerry Fisk had been there less than a year before that. Both do beautiful engraving on their already beautiful knives. Rick Eaton and Steve Dunn, both another couple of real fine knifemakers, actually teach at GRS/Glendo.....

URL is http://www.grstools.com/

While ther are several really good folks who you might talk with about classes, Aaron McMichaels is the fellow I have been talking with. I will probably go through the basic engraving class again when I actually set up my equipment.....
 
David Wesner said:
....
Robert , have you contacted GRS ? They offer classes and what some say is the best engraving equipment made today. Foredom also makes a powergraver
Click to expand...

David, here's the Lindsay Enraver I mentioned in the email. While I have absolutely nothing against GRS at all, Steve's tools merit checking before buying, if possible.
http://www.airgraver.com/Intro.htm

A lot of pro engravers have set aside their GRS stuff to get Lindsay. Smooooth. (Disclaimer: GRS has new tech in the last couple years, so I can't speak for how well their new stuff compares to Lindsay. It blows away my older GRS stuff, though. I fell in love at first bite, so to speak.)

Ray Cover Jr. has recently opened an engraving school, too:
http://www.rcoverengraving.com/


It's a very costly investment, Robert. You'll probably want to go to a school regardless, so I'd do that first to see if it's something you'd like and have a flair for.
 
One other idea I'd like to put in people's heads who want to engrave:

Traditional scroll engraving is a difficult task to learn. It takes education and then a lot of continuing practice before skills are adequate to jumping on an expensive, finished knife.

What I want to do is encourage everyone who tries engraving to think outside the box of "traditional" to see possibilities on every knife for cutting simple lines that add a lot to the knife even though it's not full blown scroll.

A simple border around a guard, a couple diagonal lines on a bolster, yadda yadda. Tasteful minor embellishment can change the whole look of a knife while you practice what I consider the most difficult skill I have ever tried to accomplish.

I practiced and practiced and practiced scrollwork and never got good enough to put it on a knife. My opinion is that if you start using it on ytour knives in simple ways right off the bat, you will stay more interested.

Just an extra 2cents on the subject.:)
 
If you need help with your drawing get "Drawing with the right side of the brain" or something very simmilar. This book or moreso the drills and techniques are probably all they will teach you in your first 2 drawing classes for alot cheaper. Drawing is nothing more than seeing properly and practice. If you have the dexterity to sign your name wlel or make knives you can learn to draw.
 
Wow some great information here, will look into each one. Books first and tools. Best way for me is just to do it and keep making less mistakes as I go.

Definelty not a traditional interest, it will be different than what youv'e seen before...Hopefully look cool as well:D
 
Robert,
Be prepared to spend a lot of time and frustration learning. There is no fast way to learn engraving.Be prepared to spend a good bit of cash,too ($1500 -$2500 for a good setup).GRS equipment is the way to go. Depending on your financial and time situations, you might want to attend the GRS class at Old Washington or one of the other places they offer it.The classes will greatly accelerate your understanding of engraving. GRS has some good engraving videos that show the techniques and use of their tools. I have a bunch of them and would loan them to you if you want to see what is entailed. Engraving is a bit harder than knifemaking to learn by yourself,but with careful practice and patience,it can be mastered.CAUTION - the pros who do it in the books and videos make it look easy. It took them 20-30 years to get that good! It is fun and the results can be rewarding. A plain bolster vs an engraved bolster can double the asking price of a knife.
Stacy
 
My $.02:

- about drawing. It WILL take an avg guy quite a loooong while to learn how to draw perfect scrolls. Stopping short of one being rather talented, balanced, perfectly flowing , appealing scroll is tough.

- but, if one is determined, and has a friend/relative, who CAN draw some for you, these can be improved, sized for your typical bolster or whatever you want to engrave on and then, transferred onto the metal, with 100% accuracy, as many times as you want. These drawings can also be resized etc. All you need is a computer, Epson transparency and "Transfer Magic"

- now, onto the engraving . Great many of breathtaking engravings (all of them, to be precise), before GRS and Lindsay's engravers were invented, were done by hand, with hammer and chisel. McKensey's 3 DVD series is the classic that teaches the basics of such engravings. The tools should not set you back more than $50 . smarflix.com

- Wire inlays add a nice touch and are not that difficult to implement

- when and if you know this bug has bitten you well and is there to stay, you'd need:

- a good microscope ($400 gets you a decent, new, Chinese scope @ Ebay)

- McKensey video shows a home-made vise. Or, you can buy one from GRS, something like $300

- Powered engraving tools: GRS vs Lindsay .... Here's some advice: don't even ASK this question in engraving forums - it will literally get you banned in some of the better forums. Both are great and will set you back about the same amt of money for similar capability units .

Googling "knife engraving" will return quite a few resources that are of interest to people who are just starting up.
 
There are a number of books available full of scroll patterns of variuous sizes.
One of the things you would learn in a class is that you can photocopy the scroll pattern that you might match up to the area you want the pattern on.
then you can apply the pattern from the photocopy to the Chinese White coating you have put on the area you want to engrave.
GRS vs Lindsay? They operate somewhat differently, BUT as Rashid11 said both have been used by highly skilled and talented engravers. I can't imagine ever being able to even get close to engraving like Steve Lindsay, Sam Alfano, Chris DeCamillus, Rick Eaton, and many other highly skilled folks....and that would be if I spent the rest of my life trying and practicing engraving only.....
I know a couple of folks who use a graver and a chasing hammer who also do beautiful work.
 
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