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Old 02-12-2011, 05:28 PM
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Steve Lindsay Steve Lindsay is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Kearney, NE
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Default Re: razorblade micro engravining

Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Short View Post
The tools are very fine Victorian needles which I rub down on an arkansas stone and push into a wooden graver handle. I bought them from an antique dealer many years ago. They have gold eyes. The quality is superb. The difficult part is hardening and tempering the needle. It's so thin that I only have to show it to a candle and the heat flies along it. I don't have a lot of control in this - it's hit and miss most of the time. Next year I'll have been engraving for 50 years. I think that will be long enough. My eyesight is now failing. I have a regular course of botox injections around my left eye because it has been affected by strain. This helps, but sadly, the wrinkles are still there!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Short View Post
I've got the BBC Television News coming into my workshop on Monday to film me at work. I'll try to get them to take some real close-ups.

(Steve, the engraving is along the sharp edge. You are right, the blade had to be prepared to get a flat edge).

Thanks for the replies Graham. How large of flat are you placing on the cutting edge? Or in other words what is the height of the letters? I am interested in trying it some more. Would it be possible to talk you into placing a single letter on the edge of a razor and send it to me so that I can see the size you are at first hand? It would be helpful. In trade I could sharpen you a couple carbide needle points using the dental rotary handpiece on a diamond lap. If the needles you are using are very old as you mentioned they would probably be made from carbon steel. You may enjoy checking out needles made from HSS, M42 cobalt or carbide.

The write-up mentions that the engraving can only be seen with a 400x microscope but later it says you are using magnifying glass for the work. What power is the magnifier? Is it a hand held magnifier?

Thanks again.
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