joseph engraver
Elite Cafe Member
It was one of the café’s posts that got me to thinking about the one thing that I have found missing in the threads I have read. What is the “Proper Position†of the engravers body in relation to the work? I dug up this old photo, with the hope that the proper position as I was taught will be of interest and help to you. Note, I am standing erect and as close to the work as possible. I had recently spent one and half years studying in Italy. Every day my maestro insisted that I maintain the correct position when I had a hammer in one hand and a chisel in the other. This meant elbows up. In the photo please note that my left thumb is NOT wrapped around the hammer handle but laid along side and is part of the conjoined action of the wrist and thumb muscles that drive the hammer. A novice will grab the hammer handle with all their strength and drive the chisel like they were pounding nails. Also please note that my first and index fingers are relaxed and the butt of the hammer handle rests cupped in the bottom of the hand. Look at where my elbows are positioned. One is at right angles to my body and is parallel to the work. The other one is also in a fixed position but slightly lowered to accommodate the hammer handle length. Forearms, elbows, shoulders, and arms are as rigid as a triangular tool fixture. The wrists and fingers do the magical work of guiding the tool point. Now pay attention to my left hand holding a chisel (in this case a lining tool set in a steel handle) Notice that only two fingers are lightly wrapped around the steel handle and that all the pressure being applied down to the tool point is done with the left forearm muscles. Notice also that my master eye is directly in line with the chisel point. This provides me with a line of sight to the chisel point and places the work in complete focus. What you cannot see is that my chin and the wrist of my chisel hand are firmly touching, thus giving me a bit of extra machine’s like rigidly. The movements that make the elegant curves that compose all fine engraving are imparted from the movement of the rest of the engraver’s body. Watching a stand up engraver work is like watching a ballet. All the body moves in harmony but the placement of the elbows and wrists is always the same. That way the contact point of the hammer and chisel is also constant. This is considered the proper stance to maintain for stand up hammer and chisel engraving used by the majority of European trained gun engravers. This photo was taken at the Winchester custom shop in1983 and is a posed photo that later was used on the Model 21 Grand American brochure covers. I have no clue who took it. I was a handsome devil, no wonder I had so many woman’s problems.
Once again, I would be remiss in not reminding anyone who is interested in art, love, engraving and truth to order A Gifted Man, memoir of an artist. Only 170 easy to understand pages complete with illustrations and photos. $16.95 from www.iuniverse.com .The vise is Italian made.
Once again, I would be remiss in not reminding anyone who is interested in art, love, engraving and truth to order A Gifted Man, memoir of an artist. Only 170 easy to understand pages complete with illustrations and photos. $16.95 from www.iuniverse.com .The vise is Italian made.