To black or not to black

[Dave Waters]

Do you guys black in your engraving? What would be the proper thing to do?
I know in time the patina will get'er done. But I don't want to wait.

[David Rase]

In my opinion, blackening in engraving defeats the whole purpose of good brightcut engraving, which is to reflect the light.  I guess that makes my answer to your question a no, I do not blacken in my engraving. 
Dave

[Lucky R A]

Dave,
         Since I usually build copies of originals and almost always finish them to look like they have some age and wear, I do black in the engraving.  I use Brass Black from Birchwood Casey, and then buff back the metal w/ a grey scuff pad.

Ron

[LRB]

  I think blacking is almost a must if you want details to be easily seen. The cuts will darken with time anyway. I use flat black Rustoleum. Wipe in, then wipe off before it sets.

[smylee grouch]

Cold bluing works quite fast too on brass. Wipe it on and off.     Smylee

[docone]

That is awsome engraving!
Great work.

[alyce-james]

The engraving pictured above is, in the world I live in, absolutely outstanding. I do however prefer age color to show in the engraving. Thanks for sharing notes. AJ

[LRB]

  Thankyou for the compliment, but there are a number of engravers on this board better than me. I just wanted to show how blacking shows the details without eye strain, or degradement of the work. Blacking shows the details without having to turn the piece to catch shadows. IMO.

[t.caster]

Dave, you ask is it proper. I know it is acceptable....who's to say what's proper?
The rest of my answer would ditto what Lucky R A said.

Tom

[docone]

Do you,
Use a chasing hammer, or hammer handpiece?
No matter how I look at it, it looks great! I bet it didn't take long on each piece either.

[LRB]

  If you're really betting, you lose! That was done by hammer and chisle. I probably spend 3 or 4 days drawing each and laying them  out on the piece.  Quite a few hours were spent cutting them in. I am pretty slow, and try to be very careful.

[Dave Waters]

Thanks for your replies. I sure appreciate it.

Wick, you sure do good work.

[MarkEngraver]

 I have nothing I can add to the previous suggestions of bluing or blackening or paint to darken the cuts to show the engraving off  better. These all work fine, so just try them out to find what works best for you.

If a person wants to preserve the bright cuts and their ability to bounce light, as David Rase suggests,  do your line engraving, background stippling if needed, then darken the cuts ,and then come back and do your bright cutting last.
The engraving detail will show to advantage and give you that jewel like quality of the facets.

I've done this with Colt SAAs and it works well.

Mark

[Cody Tetachuk]

I have ALWAYS blackened my engraving. It really helps to show all the mistakes :'(. I use BC Brass black on brass and a cold blue on iron. Here is an example of each, (patch box designs inspired by (copied) by J Kuntz) the brass patch box (obviously) and a practice plate version of a patch box that I WAS going to do but decided that it was a bit too "contemporary".

[Roger Fisher]

Hello again Cody:: Beautiful work, just beautiful....

[David Rase]

I can't believe it,   out of 14 posts, I am the only non-blacker in the bunch.  Thank God this is a free country.  Had I known I was the lone ranger on this one, I would have waited and learned.
Dave

[Ed Wenger]

Dave, that just makes you "special", lol....

I've used black India ink, paint, or those crayon thingys Brownells sell.



     Ed

[Captchee]

Myself , i think David is correct . but it depends on the cut . if your  western bright cut then its doesnt need black. it will stand out by itself  and it doesnt tarnish like one would think .
 btu if your doing flater cuts like Cody is doing , then  blackening  can really help

[kutter]

I don't put anything in the cuts to make them stand out.
Most everything I do has been on cartridge firearms but some M/L jobs over the years, so case color,blue and plated finishes are the norm.

The M/L jobs I just left them bright, the customers never asked to darken them.
The couple I've made for myself I just left them bright and they naturally darken up with use.

For display pieces and photos, most all the engravers use something to highlight the cuts. Much easier to photograph for publication and shows better while on display under less than perfect lighting.

A French Grey finish naturally highlights most cutting in steel and gives a nice finish to the steel at the same time,,one of my favorites.

[MarkEngraver]

Hey David , you are not alone.
Most of my engraving gets Nickle plated or Blued or Cased  just like kutter says. But it's also on cartridge guns.
My latest project was an 1870s era Colt open top .22 and it's getting Silver plated.

I will "black" the cuts mostly to better show the costumer the engraving when I email them pictures of the completed engraving work, but it isn't the final finish treatment

kutter is right, French Grey is probably the best finish for showing off engraving.

Mark

[JTR]

Dave,
If you were doing brightcut engraving, then you wouldn't want to darken it,,, but most Kentucky rifles aren't traditionally brightcut engraved.

John

[Dave Waters]

Thanks again gents, for all you fine  insights and comments.

I always try to be a willing student.

[Cody Tetachuk]

Hello again Cody:: Beautiful work, just beautiful....

Thanks Roger.