Round gravers, or scorpers have an almost gouge like face for clearing wider areas, except that they are not hollowed like conventional gouges. Angle tint tools were designed for producing straight lines of consistent width and depth. Elliptic tint tools, or spitstickers have slightly rounded sides, and are especially suited to curved and undulating lines. They also differ in design from chisels and v-tools employed in woodcuts.Īll tools are available in a selection of sizes to produce the correct width of cut as needed without markedly increasing the depth of the cut. The tool shaft is a length of hardened steel terminated by a variety of shapes sharpened and polished at an angle across the face, with a razor sharp along the cutting edge of each face.
Wood-engraving tools developed from hand-tools used to engrave metal. Other plastics such as Corian have also been used. The supply of suitable wood and the length of time needed to season and prepare blocks make the blocks more expensive than the plank-grained blocks that are suitable for woodcuts. Blocks made of a synthetic resin under the trade name Resingrave have become available in recent years, and offer an alternative to the increasingly expensive hardwoods. The surface of the block must be sealed and absolutely smooth for the application of ink. Hardwood trees grow very slowly in certain parts of the world and supplies of these woods are often difficult to procure. The woods chosen by the blockmaker are specifically close- grained with narrow growth rings to allow for the engraving of consistent fine lines and small details.
The blocks used today are made from endgrain hardwood, most often maple, occasionally lemon or boxwood, carefully prepared to the proper printing height (.918”) and with a polished working face. Selection of blocks suitable for wood engraving, from left to right, boxwood slab, lemonwood block, and Resingrave.
0 kommentar(er)
