Hammer & Chisel Engraving by Sam Alfano

[@OvelNick]

There's something inherently beautiful about the intimacy and romanticism that comes with a piece a craftsman used their hands and analog tech to create.

[@neiljborja]

Pretty inspiring to see what you can do with such simple and inexpensive equipment! Thanks for the video!

[@bncoop09fallon96]

Sam, you have a gift. I'm not talking about your engraving (although, I could, as it also is a gift of yours) I am talking about your ability to captivate, teach, motivate/inspire, and you seem like you enjoy it. Great work, I appreciate you taking the time for this stuff. Oh....probably should have mentioned, this particular video was very useful. Thanks again

[@glennlopez6772]

Thanks for the video Sam! Most inspiring watching the lines form so smooth with such control. Such handwork should be treasured!

[@Gunsgame1966]

True craftsmanship! I’m just starting out at 56 , I can’t afford a GRS or Lindsay pneumatic engraver so it’s basics for my basic start in engraving , hope I win the lottery but I’m not a gambler

[@warmwomyn]

So glad i found you again. Completing first semester of metalsmithing.

[@danterusso6354]

Thank you for your tutorial/video. I have a deep level of respect for what you create. Well done!

[@jeffreyharrison6896]

Thanks for the video Sam. I would like to see you make a video of recommended tools for starting on a low budget. Also off subject, I noticed the banjo in the background. I play a fretless Appalachian mountain banjo.

[@jkrofchick90]

I would also love seeing a video of beginners tools and techniques

[@stevenhudson6843]

Yes get amazon links on it? I dont know the name of these tools.

[@has123456]

Congrats from Brazil. Exactly. Tool names and tips about this great art. I'm wating for this.

[@robmart5920]

I'm taken back to when Paul Revere engraved like this. Engraving in its purest form.

[@msm.3140]

Such lovely engraving, what a gift you have!

[@keithkimsten5111]

Sam I enjoyed your video greay. I engraved on mostly silver but the techniques are very similar. There is some finish techniques to add and some rolling techniques of chasing to be added to further mostly the nonferrious metals end of chasing and engraving that I used in a protype shop I worked in for a long time. Perhaps for another day. But this video shows your obvious talent and willingness to go oldschool when needed which is almost a lost art today... Every piece I did was old school but that's mostly because I'm old... LOL. Thanks much for stirring so many my old memories I hadn't thought of in decades..

[@steamgadget]

Another awesome demonstration! I learned engraving with push gravers and some hammer and chisel. This makes me want to pick up my hammer. Thanks for making the video and sharing with us!!

[@victortsykunov]

Started so dirty cut then it goes better and better. Been a long time I believe ! Nice job Sam

[@RRMWildChild]

I’m not sure how I got here but I’m glad I did. That sir was some beautiful artistry. Thank you for sharing.

[@closerlookbooks]

Such beautiful work. Thanks for posting.

[@BlindLemonFishStix]

I know you probably don't look at comments on these old videos, but I wondered if you could define what a "heel" is. That was such a small tool that it was not obvious what was being done during sharpening. I find your work truly fascinating! Lovely!

[@TomMcArdleuke17]

The heel is the small facet on each side of the bottom of the tool. It gives you a way to drive the tool forward without it diving into the metal. the angle of the heel is the angle you need to hold the graver as you tap on it. If you hold the graver at a higher angle than the heel the tool goes deeper into the metal, at a lower angle it comes out of the metal. 20 degrees is about what I use also, most of the time.

[@alexkarnaukhov8020]

Красиво, хорошая работа, требующая большого терпения и высокого уровня мастерства. Желаю успехов!

[@kennethjanczak4900]

nice work Thanks for taking the time to make the video and share it

[@btdarterschannel112]

That turned out more than great! It's beautiful! Thanks for the awesome video!

[@simonbrady2570]

As a master bronze caster and cowboy I can see the potential of using your method to carve wax modeled into decorative spurs for everyday use. Once cast I would inlay with silver. Simon Australia.

[@RafaelCruzFoto]

Thx for sharing your knowledge! People like you are amazing huge respect! Cheers from Canada

[@moladhdodhia1580]

I am so impressed, what a great talent to be so gifted in.

[@jackkuehneman9300]

The only gift is patience and wanting to learn. It's hard work to get that good

[@coaxsanford832]

Super Job,I have always wanted to see that done,thanks for your time.

[@timetravellingbunny3952]

Fascinating work. Apropos of nothing other than enjoying spotting such things--that appears to be a 16610.

[@alicerosa6766]

Wow! That's a great technique. It looks easy but I know it requires a lot of practice and patience to get the perfection. Thank you for sharing this beautiful art👍👍.

[@RiverVmanna]

Very nicely made demonstration. Thank you.

[@robmart8255]

Can you imagine how much better that could have turned out if the microscope rotated whileyou walked around the work? Very good demonstration. Nice engraving.

[@Konduct_]

Looks great. Thank you very much and I hope all is well with you 🤙

[@erikscharer]

Impressive !! I ve never seen that type of rotating vice before.

[@dreyn7780]

Yeah, so that proves in 2020 engraving is NOT famous. Thank goodness, the internet is making us dumb humans aware of these basic facts. Hiding in the back room of some horrible little nobody shop, doesn’t make you rich OR famous.

[@sheevinopalpatino4782]

@@dreyn7780 Why are you so hostile about hand & chisel engraving? What's wrong with you?

[@dreyn7780]

@@sheevinopalpatino4782 would you agree engraving has been going on for a long time? If you agree to that, then you also know if something has been done for a long time, humans always get bored with the repetition and they begin to make jokes and after a while those jokes make people head in the opposite direction. A good thing turns into a bad thing over time. The tide goes in and then out. Instead of approaching people to get work and share the joy of decoration, engravers are hiding in exclusive shops. The tide is clearly going out on these types of people. You’re making sure they’re careers are over rapidly.

[@sheevinopalpatino4782]

@@dreyn7780 Very passionate about hating engraving, must have a nice life.

[@dreyn7780]

@@sheevinopalpatino4782 control your self. You haven’t reached the level of a conversation where you dismiss a person at the end. You judge people without even knowing anything about the person. I’m just commenting as a smoke alarm and YOU think it’s me, I’m talking from my own perspective. You’re wrong! You’re disrespectful and discriminating. The engraving industry has been around for such a long time humans must approach them as being sick in the head behaving like spiders not humans. They certainly aren’t SOCIAL People in 2020. Motorbike stores are far more sociable than jewellery shops. Where’s the BBQ after work on Thursday? GET OUT FROM BEHIND THE COUNTER AND ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE! The customers AREN’T going to open the door anymore! You DO some WORK at being social from now on!

[@liamthompson9342]

So therapeutic to watch. Beautiful.

[@mukhumor]

Lucky is the man who is happy in his work.

[@jakegevorgian]

Thanks Sam! I did enjoy it. Thanks for inspiration. I should turn a new handle for my graver and try this method. I'm total newbie in engraving.

[@Inesophet]

So nice to see that thanks to youtube craftsmanship like that are never going to die out.

[@keithhunter3499]

Mesmerising too watch ,from an unskilled in any art guy, envy and admiration are all I can offer .fantastic 👍🇬🇧

[@arvilmaddox6666]

Thank you Sir I loved this I learned so much just from watching. I will definitely be trying this.

[@jkrofchick90]

Wish you lived in California ,I could sure use some help starting up! If I lived near you I wouldn't miss a single minute of class haha metal engraving is such a beautiful art form ,and I can't wait to make something like you made here lol you make it seem effortless.keep up the beautiful work! Jonny

[@satyanarayanamendu6231]

What a nice and precision work. You are Expert keep it up

[@PietroMaker]

Ciao. Sei un artista. Saluti dall'Italia

[@hjones1]

You, sir, are quite talented. Very nice.

[@stuartclark4699]

Wonderful video Sam, I've started engraving using hammer and graver. So far practicing on aluminium, copper and brass and a home made rotating vice made out of an old drill press vice mounted on large nylon cutting block washers (about 6in diam.) with Teflon lubrication spray between. Your work in an inspiration. I can't seem to find a good blackening compound though. Black paint doesn't seem to work for me. I suspect you use some sort of graphite compound. What should I try? Thanks in anticipation. Stuart (Australia)

[@ALSomthin]

I am going to try this. I will make myself some tools. Too bad I dont live near Kansas anymore.

[@toadjam12000]

Great video Sam. Thank you.

[@aaliaoh719]

Beautiful video man!

[@GottliebGoltz]

That looks like it's right up My Alley. Thank You.

[@legendrebernard2549]

A great demonstration perfectly explained and shown thanks a lot :) :) :) I have suscribed and the thumb up of course !!

[@mpccenturion]

Thank you. I was looking to hide some marks that a previous owner left on a firearm. This seems to be a practical was to "disappear" the issue. I'll practice some before attempting anything, but this gives me somewhere to start. Cheers

[@hennessyblues4576]

can you make some more videos, like engraving guns, with like a blued type steel and gold inlays, I think those are really neat.

[@dreyn7780]

Guns are 3D printed in 2020. Computers do all the work now.

[@orazioramagnano5532]

Bravissimo Maestro,!

[@simonoconor8149]

Wow, fantastic craftsmanship.

[@wolfhawaii1]

Very nice indeed! I have aspirations to try this.

[@jorickferies2299]

Thanks for the advises, impressive job !

[@ratedrHXC]

This is all the motivation i need

[@ScoutSniper3124]

Awesome video, thank you. Where could I buy that kind of chisel and hammer? Thanks

[@arcelaguilar929]

Hermoso trabajo maestro,el que usted realiza ya me suscribi a su canal saludos desde la ciudad de México.

[@Ty_N_KC]

Your close home... nice work!

[@johnzzhu]

Wow, very cool. How critical are the angles at the tip? Can you do something similar with a wood chisel on softer metals like copper?

[@mrandmrsalfano]

The geometry of the chisel is absolutely critical. I wouldn't use a wood chisel on metal, no.

[@dreyn7780]

It’s NOT cool.

[@Sheepdog1314]

@@dreyn7780 huh?

[@LaserGadgets]

I BOUGHT a square steel, hardened, right angle ( I ASSUME ) and no matter what I do, its digging into the metal. Angle is so damn flat I'm almost ending up on the underside of the piece -.- what is it? My hammer too heavy? Does it depends on material? I tried AlMg and AlPb, brass flatstock, sheet metal and steel.....all the same. Never consitent depth.

[@guloguloguy]

I like your bench vise! What is it? Where can One find such a tool?!... Thanks !!!!! AWESOME Video, and Skills!!!

[@carlpbrill]

Thanks for the old school videos. I despaired of finding anything but air-powered hand-piece videos. Those are fine but no way to get into it as a hobby.

[@dreyn7780]

Yeah, funny about that. In the real world, acid etching superseded engraving decades ago! In 2020 3D printing makes these vids ancient history.

[@olivernavarro6237]

@@dreyn7780 this is an art. Can't be lost to anything

[@notTheDutchBoy]

@@dreyn7780 you are going to 3D print this kind of stuf on a gun? lol

[@dreyn7780]

@@olivernavarro6237 the businesses have all closed. They were nasty to potential customers and so nobody cares they’ve all gone.

[@dreyn7780]

@@notTheDutchBoy they sell metal powder and glue that’s sets harder than metal as well. Obviously they’re going to do it.

[@coinflipper6331]

I don’t have the equipment to do this. Is their an easier and cheeper way to hold the pice of metal in place and a more affordable equipment to magnify what I would be doing?I really love seeing you and others doing this and I would like to join the crew!

[@Freakunleashed666]

Great video, you can learn very much from it. I am an engraving student from germany and we really like your work! The big problem we have in germany, that we dont have much hardware supplier for engraving. So can anybody tell me what kind of vice he use? i mean how do you call that vise, because its not just a standart vise that you can buy in the hardware store.

[@RainyDayForge]

I'd like to know more about the vice too.

[@gabrielhontanosas6803]

for this design, did you use only 1 chisel? Around @9:57 how did you get thinner finer lines do you just not press the chisel as hard? sorry for dumb question. I'm thinking of gettign into the art of hammer & chisel

[@Cakewalkingbaby]

If you don’t mind me answering your question, I believe most likely Sam is using the same chisel but for the finer lines there is less pressure to the chisel. Of course you can also use a different chisel to create different effects but usually it is the amount of pressure that will provide you with the desired look. A thinner chisel with more pressure will also sink deeper into the metal and still give a thicker look. Hope you’re doing well with any of your endeavours.🙏🏼

[@meraki]

Great job man!!!! Nice skill

[@LaszloGalloVideos]

Fantastic work (again).

[@coreymerrill3257]

I see why you like the handpiece speed wise . How would this be undercut for inlay? When would it be done as well?

[@NovoWatch]

Wow! Amazing work!

[@nicolasmartinezsalazar6478]

---hermoso trabajo..felicidades.

[@Grabador_mx]

amazing work master

[@jessmdevans]

the engraving at 11:59 looked 10X better at 12:00, something was done to clean it up, smoothed it out. care to share. i mean it does look like the same engraving, but you can tell it looks different. did you just take a super sharp knife and just trace the lines? i noticed before the 12:00 mark, you could see very small bumps in some of the grooves, kinda like miniature bumps when the hammer was tapped. reminds me of chatter marks when you run a drill or end mill at the wrong speed or feed, but after 12:00 it looked perfect. before 12:00 there were a few blemishes, after 12:00 it looked like a machine finish....please explain

[@ModernBladesmith]

probably just cleaned it up and wiped black paint of some sort in the low spots.

[@Davek595]

Where do I find a manly vise like yours.

[@SigismundSonOfDorn]

This is what id like to do. Time to start saving for a hammer and chisel

[@AdAblurr]

FASCINATING. I will want to try it, but need to find out what the "handle" is for the graver - all mine are wooden and not for tapping on :)

[@mrandmrsalfano]

Any hardwood handle should work. Many European engravers use steel handles. These will work quite well for you: www.grstools.com/chasing_hammers/044-220.html

[@autisticsoda3256]

SOOO COOOOL i want to do the same thing to my self hand crafted gladius

[@LordPenny95]

Hi Sam as a beginner could you show what we need for an pneumatic engraver

[@puddingpimp]

I have a question about your rotary vise; You are able to push it around so lightly with your hand, but then it doesn't seem to move around while your are engraving, does it have a foot brake or some other mechanism to lock it in place, or are you bracing it with your wrist while engraving?

[@Geospasmic]

I could watch hours of this.

[@figbig1338]

Good afternoon, Sam Alfano! Your work is beautiful. I also want to learn this kind of work. but I do not have any tools or skills yet. Can that that will advise, with what to begin? What tool.? Many thanks .

[@hobbydelcoltello]

Congratulations for your explanations, which punch do you recommend to make this sign and where to buy in Europe? for black shades do you use black oil ink? thank you

[@Shukarr]

Beautiful work! Are you left handed by any chance?

[@buffalo7163]

Recently, I’m interested in hand engraving on the metal, then I found this video. This video made me to try hand engraving. Great work!! By the way, what is the pattern called? I saw this pattern other hand engraving videos.

[@leandrodamiano3638]

Acanthus scroll

[@johntrueblue]

You are the grand master.

[@richarddvll]

wonderful video helps a lot think I have to get me a rotating vice for sure

[@podjawsomness4642]

Greate video! Would a carspring metal work as the chisel?

[@aleksanderW21]

Tanks for this information now u can start without a machine!

[@stanjarmolowicz]

Hi Sam , you always amazing with your skills . Where i can purchase vise like that ?

[@Ahnii]

its a self centering vice with rotating base there are many version for machining out there (never seen this exakt vice)

[@Gantzz321]

wish the video had a audio track overlay explaining what was happening during each step. example, to get the line to go from thin to fat then thin again, who is this being achieved, is it changing the angle of the chisel or something else. How do you get the lines that have 1 side going straight into the material an the second side of the notice has a low angle out. These types of details would be amazing

[@gbenother8755]

That was exactly my thought. While it's satisfying to watch this sort of craftsmanship, it could become really valuable with the addition of a bit of explanation. On the other hand, I've never been a master of any craft, so I may not appreciate enough the difficulty there might be in deciding which of the 5000 things he's thinking about are worth mentioning to a neophyte.

[@disingenuously]

he has videos to purchase on his site which have very detailed descriptions

[@CaptainMyCaptain33]

What Handle is that you used? I like it. Also my taste in color.

[@byfieldmichael1992]

Any pointers on how deep is too deep of a cut and what to do to prevent uneven cuts

[@decoymiata]

What an art something I always wanted to try

[@annagirlieee5290]

More spirals please!

[@abelartm]

hello I watch your videos carefully but I can not find the square scissors to burn ??? would you have a link please

[@lalocasillas9218]

I would like to know what type and brand of hammer and chisel you are Using…??

[@faikbalaban]

wow fantastic work

[@CarverEngraver]

Tell me what’s the difference in using a flat head or a convex head on the chasing hammer .. is there a difference in hitting ?

[@marcelomerchan9563]

Gracias, Maestro!

[@mbootgae1497]

in the chisel sam package there are 5 kinds of chisels. can identify how many sudit it is. I want to make it myself

[@johnnagazyna992]

Great work for being Rusty!!! Some day I would like to do that well

[@RC-tz6pw]

HI, may I ask what is the name of that vise holding the plate? It can turn. thank you

[@andrekrishna4753]

hello, can I ask you, where to get the vise and what is the name of the vise

[@abdulrheemalmekhlafi]

Amazing 😍 really really 😍