Engraving, in the broadest since of the word, is simply the art of cutting lines into different types of surfaces.
This is normally done for decoration, or for printing reproduction purposes. In the most narrow sense of the word, engraving is a printing process where lines are cut into metal plates to create patterns to be dipped in ink, then the pattern transferred by placing it under high pressure presses.
The following paragraphs will briefly discuss engraving, as well as discuss some of the history associated with engraving.
Engraving being used as a decorative technique can be traced all the way back to B.C. From all artifacts found, scientists have concluded that acid etching was used with techniques such as pounding a metal shaped rod against the metal and hammering it, in order to create the indention. Later, hand engraving, or pushing a sharpened tool by hand along a surface, carving it out, to create a decorative picture or pattern, was discovered. Hand engraving resulted in sharper lines and more attention paid to details, than any other method of that time.
As technology changed, so did the art of engraving. In the 1800's engraving machines were created to aid in precise engraving, and not much has changed since then. An engraver of the 1800's could easily sit down at a modern engraver's work bench and feel right at home with his engraving tools. However, the engraver of the 1800's might be pretty impressed the the improvements made to those engraving tools, including magnifying optics and lighting.
These different types of surfaces include things such as:
Although we know have computer controlled machines, that did not exist back in the 1800's, the engraving done by hand takes a skilled person, and often stands out because of it's unique style. That has remained the same for centuries.
Hand engravers are still in high demand to do many things. Personalized engraving is often needed to personalize valued objects like guns, jewelry, and machinery. Even the money we spend is made with steel plates that were engraved by a human being, not by an engraving machine.
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