i'm thinking the failed image was dithered, or a collection (very large) of dots. different sized dots, different spacing between them. at ordinary resolutions, the brain organizes all these dots to produce an image.
the dots aren't vectors, or lines. the software wants to do vector, so the...
beautiful knives. i hope you get the needed "spark" to learn the engraving. nothin better than embellishing your very own product ! welcome to the forum. lots to learn here.
drawing anatomy is critical. i didn't even consider the eye. to me, the bird body shows no detail that appears realistic.do as fancy gun said, you'll see far better results. if one cant do it on paper, all the more troublesome to try on metal. good luck.