Recent content by Ken Denning

  1. K

    Gustavo Aragao work/knives

    So along with Art Nouveau being my favorite art movement......Rene Lalique is my favorite artist/jeweler from that period. I actually taught a short art history/jewelry unit in my class and his work dominated my visual presentations. I especially love his Dragonfly broach with it's emotional...
  2. K

    Gustavo Aragao work/knives

    I was an art teacher/jeweler for 35 years. I love Art Nouveau since the beginning with it's flowing lines and biomorphic shapes. The use of the negative in conjunction with the positive fascinates me and is ideal for engraving. I have made knives for years and have etched some designs on the...
  3. K

    How to hammer this pattern into a die for fine-silver coinmaking

    The metal is doming because it is being stretched unevenly. Each blow from a "ball" end hammer will stretch and thin the metal in all directions on the side being struck. One alternative is to chase and stretch the metal evenly all the way to the outside edge. This technique is used in...
  4. K

    Latest knife blade project

    What a beautiful piece, but being from Montana where 60% of the people hunt....I have misgivings. I am a retired jewelry teacher and made knives for many years. Sure, they were beautiful and were a little over decorated but I limited the decoration to "functionality". That is, I never let the...
  5. K

    Reversing graver sharpener.

    With my graver holder on the left side of the post (disc turns counter clockwise) the graver is actually directly above the sharpening disc instead of off to the side. In this position I can sharpen my gravers directly "downstream" of the disc rotation which is optimal. Before switching my...
  6. K

    Reversing graver sharpener.

    So I took the unit to an electric motor shop to no avail. He said it was to complex and expensive for him to try to reverse the motor.....so I rethought the problem. Upon examining the graver sharpening fixture I concluded that the downward angle would remain the same no matter which side of...
  7. K

    Reversing graver sharpener.

    Thanks for your answer. I finally gave up and took it to an electric motor shop. It's really not worth me trying to do it myself (which is my nature). I'll post the results.
  8. K

    Reversing graver sharpener.

    Thanks for the reply. My fixture is configured on the right side of the post and there is no reversing the platen. I tried switching the fixture around but it mess up the calibration. If I could get it to turn clockwise it would be much more conducive to good sharpening as the graver would lay...
  9. K

    Reversing graver sharpener.

    Hey, thanks for the reply. The fixture is positioned on the right side of the post. I tried reversing it but the calibrations get all screwed up if I do that so my best alternative would be to simply reverse the rotation of the platen. The unit is pretty pricy so I don't want to screw it up...
  10. K

    Reversing graver sharpener.

    I recently purchased an Andu graver sharpening unit that rotates in a counter clockwise direction. My graver holding fixture (post, duel angle type) would work better if the sharpener would turn clockwise. It doesn't use a standard plug in to the motor but rather a "jack" type plug in so I...
  11. K

    sharpening

    I am also new to engraving and ran into the same problems until I purchased one of the "post" type of sharpening fixtures. I'm sure you've seen them. The graver/collet attaches to a circular dial which is adjusted to the angle you desire. The whole unit slides up and down on a "post" and...
  12. K

    Adobe photo shop and illustrator!

    I'm new to engraving but have been considering trying to learn a program to improve the quality of my designs. I am a retired art teacher and am 75 years old. I'm also a typical old fart when it comes to computers so I am hesitant to try something of this complexity. I would take a class if...

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