Gun Engraving Demonstration in the USA

In the spring of 2017 I was invited to demonstrate the way I engrave guns at the Southern Side by Side Classic held at Deep River in North Carolina, USA.  Can I say at the beginning that I could not have met a nicer group of people anywhere.

Atkin, Grant & Lang invited me to be on their stand and sponsored me. Thank you to them for that and for giving me a great time.

The method I use to engrave guns is one that seems to be dropping out of favour as the new generation of engravers are using air-powered tools. I have tried them but I think the traditional method of pushing the tool with hand pressure is better as it is easier to give character to the engraving when you are getting the feed back from the tool directly. Also I can pack a basic set of tools (excluding my pad) into a 9 x 5.5 x 2.5 inch cigar box which is much more portable than some engravers’ set ups.

My table at the show was always busy with people (who were very well informed) asking questions about the work or how I started and often quite technical things about tools and technique.

Thank you to all the people at Deep River for making me feel so welcome and at ease.