The thing I first realised upon starting the hand-engraving course with the Hand Engravers Association of Great Britain is that I knew absolutely nothing about engraving. With my head full of ideas and possible executions, in all honesty I hadn’t given much thought to the details.
Our instructor Wayne focused on instilling a thorough knowledge of not just the physical act of engraving, but on how to create, maintain and understand your own tools to ensure a sustainable practice.
The first thing to do was make our own scriber. The scriber serves essentially like a pencil – sharp enough to mark the copper and guide your engraving, without being deep enough to be permanent.
After covering the end with soap, we heated the steel to a bright, cherry red (avoiding both the direct tip of the future scriber and the blue part of the flame) and then immediately cooled it in water. Once it was cleaned, we tempered the steel by reheating and checking the end was hard enough.
Next, to round and sharpen the point. To sharpen, we rotated the future scriber at a 40 degree angle on an oil stone covered in baby oil. We rounded it by constantly rotating at the same 40 degree angle, then pulling it back to straight.
To ensure it was sharp enough, we tested it on our nail. The perfect amount of sharp will stick to the nail, while a round end won’t mark the nail.
With the scriber done, it was time to perfect our graver’s square (what we will actually be engraving with.)
In order to engrave, we sanded the graver into shape by rotating the file at the end to create a sharp point, then sanding two points into the rounded end so it’s has two ridges that will be able to cut through the metal.
I found the process of both making your own tools and learning to really care for them really enlightening. I have never made my own pen or pencil, and it was quite special gaining a true understanding of the tools you will be working with.
