The Methods for Hand Engraving Metal

Oct 17, 2023

Do you want to master the art of hand carving metal? The method of hand engraving metal is very suitable for engraving delicate jewelry with complex designs and is widely used in jewelry engraving. , which uses tools such as carving knives, hammers, and chisels as media, integrating the artist's imagination and skills to create various lifelike sculptures of various shapes. No matter what kind of metal hand engraving process you want to know, this article is worth reading.

Hand carved metal

To learn to carve metal by hand, you need to understand the basic concepts of hand carving metal.

There are two ways of hand engraving:

Gold chisel removes unnecessary parts through physical impact so that the desired pattern, pattern or text appears. Tools such as hammers and chisels are usually required.

Gold gilding involves pouring molten gold or other liquid metal onto the metal surface and then cooling it rapidly to form a gorgeous metallic film on the metal surface.

The origin of engraving

The emergence and development of sculpture are closely related to human production activities, and at the same time are directly affected by social ideologies such as religion and philosophy in various eras. When humans were still in the Paleolithic Age, primitive stone carvings, bone carvings, etc. appeared. Sculpture is a relatively permanent art. The traditional concept is that sculpture is a static, visible, and touchable three-dimensional object that reflects reality through visual spatial images. Therefore, it is considered to be the most typical plastic art. , static art and space art.

Learn about hand engraving

Hand engravers mainly integrate their own ideas and artistic content into their works through knife skills. Through the process of wielding the knife, the beauty of the work is vividly displayed, making the work more vivid and connotative. They use different tools and different strengths to imprint their inner thoughts on the metal. Different habits of each person lead to different use of tools. Even the same tools have different lengths. Users can choose according to their own preferences and habits. The tip of the handle is different from other tempered parts in that it is not that hard and can be broken and adjusted to length. The serrated end needs to be polished and embedded into the wooden handle, which will provide a better feel when used. You need to be bold when carving, and don't worry too much about damaging the work. This way the created work will not be rigid and make the work more interesting. If you want to form your own artistic style, you need to practice frequently and hone your skills so that you can strike with precision.

Hand Engraving

So how to perform hand engraving correctly?

What follows are some suggestions and guidelines for hand engraving on metal:

The first step is to design the pattern, draw a sketch on paper of what needs to be engraved, and then determine the location that needs to be engraved and whether it has special meaning.

Based on the designed pattern, select the material for the metal or jewelry that needs to be engraved next.

Do not start engraving immediately after selecting the material. You need to carefully clean the surface of the metal on one side to remove all impurities, any impurities unrelated to the material, to prevent the uneven surface from affecting the carved line pattern after you start engraving. Keep the material surface smooth.

Use transfer paper or graphite pencil to draw the designed pattern in the corresponding position. This process is similar to a tattoo sketch. Make sure that the printed lines are clearly visible and there are no errors in the position.

After completing the above work, you can start to carve correctly. Use a carving knife to carve accurately at the designed position. You need to pay attention to the changes in the depth of the pattern, and then gradually add carving details after the whole thing is roughly completed.

After completing the engraving, the material also needs to be cleaned again to prevent metal debris on the metal surface from scratching the completed pattern lines. We can use some brushes with soft bristles to clean gently and gently until no metal debris is visible.

After the cleaning is completed, the final polishing and polishing of the work can be started to make the work appear in its most perfect state and enhance the visibility of the pattern. We usually use special polishing cloth or machine polishing steps.

Warm reminder: If you accidentally make a mistake during the engraving process, you can also polish it by hand before continuing to engrave. Of course, there are also special machines that can polish it. The specific operations are as follows:

Compare the work you mishandled with the design drawings, and repeatedly polish and engrave adjustments until the original expected effect is achieved.

During the engraving process, make sure that the direction of the engraving knife is correct, and ensure that the engraving knife is always pushed downward and forward. If the depth is not enough, you only need to repeat this operation until the expected line depth is reached.

Keep the engraving knife in the correct direction. This step is difficult for novices and requires repeated practice to accumulate experience. Here are several carving knives that are more suitable for beginners to recommend to everyone, one is a flat-head carving knife and the other is a V-shaped carving knife.

Various hand engraving tools

When learning to hand carve, choosing the right tools is crucial. Here are some steel hand engraving tools to help you learn about metal engraving tools faster.

Scraper: This tool is used to remove rough particles from metal surfaces

Spit stick: Used to create smooth lines.

Carving knife: You can create wide or narrow lines on metal. There are different models to choose from, such as v-shaped, square, diamond, round edge, flat edge, oval, etc.

Sanding Paper: Used to polish burrs and sharp edges on metal

Mechanized jewelry engraving tools

If you now want to use mechanized engraving tools, then katway is definitely your best choice. Katway has the most cutting-edge products with rich varieties, good quality, low prices and excellent service, aiming to meet all customers' needs for jewelry engraving. As a high-quality jewelry tool manufacturer, Katway cooperates with major jewelry factories, studios, and schools. It is a very trustworthy jewelry tool brand.