Question: Any schools/courses for improving my hammer and chisel engraving?

[patek philippe]

I am very serious about improving my engraving, but I know I probably need to take some serious courses/school to get to the next level as I have learned a lot online, but I really want to learn from some masters in this field.

I am willing to spend a good chunk of money, but I am not made of money.

I would love any suggestions from you professionals if you have any info or places that teaches hammer and chisel engraving courses.

I live in the UK, but I am willing to travel for a proper course, thanks.

 

[troutbox]

i am an autodidact and tend to plow through learning new things by making many mistakes. obviously this forum is awesome for people like me. videos seem to be great and i have looked at a few online(that were free). my money is always tight and i have to adhere to a hierarchy of needs in relation to the things i get interested in. courses fall behind equipment, of which i never seem to have enough of.

with all that said, i think there is nothing that can replace practice. in my case, and this applies to other disciplines, the best way to for me to learn something is not to do "practice" work but come up with a project that reflects the direction i want to go in(only doing practice for a short time to get the hang of a certain aspect). i then get intensive about doing it....in my case, i chose to engrave a gun, many of the parts were aircraft aluminum. the barrel is stainless. i had a design in mind and followed it. each new part demanded new challenges to address, and more skill was built.

i decided to dedicate at least one hour a day to this project. it took me a year and a half to do(some of that time was spent fabricating parts but i was engraving other things in the down time). by the time i got done, i was feeling much better about my skills. especially my feel for stainless work. the time invested in learning first with a hammer and graver and then to a push graver made the jump to and air graver almost effortless.

and lastly, in my experience, those that are very good at what they do never stop learning.

 

[monk]

it's good you have the resources to take classes. you already have a foundation of knowlege for design, layout, etc. just focus on more practice. try incorporating a bit of h&c in your work routine. who knows, you may well excell after a few "real" hours of doing this technique.

 

[patek philippe]

I appreciate the advice, I will just focus on getting some more tools and pushing out more hours on the engraving, but I do like the idea of focusing on a bigger project and working on that instead of just practicing engraving in general.

 

[DKanger]

I'm surprised that no one has suggested any instructors. I don't remember who they are, but instructors in the UK, Belgium, and Italy have been mentioned numerous times here. And, of course the USA is full of them.

 

[Peter spode]

I am very serious about improving my engraving, but I know I probably need to take some serious courses/school to get to the next level as I have learned a lot online, but I really want to learn from some masters in this field.

I am willing to spend a good chunk of money, but I am not made of money.

I would love any suggestions from you professionals if you have any info or places that teaches hammer and chisel engraving courses.

I live in the UK, but I am willing to travel for a proper course, thanks.

You might try Phillip Duffil in Birmingham.

 

[Roger Bleile]

Roland Baptiste in Belgium has done some private instruction. Also Grand Master Alain Lovenberg, also in Belgium has recently held classes in his studio. Here is a link to Alain's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/alain.lovenberg

Link to Roland's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/rolandbapt...BzC7X-hEQWh--Ic-gvYJd3PgThQrBvC9-S1qwyIWqkBrn

Alain and Roland both speak English in case you don't speak French.

 

[patek philippe]

Roland Baptiste in Belgium has done some private instruction. Also Grand Master Alain Lovenberg, also in Belgium has recently held classes in his studio. Here is a link to Alain's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/alain.lovenberg

Link to Roland's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/rolandbaptiste?fref=search&__tn__=,d,P-R&eid=ARAyAu4XRGclB7d4N5SkTyN3BIzVm9DcEztBzC7X-hEQWh--Ic-gvYJd3PgThQrBvC9-S1qwyIWqkBrn

Alain and Roland both speak English in case you don't speak French.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

[JJ Roberts]

patek,If you get with Roland he has a place for you to stay,he'll rent you a room. J.J.

 

[Crossbolt]

Living in the USA I have no experience of them but the following offer training in the London area:

https://www.handengravers.org.uk/news/hand-engraving-intensive-short-course-5

Jeremy