What to Look for in Engraving

It can be a bit daunting to try and see all there is in the more complex patterns that are used by engravers to decorate guns. Most people just look out for scrolls that, instead of a nice even line, are rough or a corner instead of a curve. The thing to remember is that the engraver is only looking at a part of it at a time – so instead of trying to read the word, he is looking at parts of one of the letters.

This can help when trying to appreciate the engraving you are looking at. Try and look for an overall flow that runs through the engraving and then look at the details – the way the intertwining scrolls go behind on another and sometimes emerge on a different part of the gun. The more the pattern moves in and out of itself the more time the engraver has spent designing it and working on it generally, and that means it will probably cost more. But it also means that the pattern is more interesting and you will be able to look at it again and again, seeing something new each time. Look at the game scenes, are the birds as you remember them when you last saw them? Are the eyes too big or too small for the head? Have you seen trees look that? Has the engraver arranged things so that there is a screw head in the most important part of the scene? Look at the edges of the gold work, is it clean and tidy? Are there what could be loose bits? Now put it down (I know that will be hard) move away (harder yet) can you still see what the engraver was trying to get across, dose it work as an embellished gun?

That’s what we look for and so should you and if it's not right let the engraver know. We need your feed back or we will keep on making the same mistakes and you will stop giving us work.

So, you want some engraving done; you have a gun or have one on order and the sales person has given you the chat about how wonderful it's all going to be. You take delivery of your pride and joy, and it's far from wonderful, the instructions about the type of engraving, the way the game scenes are arranged or the amount of gold that has or has not been inlayed is all wrong. What should you have done? Well talk personally to the engraver is always a good start, we don't bite: well not often. Any good engraver that cares about what they are doing will want to give the customer the finished job that will make them both proud. So talk and get to find out what sort of engraving your chosen engraver likes to do or more important what they do not like to do. You will be surprised at the sort of things that can be done, I have studied the engraving that has been done on antique guns and can now duplicate the techniques of the old masters, including the silver wire inlay that was put into the wood work. These, as well as traditional and more modern patterns will give my customers something they can enjoy for years to come.

Keith