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Famous European Metal Engraving Technique!

metal carving

Samuel RyanSamuel |

European metal carving, there are two main application scenarios: one is high-grade hunting guns and pistols; The second is handmade custom cutting tools. In terms of carving techniques, there are mainly three kinds: one is the rolling line carving from the United Kingdom; The second is Brino dot carving and banknote line carving from Italy; The third is the high relief from Germany. The price of a gun or knife carved by a famous artist is no less than a middle and high-end car.

English Scroll

Coiled wire carving is the most common application on weapons, the most famous being carved weapons in China and Britain. Thread carvings are made of flowers as the most commonly used theme. But in reality, the techniques are different. The difference is that the British carving is to dig out the metal with a carving knife to form a circular arc of negative lines. China is chiseling, mainly by hammering the impact force on the metal surface to form a pattern.

The way of wire engraving is to fix the workpiece on a round table that can be rotated. The craftsman then turns the table while pushing the cutter with his hand, so that the tip of the cutter creates a round arc on the workpiece. Arcs can be deep or shallow, and patterns are made up of many such arcs. Modern wire carvers add a pneumatic assist mechanism to the tool.

There are also English and American lines. The pattern of the English rolled wire carving is small and dense, giving a feeling of refinement and elegance. The American pattern is larger and thicker, which is more beautiful.

Line carvings can be composed independently, but the pattern is more suitable for edge decoration. Therefore, it can be combined with other flowers, mostly rose patterns.

Brino Pointe

Compared with wire engraving, Brino Pointe is more time-consuming and laborious.

Its composition is mainly composed of small points formed by pressing a knife on the metal surface. Brino dots differ in size, depth, and density of "dots". A larger piece of work will contain millions of "dots." It is not the same as a painting or a photograph, but its effect can be close to a photograph or a hyperrealistic painting.

It takes a month to complete and is one of the most expensive types of sculpture. Its subject matter is much richer than the coiled thread carving, can be animals, figures, can also be scenery.

Brino point is also one of the most delicate types of carving. Because it is too fine, a slight bump can cause damage, so it is only suitable for appreciation and collection. The most difficult thing about Brinot is not the engraving, but the design. Only those who can personally design the picture they want to express are sculpting artists. This requires a very deep art foundation!

Gold inlay

The ancient art of gold and silver was divided into gold carving and Jian gold. Among them, gold is carved in the metal surface grooves, and then the gold wire is filled in the grooves. Jian Jin carved dense squares on a metal surface. These squares are not polished, and the gold sheet is attached to the square and then hammered flat with a small hammer so that the gold sheet is fixed to the surface.

The two processes have their advantages and disadvantages: ragged gold is not as solid as ragged gold. Therefore, the engraving area can not be too large, so you can not make too complex patterns. However, it has strong sharpness and good surface force; Jian Jin produced complex patterns. Because the ductility of gold is particularly good, the gold sheet can be made particularly thin, which is more material-saving.

Because the line is carved in the metal concave transverse groove, so it is easy to combine with the gold Mosaic process. The simplest way to do this is to fill the gold directly into the groove.

Modern gold inlays often use not very thin gold foil, but directly squish the gold wire. The sculptor would first determine the outer outline of the design, and then dig the surface of the weapon low according to its outline, embedding the gold. A pneumatic engraver is used to carve the outer surface of the gold. This engraving can still be done in any of the options of coiled wire, stipple, or relief.

High relief

High relief, is originated in Germany, and Austria around the craft. Its basic method is to dig down the background part of the pattern to make the pattern protrude. This process is often achieved through etching, which is the sealing of the surface part of the material with wax. It is then corroded with acid to form a basic concave and convex outline, and then carved.

Famous European Metal Engraving Technique!

Comparing these two works, it is evident that they share a common subject matter, yet the artistic execution and technique employed are strikingly different. The image on the left exhibits a high relief, which means the sculptural elements protrude significantly from the surface, creating a strong three-dimensional effect. High relief is typically associated with a sense of grandeur and immediacy, drawing the viewer's eye to the intricate details of the sculpture.

In contrast, the image on the right employs Brineau Pointe and Curlework, two techniques that involve delicate incisions and intricate patterns. Brineau Pointe often results in a subtler aesthetic. Curlework, on the other hand, adds a sense of movement and fluidity to the sculpture.

Banknote line carving

Banknote line engraving originated in late 15th-century Italian engravings, mainly used for block printing. After that, it had a certain development in Germany, and then it was extended to other European countries such as Britain and France. It started in Italy with straight lines, and then the Germans developed curves.

Although they are all thread carving, the banknote thread carving is completely different from the British roll thread carving in the front. It is a lot of diagonal cross thin lines, reflecting the difference between light and dark.

This is the technique used to make banknotes. If we look closely at any banknote, we will find that its picture is made up of many very fine lines. Compared with dot engraving, the tonal variation of banknote line engraving is not as rich as dot engraving. But it has the advantage of not being as easily damaged as a dot.