Spooky Geometry

[JJ Roberts]

Mike, Time spent sharping by hand is OK if your engraving as a hobby or if your old school like fellow engravers across the pond. The only graver I sharpen by hand is the onglette, you can engraving with H&C or bruin with this graver and not have any problems if sharpen properly. J.J.

 

[KSnyder]

No disrespect meant but those numbers imho are guidelines I don't get too worried about them. I still sharpen by hand and check with a 10x loupe its fast & works for me.

 

[sam]

No disrespect meant but those numbers imho are guidelines I don't get too worried about them. I still sharpen by hand and check with a 10x loupe its fast & works for me.

We can surely get caught up in the numbers, that's for sure. We debate parallel vs conventional heel and 15° vs 17.5° lift and on and on. The old timers sharpened by eyeball and feel, but more importantly, could adapt to subtle inconsistencies in geometry and keep on truckin'.

I've often said that one of the reasons we have more engravers than ever is because modern sharpening fixtures have made it possible for literally anyone to sharpen perfectly and start cutting. But yeah, we do tend to get caught up in the numbers, and from a geek standpoint, it's kind of fun seeing how the behavior of a graver changes as you tweak its geometry

 

[Barry Lee Hands]

Personally, I don't believe there is any reason to "true up" a graver blank, except " compulsive graver sharpening disorder " ( CGSD )
All the steps in your engraving process need to be judged on whether the time used is worth the effort.
If you use the blank in any of the fixtures for sharpening, it trues itself to the fixture anyway when you sharpen.
I do think it is very worthwhile to take the time to learn to sharpen by hand, as it makes it easier to understand how the fixture operates when you use these time saving devices.

 

[Native-engraver]

A simple thing that I have found useful is to blacken the tip of the graver with a felt pen before sharpening. Then I do a quick 3 second trial sharpening, and then look at the tip of the graver; then I can see exactly where it is contacting the hone and adjust accordingly. It makes it quick and easy to make adjustments before I spend time sharpening and then resharpening. I have found this a time saver.

 

[Big-Un]

I find the Lindsay templates give very true geometries, but I have thick hands that get in the way, so instead of the 1 1/4" spacer tube, I shorten it to 1" which raises the angle of attack, so to speak, and my hand clears the work. I also prefer shorter gravers overall; seem to have more control with them. As you get more used to the tools, adapt them to your own preference...makes for better cutting because you're not so concerned with numbers but with better concentration on your work.