Hi Ganggreen,
We all follow our own paths developing skills like engraving. I have disability in my hands because of nerve damage from severe frostbite. I have trouble positioning full length chisels (wood or chasing) to start a cut but once I am going I am fine. A pro like Jerry might be frustrated watching me engrave with hammer and chisel because I fumble so much getting started with a cut. The Airgraver solves that problem for me as well as making it easier for me to huddle over and see my work. Obviously, engraving is a physical skill to be mastered but it also is important to mentally understand the work done in the past if you want your engraving to look like it came from the time period you are trying to emulate. To me, much modern engraving on long rifles and even some English guns is too modern looking. It really pays to look closely at original work and see the designs and the cuts. Below are photos showing work I have done in different historical contexts. The first shows standard ordnance engraving on a British carbine from the 1750-60s. After cleaning up the casting, buildng the lock, and polishing, the cast in engraving was wiped out. Moreover, I wanted to change the name from Farmer to Vernon and the date to 1757. I used hammer and chisel to cut the thick and thin double line border as well as the name and date. You can see the imperfections in line depth and width but they are nicely parallel. That was typical work on locks and doing parallel lines is the best of practice when learning to engrave because it forces you to control the graver precisely. I cut the crown using my Airgraver because of the tiny details.
The next photo shows a patch box in the style of Isaac Haines. You don't see precise cross hatching for shading like you see in John Schipper's book, rather shading is done by converging a bunch of lines or by cutting a deep trench with a round bottomed graver. On this patch box all the main lines and deep round bottomed cuts were done with hammer and chisels. The lettering and detail were cut with the Airgraver. The designs are well cut but simple and 2-dimensional.
Here is an example of French trade gun engraving. This is a little bit of a step up from the Haines box but the engraving is still 2-dimensional with very little shading. The engraving is a little harder to do because I had to now actually engrave objects that had to look real. Scrolls on most long rifles are pretty easy to do because they do not have to look like anything real and you can make mistakes in design without anyone else knowing it was a mistake. You cannot do that when engraving an object that has to look real. Note how often long rifle engravers did so badly with faces and animals.
Now I get to harder and better quality engraving on a higher grade English gun. I includes scrolls and volutes but also objects like cannon, flags, and a drum. However, note the lack of a lot of cross hatching for shading. Instead, when a dark area was required the engraver just stippled, converged a bunch of deep lines or used a round-bottomed graver to go deep and sculpt the work. Again, all main lines were cut with hammer and chisel and all details with the Airgraver.
Here I get to the best quality British engraving for the time period. Scrolls, volutes, flowers, faces, and lettering. Shading by deep lines, parallel lines, or stippling relief. Nonetheless, note, not much cross hatched shading.
Finally, my best period engraving on an early 17th century French gun. This is really hard because almost the entire design is made up of fantastical beasts, human faces and figures, including a skull. Objects have to look like what the are supposed to be. This is an example of a mix of late mannerism and very early French baroque. My strategy was the same, main lines cut by hammer and chisel but all other work was cut with the Airgraver.
My enjoyment in doing this work is not just learning and refining my skills but learning the art and context from the times and places I try to represent. It is a commitment not only to learn the craft but to do thorough research.
dave
