Drawing Pencil

[JKRice]

Would like to thank everyone for their help with questions I have had on previous threads. I draw directly on the metal I intend on engraving. What is a good pencil to draw directly onto the metal for a small line that’s dark enough to see. Many Thanks, Jerry

 

[Leland Davis]

Scribe

 

[JKRice]

Leland, do you use a pointed scribe or one slightly rounded?

 

[leo]

I don’t know what you use for layout what I use is 0.3 drafting pencil with a soft led like a 2B and then scribe it in

 

[Leland Davis]

rounded

 

[JJ Roberts]

Jerry, I like a drafting pencil with 5.mm lead and then scribe. J.J.

 

[FANCYGUN]

I just use a plain ordinary number two pencil sharpen to a point. I either draw straight on the metal or sometimes I will rub some modeling clay on it. Dust it with talcum powder and draw through that and my line show up real good II cut right through that Keep it simple

 

[Meshach]

I have used a mechanical pencil with a soft 2b or 4b graphite, but it produces very faint and easily rubed away lines. In the following example I used a matte white spray paint and used the pencil on that, as you can see it gives a very visible line that can be gently erased if need be but is still quite rub resistant. When finished the paint can be removed with acetone on a rag.
As others have already said a scribe works well in so many situations and is pretty much permanent as far as rub resistant, a rounded point gives a fainter line and is less likely to snag and drag giving smoother lines but sometimes requires more pressure to get an easily visible line (obviously the hardness of your engraving surface plays a role here), I would suggest experimenting around with both and see just how much of a line you want/need.

 

[SamW]

As above I use a scribe but there are conditions for its use. First, the metal needs to be polished to a well worn 600 grit polish. This is to let you scribe the lines in very lightly and still see them under good lighting. This will let you easily burnish out areas you wish to correct. If the surface is not well polished the scribed line will have to be deeper to be able to see it and will be hard to burnish out. I will often first draw the scroll or design with a #2 pencil to help me get the scribed line better located. I use a very sharp scribe so as to make very fine lines which help me get a proper scroll. I will scribe and burnish the scroll backbone or whatever figure until I have it drawn as perfect as I can get it before cutting. I then make the first cut lightly so I can make corrections, ridding elbows and flats, etc. Then make 2 or 3 more cuts to both correct bad lines and get the depth I want. This all takes more time but gives excellent results.

 

[SamW]

An example of "draw and cut". Texas engraver and first president of FEGA Frank Hendricks always said gun engraving was cutting a predetermined line.

 

[DaveAtWeirs]

On polished silver I sometimes use a red sharpie to cover the area and then draw onto that with a 2H pencil to get the base outlines, if I need to correct I'll just use the sharpie over it again to erase the lines I want. The red sharpie knocks down the reflections so I don't blind myself through the scope but still allows me see the surface.
Then if I need to refine the design more I'll go back in with a fine round tipped scribe, the rounded tip sort of scrapes away the sharpie and pencil leaving a clear line without digging into the surface. If it's a project that I'll be working on for a while where the sharpie might rub off I'll use a sharper scribe and scratch into the surface, wipe off the sharpie with acetone and use china white to knock down the reflections.

 

[JKRice]

On polished silver I sometimes use a red sharpie to cover the area and then draw onto that with a 2H pencil to get the base outlines, if I need to correct I'll just use the sharpie over it again to erase the lines I want. The red sharpie knocks down the reflections so I don't blind myself through the scope but still allows me see the surface.
Then if I need to refine the design more I'll go back in with a fine round tipped scribe, the rounded tip sort of scrapes away the sharpie and pencil leaving a clear line without digging into the surface. If it's a project that I'll be working on for a while where the sharpie might rub off I'll use a sharper scribe and scratch into the surface, wipe off the sharpie with acetone and use china white to knock down the reflections.

Thanks Dave. That was a good description of your use of a red sharpie. Regards, Jerry

 

[AllenClapp]

On polished silver I sometimes use a red sharpie to cover the area and then draw onto that with a 2H pencil to get the base outlines, if I need to correct I'll just use the sharpie over it again to erase the lines I want. The red sharpie knocks down the reflections so I don't blind myself through the scope but still allows me see the surface.
Then if I need to refine the design more I'll go back in with a fine round tipped scribe, the rounded tip sort of scrapes away the sharpie and pencil leaving a clear line without digging into the surface. If it's a project that I'll be working on for a while where the sharpie might rub off I'll use a sharper scribe and scratch into the surface, wipe off the sharpie with acetone and use china white to knock down the reflections.

If you use the gray Sharpie to create a drawing surface, there is no reflection issue. You can cover a lot of territory quickly with the large, fat Sharpie, but the normal one works well also--it just takes more time to coat the surface.

 

[mitch]

On polished silver I sometimes use a red sharpie to cover the area and then draw onto that with a 2H pencil to get the base outlines, if I need to correct I'll just use the sharpie over it again to erase the lines I want. The red sharpie knocks down the reflections so I don't blind myself through the scope but still allows me see the surface.
Then if I need to refine the design more I'll go back in with a fine round tipped scribe, the rounded tip sort of scrapes away the sharpie and pencil leaving a clear line without digging into the surface. If it's a project that I'll be working on for a while where the sharpie might rub off I'll use a sharper scribe and scratch into the surface, wipe off the sharpie with acetone and use china white to knock down the reflections.

I use a yellow sharpie for pretty much the same thing. And a black one as a Dykem substitute.

 

[JKRice]

I use a yellow sharpie for pretty much the same thing. And a black one as a Dykem substitute.

Mitch, Thanks for the description of laying out items to be engraved. Jerry