Again....thank you all for the very kind comments. I'm still learning, but I enjoy the work, so it's fun to keep going.
Greg,
Yes, I do use blue layout dye and then sketch the design very lightly with a scribe. I also use Chinese white and / or just a soft wax and then layout with a pencil. As you know, the wax / pencil layout is easy to wipe out or off, so when I do that I usually do the design in small sections.
I didn't actually start engraving (really) until I took lessons from Jerry Huddleston a few years ago. He taught me a transfer technique that I use a lot especially for replicating a design or making a left and right hand version of a given design. I lay a piece of mylar film on top of a design and scribe the design into the mylar surface. Then I rub printers ink into the scribe marks, wipe the surface clean, flip the ink filled scribed lines down on the surface where I want it to go and use a burnisher to transfer the ink to the surface. Works great, but, like the pencil marks on the wax, it will smudge.
Hope this helps,
dave C
