rudimentary wriggle work -- soldier's art

[WCM]

Hello all,

I am completely new to the art of engraving, so I hope you will bear with me.

I am also a military historical reenactor and graphic designer/illustrator and am trying to duplicate the engraving artwork that soldiers often produced with rudimentary engraving tools on their aluminum mess kits and aluminum canteens and so forth. It's an activity I'd like to show to the public at many of our events. One can find many decorated items made by soldiers of different countries from both World War One and World War Two. It appears to mostly be the wriggle work style of engraving. Both zigzag style and the zipper style of wriggle work. And I have seen straight line engraving as well on these items.

Here is an example of one of the wriggle work styles I am trying desperately to duplicate. I believe this is wriggle work in a zipper style, but please correct me if I am wrong. I have no experience.

http://www.aboutww2militaria.com/June2006/rus_cigcase.html

So far, I have not been this successful. I find this zipper style very difficult to produce.
Since a soldier in the field had limited access to precision instruments and such, he had to use his ingenuity to make his tools and so forth. This is where I also really need your expertise assistance and guidance.

What type of materials do you suggest I scrounge and employ to make a decent graver for this type of wriggle work? What would be the proper way to assemble an expedient engraving tool from scavenged bits and pieces? A soldier would not ordinarily have access to a grinder and vise and such. A pocket knife, file and sandpaper maybe would not be a problem though. He can store those in his pack or haversack.

I have a modern screwdriver with a 1/8" wide blade that I quickly heat treated, filed and sharpened by hand with fine emery paper. I use kerosene for the lube. I've also read where bacon grease also makes a nice lube when working on aluminum. Both of those materials are easily obtainable by a soldier in the field. The kerosene really seems to make a difference.

I had thought about maybe trying to use a small square cut nail as my graver blank and then use it in a hand carved wooden handle. Maybe with some twine wrapped around the lower part to act as a ferrule. I don't know if this would work though. No doubt, some of you have a much better idea or method.

Anyway, I've been practicing on some 1/8" thick aluminum bar stock with this screwdriver with results that are less than satisfactory. I have not been able to produce a nicely deeply incised zipper style wriggle cut in it like in the photos on the link above. Maybe the tool is too wide? Too dull? I definitely don't have the experience. To me, it's a beautiful little cut though and seen on many wartime aluminum items.

As I say, I could really use advice from any of you who care to help in this matter.
I would like all my tools and materials to be correct for the period for our historic display as the public sees me working on a canteen or messkit, etc. And I also want to be able to explain to them what I am doing and how I made the tools and so forth.

Thank you for reading through this long post. I know it's an oddball request regarding low tech engraving and such, because all of you do such beautiful and precise work. But I just ask that you, with your engraving experience, think of what you would do if you were a soldier in the field and had no professional engraving equipment. With what and how would you make your own tools and supplies for engraving aluminum, copper and brass? How would you then proceed to engrave onto an item without a good vise, etc? What would you use for keeping your graver sharp? What would you prefer for lube, etc. etc.

Thank you all very much.

-Bill Marsh
Graphiker1@aol.com

 

[Tira]

Bill - Welcome to the forum!

The wriggle style you show in the link should not be hard to accomplish "in the field". If I were trying to do it I would use the small screwdriver that comes on a pocket knife. You could use a fork w/ one tine, or any piece of steel that could be sharpened and either held by itself or in a wooden handle. Many metal objects should be tough enough to do this wriggle cut on aluminum. I think that the screwdriver you are using is too large. From the looks of the picture, the metal graver is probably only as wide as one of the letters on this page I'm posting. The exact width is one line in the zipper - from one point on the right across to the next point on the left. If you have different sizes of tools, you could do different sizes of wriggle to enhance your designs.

Now, to do the cutting you will need to sharpen your "graver". I prefer a 55 degree face and a 17.5 degree heel - of course this is when I sharpen w/ my power hone which you will not have in the field. If you get an arkansas stone and sharpen the face and the heel (in this case both sides of the screwdriver) to a knife like edge that runs across the face of the screwdriver, that should be able to mark the aluminum. You create the wriggle by holding the graver almost perpendicular to the metal and "gently" rocking your wrist left and right in a motion that is similar to opening a door knob. If the edge is sharp and you are not pushing too hard the edge should rock its way across the surface producing the wriggle. If you are slipping then you are either pushing too hard, are not at a high enough angle, or have chipped the face of the graver.

I hope this helps you. Wriggle cutting is one of those things that if you have seen it demonstrated once, you go Aaahhhh..... but, it's hard to describe with words.

Where are you located?

 

[cunningham]

I too have tried every broken piece of steel in my shop,but until I was shown how to sharpen it,nothing worked.Most files dont look too thick until you wiggle the fist line and then they look the width of a football field.

 

[richard hall]

what an overlooked aspect of engraving, thanks for posting this.

 

[WCM]

solier's art wriggle cut

Excellent Tira! This is exactly the kind of advice I am looking for!

I have been practicing the wriggle cut with the sharpened screw driver, and can kinda sorta accomplish a semi-decent zigzag style wriggle cut. And the kerosene lube really, really helps. But I just can't make a nice zipper style wriggle cut with my screwdriver graver. It ends up much shallower in depth of cut and more uneven. Nothing like the one in the photo on that web site I posted. It's obviously my lack of proper technique too. If I can end up being able to make a cut like that, I'll be a happy camper [no pun intended]. I'll take your advice about trying to use a smaller graver to accomplish this effect after I try to make another little tool for it. Maybe 1/16" wide instead of the 1/8" wide screwdriver blade I am using now. But like you said, different width blades used on one piece makes for interesting design possibilities. And I won't mind mixing zigzag with zipper style wriggle cuts and straight line engraving on one piece either. I think it will only enhance the end product.

I also like your idea about carrying an Arkansas stone. Many a soldier carried a little whet stone in their personal kits in order to sharpen their pocket knives, etc.

I also thought of carrying a small scrap of leather to use to dress the tip of the gravure after a preliminary sharpening --- kind of like the same purpose a leather razor strop is used. I don't know what I can put on the leather though for the sharpening medium. Soldiers wouldn't have had access to diamond paste for that purpose. Is there something that would work well on a little scrap piece of leather?

From what I understand, wriggle cuts can be made to good effect with either a flat or square profile blades. Is this correct? Those profiles sound a little easier to make that other profiles. I will also want to make an expedient proper profile blade for straight line engraving. Any ideas? Is it better to push or pull on aluminum to make straight lines?

Anyway, thank you all for the ideas and expert advice. I'm excited about the prospect of being able to add this kind of authentic personalized touch to equipment that belongs to me and to others who may want some of their items personalized. So please keep the great ideas and advice coming!

-Bill
Graphiker1@aol.com
Indianapolis, Ind.

 

[Bill Tokyo]

Punch work

Hi,

To me this looks like it was done with a punch. It reminds me very much of the type of work done
by American Indians in the Southwest, and a bit closer to home here in Tokyo, it looks very
much like the type of punch patterns used in some Japanese engraving.

Making a punch like this is pretty easy: file the end and harden it a bit, but for aluminum, you
wouldn't even have to bother with the hardening. You could even use a nail the right size, file the point off
and make your punch. Nyet Problema, as we would say in Russian.

By the way, this cigarette case says "CSR" on it and there is also what appears to be the owners
Initials, "MB"

Bill

 

[White Raven]

rudimentary handtools

This teases the imagination . How about toothpaste for a polishing compound to be added to leather ? Would a soldier , of that peroid , carry a small triangler or round file ( could be bent and sharpened ) for cutting straight lines ?

 

[JBrandvik]

Hi Bill,

Tira is definately correct in steering you toward a narrower graver. The force necessary to push the graver into the metal and keep it moving forward is proportional to the width of the graver. This should be relatively easy to accomplish by honing the width of your screwdriver/graver with a sharpening stone.

The cigarette case in the photo appears to have been wriggled using a technique refered to as 'low wriggle' where the graver is held lower to the object. The low method creates more of a zipper appearance whereas the higher angle of attack gives more of a zip-zag appearance.

I also think your nail/graver idea has merrit as long as you have access to enough heat to be able to temper the nail after you have given it the rough shape of a flat graver. The force and the friction of low wriggle cutting will dull the outer edges quickly otherwise. Its very difficult to execute a clean wriggle cut with a dull graver so know that your sharpening-time will be a good investment.

Finally, I would add that rhythum is more important than speed. When I first started learning to wriggle cut, I had the idea that I needed to buzz like a sewing machine. If it helps you to count out "One, two, one, two" then do so as slowly as you feel comfortable. The key again is to keep a consistent rhythum.

Here is a quote from Scott Pilkington taken from a previous thread on iGraver which explains the technique of the low wriggle better than any I have ever come across.

This wiggle looks nothing like a high wiggle which is essentially a zigzag line. the low wiggle looks more like a zipper to me, with interlocking teeth, made by the bright cuts. To do the low wiggle, you need some good wrist and forearm strength. You will have to build up to it if you do much of it at all.

The graver is a flat graver with NO heel. It (the bottome of the graver)can be bright polished if you want bright cuts in the brass. I say brass, cause that is mostly what you see in banjos, you could do it in nickel silver as well, but I would not attempt it in steel. I would put about a 45 degree face on the heeless flat graver. with the graver at about a 15 degree attack, push it in as far as you can on the front right side of the graver. When you get it pushed into the brass until it will not go anymore, rock the graver from right to left, so that the burr you just made breaks off more or less straight and you start pushing in as deep as you can with the left side until it stops because you are too deep, rotate the front the graver back over the right side and start the process all over again. Do it fast and in an equal rhythm and you will have a good looking zipper wiggle. Different width gravers can be used of course for different effects, but the wider the flat is the harder your wrist is going to have to work to break the burr as you roll from left to right, right to left.
__________________
Scott Pilkington​

Good luck, Bill.

 

[WCM]

Yes, Bill, I have seen some of these aluminum equipment items punched to make letters and designs too. Usually with a small round point. Neat idea to consider doing in order to mix up the media.

Good idea about the toothpaste White Raven. I've heard of people using it to polish various things. I carry a small corked bottle of tooth powder in my kit. Just mix with water. However, no small files were normally issued to soldiers that I am aware of. Those would probably have to be a scrounged item that they would have been lucky to have found. Soujnds like one would make an excellent straight line gravure though.

Something that I thought of though. What about using fine campfire wood ash mixed as a paste and apply it to a small piece of leather and then strop the edge of the gravure? I remember that Civil War soldiers on campaign in the field would take wood ash to polish their brass belt plates and steel rifle barrels. I can't remember if they mixed it with something to make a paste or not though. A Civil War reenacting friend of mine will know. And I believe they used sweet oil [fine olive oil?] to lubricate their muskets. Maybe. So maybe the wood ash could be mixed with gun oil or kerosene or something to make a paste to spread on the leather. Just thinking out loud.

Thanks for the good informative posting Jim. I will definitely try making a smaller gravure then. Maybe I'll have better luck with the "low wriggle" cut with it. And you're right about the rhythm. I found that out this week just by practice and experience that it seemed to work better that way while I was making zigzag lines. I still have a ways to go before I can keep that rhythm though due to my lack of experience.

I haven't yet figured out how to heat the tip of a gravure hot enough over a campfire yet so that I can properly temper the metal. I cheated with the modern screwdriver blade this week and used a propane torch to heat it. Quick and easy. But it was just a first-time home experiment anyway. I think there's a way to heat metal hot enough in the hot coals of a campfire like this by blowing a bit of air through a long metal tube down into the coals. Man, talk about suffering for your art. /;^) I'll have to do more research. That's getting into the blacksmithing arts.

All of you are very helpful. If you have any other ideas, suggestions and advice please don't hesitate to post them. I'm sure I'll be able to turn this endeavor into a success due to all of your help and expert knowledge.

-Bill
Graphiker1@aol.com

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Hi Bill, Just a couple of observations: Firstly, Tira has given you some excellent advice but be very careful about using the screwdriver on a pocket knife. If it doesn't lock there is a risk of it folding back on you.

Secondly, using a nail as a graver won't really hold up as they're usually iron and will never be hard enough to hold a proper edge.

Thirdly, why do you necessarily think items like this were engraved in the field? It was more than likely done by an engraver who was conscripted or volunteered for the services and then had to search for what he could use as a graver. Soldiers are notorious scroungers so obtaining something as simple as a piece of steel to make a graver shouldn't pose a problem. It was probably done in barracks (or behind the front line) when the soldiers had some spare time and not over a camp fire. The reason I say it was probably done by an engraver is that this wiggle cutting is exceptionally neat (considering it was probably hand held). It isn't a straight forward wiggle but involves some forward pressure to get the zipper effect. This means the points that wiggle cutting usually produces are squared off. Wiggle cutting is the safest way of engraving when you don't have a vise to hold the piece to be engraved in as one is less likely to slip and stab oneself.

A very interesting thread, thanks for sharing it.

 

[lesholmes]

While in the Air Force I frequently used the leather sole of my military shoes to polish the edge of my pocket knife well enough to shave the hair from my arm. The finely crushed dirt embeded in the sole worked very quickly.

You could give this a try if you have a leather soled shoe. I don't believe attempting to rub dirt into a piece of leather would crush the grit small enough.

Regards,

Les

 

[Bill Tokyo]

Toothpaste

Toothpaste is an old watchmaker stand by. It works very well for fine polish of acylics, and is good for
taking scratches out of plastic watch crystals. As it is a mild abbrasive, it may work on metals also.

Bill Tokyo

 

[Roger Bleile]

Bill,

I have to strongly agree with Marcus regarding where this work was done. I am retired from a career in the military both active and reserve. Most of my time was in the infantry and cavalry and even though I was also an engraver I never thought of engraving anything while in the field. It was easy for me to have a couple of gravers and small sharpening stone among my gear but in the field I was too busy soldiering, leading, or trying to stay warm or dry. I have seen many of these wriggle engraved items you write about at military shows and museums and many showed the hand of someone who had expierience as an engraver or was taught by such. As I'm sure you know, a large part of any army is made of support troops such as mechanics and supply personnel who are more or less in the rear with the gear. They have both the time and access to tools and supplies that front line personnel do not have especially during extended combat operations. It is a very romantic notion to imagine a soldier at Stalingrad with bullets flying overhead and shells bursting around crouching in a mud hole with a graver made from a broken bayonet engraving something on his canteen. It was far more likely the work was done by a jeweler who had been drafted while working in a supply depot using a graver he brought from home or looted from a bombed out jewelry shop.

For a brief time I was a lineman in a signal platoon and I was issued a knife called a TL-29 linemans knife. It had a standard blade and a screwdriver blade with a liner lock to keep it from folding closed. I could see how the screwdriver blade could easily be shaped into a flat graver for the work you want to do. Here is a link to a TL-29 on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-M-KLEIN...ryZ43331QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here is a link to Sam's tutorial on sharpening a flat graver. You may not use the power hone as described but the illustrations will show what a flat graver looks like. http://www.igraver.com/pdf/flat-sharpening.pdf

Good luck and have fun,

Roger Bleile
First Sergeant, US Army (Ret)

 

[monk]

first: be wary of aluminum barstock. some of this stuff is very resistive to engraving efforts, especially if anodized. go to the junk yard, there's tons of old teapots, pans, whatever made of aluminun. it's lowgrade alloy. i had a graded "set" of screwdrivers that were used for nothing except wiggle cutting aluminum. some were as wide as 1/2". i used them years ago to generate revenue by wiggling names and what not on 6x12" painted aluminum blanks. i got several hundred of these blanks free, and soon discovered a way to create cash flow with them.

 

[WCM]

Thank you for the great postings. And thank you Les and Roger for your service to your country. Your experience, advice and opinions regarding this subject are very valuable. That's also part of exactly what I was hoping to read --- someone's engraver/soldier advice and experience.

Yes, I know that soldiers would not have had time in the front lines to make anything and engrave much at all --- especially when the bullets are flying. POWs made many things like this. Soldiers on convalescent leave and even private contractors made things. However, some of the simple things were engraved by the soldier himself too just to ID some of his equipment. It's plainly obvious with some of the items I have seen.

This is a link to a photo of a WW2 Russian soldier's aluminum spoon. The soldier just simply added his initials "PK" to the handle in wriggle work. Nothing fancy or elaborate.

http://aboutww2militaria.com/October2007_2/ww2_spoon.html

I see a lot of this type of quick, simplistic and even often crude engraving on canteens and mess kits too.
Mostly the soldier's initials or last name and initials or even full name, and sometimes the unit too. And it's very often accomplished with wriggle work. Some of that probably didn't take very long to do, such as that spoon handle. I am assuming that a crudely-made engraving tool could have been used to engrave the spoon without much of a problem at all. It's not really art -- it's just, well.... ID'd.

It sounds like I probably confused everyone some here about the subject. I didn't mean to insinuate that the cigarette case was made and engraved while in the front lines. That was obviously done by someone with more time on their hands. Where and in what kind of situation? I dunno.

There's a recent book on this subject that looks rather interesting, and I wouldn't mind finding it in a library.
"Trench Art: An Illustrated History" by Jane Kimball.

And here is a web site related to that book that shows more elaborate examples and has text, etc.
Anyway, I think this is the web site. Seems like good information on the subject.
www.trenchart.org

-Bill
Graphiker1@aol.com

 

[monk]

i dug up an old foto of a 6 x 12" wiggled plate. these were done for the fronts of cars & trucks. they were painted aluminum blanks. i would repaint to the customer request , do names, monos, or designs. total time on most of these was well under an hour. all were wiggled with common screwdrivers, properly sharpened. i did close to 300 of these. $10 to $20 bucks ea. fair money at the time, and i got the plates for free. there are a select few of these still on the road after 20 or more years ! btw, the dark streaked effect is simply an anomaly of the lighting.

 

[WCM]

Thank you for the good suggestions Monk. I'll have to look for some cheap second-hand aluminum items and small screwdrivers at a GOODWILL or other second-time-around shop. The aluminum bar stock I've been practicing on is just the normal stuff you find at the hardware store. I might try some thinner aluminum sheet metal too to see if that makes a difference.

Neat license plate art too. Do you recall how many columns of wriggling cuts it took to make the letters? I can't tell very well from the photo. And in less than an hour too? Wow!

-Bill
Graphiker1@aol.com