I had that experience when trying to buy some Sardonyx pieces of stone that are usually used in intaglio rings. The company in Germany refused to sell to me because I was engraving just as a hobby.
No, I hadn't come across Ray Phillips and this company before. I've been researching about the products with interest. It looks as though there would still be the problem of additional expense if ordering from the UK, though we can get a lot of Foredom products here thankfully.
I'm in the UK as well so I know the problem of expense when getting tools that are readily available in America. I engrave as a hobby and only took it up a couple of years ago. I do a lot of my engraving by hand but I also use a graver adaptor attached to my Foredom Hammer Handpiece. I think...
Thanks, DanM That's interesting. I thought it was a combination of the two methods but I did have doubts that the Saxon craftsman would be looking to make extra work for themselves.
This is a close up view of some engraving done on a Saxon brooch known as the 'Aedan Brooch' (9th century A.D.) It is kept in the British Museum. The pattern made by the engraver is unusual and I wonder what shaped graver was used as I am unable to replicate it with any of my gravers. I wonder...