Thread: thoughts
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Old 04-11-2018, 11:34 AM
jerrywh jerrywh is offline
Steel
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 17
Default Re: thoughts

Charles.
First off there are people today that can do anything that you have shown in the drawings. Although I know it may sound like bragging I can do anything I have seen so far and I know others that can. The hardest thing to execute in the examples shown is the perfectly smooth background. I think it is in the book Steel Canvas there is a shotgun by the Brown Brothers that is a perfect example of this smooth background. Remember the Engravers back then never watched TV or wasted time on the net.
Almost all of us are part time engravers. Those men of that time period were full time engravers and gold smiths who usually started when they were about 12 years old and did it until they were too old to work. They had magnification also in the form of large and small powerful magnifying glasses. As far as the smooth background is concerned, some of the relief may be iron inlays in relief and the background may not have been cut down to begin with. Another reason we don't see this now days is it is hard to get a client who will pay for such time consuming work.
Gravers can be sharpened like scrapers to aid a lot in doing the smooth background. There much about sharpening gravers that is never taught by anybody I know nor is it in any books on the subject. Some of that chiseled work requires some unusual type gravers and a lot of it is done with punches instead of gravers. There is a lot to be learned from those ancient artists. I have been studying them for at least 30 years.
Joe Rundell is one who can do about anything that is possible as well as Coggan, Lee Griffith, Mike Dubber, Eric Gold, Alain Lovenberg. There is a guy in the CLA that is very good at that sort of engraving. Can't remember his name right now. The problem is there is little or no demand for the Baroque style now. Rococo will sell.
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