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Old 01-04-2007, 09:25 AM
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Steve Ellsworth Steve Ellsworth is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Highlands Ranch Colorado
Posts: 784
Default Re: Nickel Engraving

I dont have any secrets. I just carve away everything on the nickel that doesn't look like the image in my head or in from of my eyes.

As far as techniques. I use my classic with flats and v gravers. !8k rotary pencils with diamond bits, diamond bits chucked into mechanical pencils and a fair bit of elbow grease. Sometimes a hammer and chisle and occasionally i just throw them across the room and stomp on them if things aren't going my way.

I suppose it would be fair to say this has already been done by Steve Adams and is on his site SGA sculpture. He is the best carver today and has a wealth of pretties to look at. He doesn't give away any of his secrets but he does go through the process. Other examples are on the hobo Nickel site.

I am in the process of doing something similar, having recently acquired a scope camera.

SL has been after me to do some tutorials for the website. So that may be in there along with other forays into non standard uses for the tools.

I doubt that I would ever sell any of this stuff. Preferring to just give it away. There are so many subjects to carve and not enough carvers to do the art form justice. Actually there is no reason to hide anything. Carving in itself is an individual art form, just like Steve's scrolls are different than everyone elses so to are my works in the coin realm. So while one may consider that there is competition it is only to see how much and what quality of an image can be pulled from a coin. It is virtually impossible for one person to copy anothers work. BEaaring in mind the artisitic bent and the variety of tools employed. Two people with the exact same setup will turn out entirely different pieces.

My style is prertty much off the wall freehand. That is to say I don't do alot of preplanning on my subjects. I just dive in and cut. Others make patterns of cut paper or transfer imagery to the coins in a fashion similar to traditional engraving. However it doesnt take long for that pattern to dissapear once the carving is underway.

I will try to get some pics in stages up for you all to look at but you will learn just as much by taking any old coin and start carving it. It's just like anything else. You develop a style without even knowing it. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt.

Now if you would like to contribute to my paypal account I will be happy to cut you a coin for study!!!!! Make sure that you deposit enough for 4 round trip tickets to costa rica.

More later
Have fun
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