Zippo Lighter

[mcrapo]

I have finished my first Zippo Lighter. This is one that I created to give as a gift to a friend of mine. I used a pattern that Viljo Marrandi created (with his permission). I wish to thank him for letting me use his pattern, I really liked it, and it turned out well.

I am not as good of an Engraver as Viljo, but have been improving in leaps and bounds for the last three months since I have been watching and learning from this web site. Thank you so much Sam for putting this up, it has been a great tool.

I welcome any comment / help that may improve my engraving.

Thanks for looking.
Mike

 

[monk]

on the side with the mono, i would have changed the orientation to the vertical. i would have widened the lettering a bit. in addition to the fine line, you could also have used a flat graver. start with a very thin cut and roll it progressively wider, then thinner to the end. the thick and thin plus variable line width/depth makes for a much more attractive result. no matter what, keep practicing drawing as much as you practice cutting.

 

[vilts]

Hey, the design look very good!

Oh, wait...

I think you're coming along nicely. And I also see you struggle with the same things as I do - the long and smooth cuts. I guess it's a beginner problem.

I agree with monk. Drawing is necessary. I don't know why but for me it's really hard to start drawing. After I've started then I can finish a drawing with no problems. But why is starting a new design so hard? Maybe because I know I'm so bad at it...

Keep up the good work and don't let the bits and bytes take away your focus from the real joy - doing something with hands!

Viljo

 

[monk]

one day you will no longer seperate drawing from the actual engraving. it's like the dough and the bread. one cant exist without the other. soon, rolling the dough becomes an accepted joy, just as the cutting is. early, i disliked drawing practice. 3 people changed my mind on that- ray viramontez, c. roger bleile, and james b. meeks. then there was no forum, but luckily i managed to cross paths with these good people and they advised me well.

 

[KCSteve]

I think your friend is going to be very pleased.

The only real problem I can see is the chance of him getting something like carpal tunnel finding excuses to take it out to show it off.

Yesterday I wound up home early and thought I'd make my ever-indulgent wife a nice little bracelet.

I was wrong. <sigh>

Ah well, it was good practice and I know what to do different on the next one. Mostly it turns out I've not yet gotten good enough to engrave script without practicing it on something else first.

 

[D.Ellis]

Looks pretty nice.
Is this the brass zippo? I ordered some copper ones, but I think the goof balls I ordered from got me brass instead. Did it cut OK or was it kinda crumbly?
Thanks
Darcy

 

[KCSteve]

Looks like it's the brass one to me. I did some research a while back.

If what you got doesn't say 'copper' on the label they sent you the wrong thing. I've had great luck with both the brass and copper Zippos, lousy luck with the cheaper chromed one I carry.

 

[mcrapo]

Thanks for all the comment. I appreciate all the help I can get.

This was a fun project to do. I am pleased with the result. It is the best I have done so far. I have not had a change to go to any classes or work one on one with anybody, so I am not displeased at all.

Darcy.

This is the Brass Zippo. It cut nice, no flaking.

Mike

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Mike

From what I can see it's just a matter of more time and practice. There are some obvious things like uneven lines and bumpy scrolls............but you can already see that.

A large part of your engraving skills will come from self evaluation and being able to see the faults in the cuts etc. The more you study other people work in books and photos the more you can see where the faults are.

As I said time and practice will take care of a lot of that side of things.

It's been said on the forum before a thousand times but it's worth repeating. Pencil, paper and drawing will help you iron out a lot of those technical problems as your eye developes.

One thing I would perhaps suggest is that you get a few metal plates and one of those scroll plastic templates from GRS or NGraver, scribe a whole bunch of scrolls on the plate in various sizes and practice cutting them to try and iron out the bumps.................boring and tedious I know, but it will pay you divedends in the long run.

Cheers
Andrew