doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Laser Engraving

Engraving is a matter of subjective taste. Some have it and some of us do not. I fall too much into the latter group. But even with that admission laser or cnc engraving will never impress me as much as hand engraving. For the masses I think laser engraving is about what they expect or even exceeds expectations. As long was engravers have enough commissions to keep them employed with a decent backlog they will be fine. Just as photography did not end portrait painting machine engraving will not end hand engraving.

To me machine engraving is too even, too symmetrical, too much like cookie cutter work. Others like that style. The heavy Germanic engraving also leaves me behind. Taste vary thank God or everyone would want my wife and I like her truck too much to let her go.

The above post is a laser engraved boxlock. The work has obviously been designed by someone who knows engraving, judging by the layout and the design. The work took a lot less time than by and. It enhances the gun, at least in my eyes.

It is the Boxall and Edminston boxlock.

If you don't insist on full coverage, you can get first-rate engraving on a shotgun for far less.

Jay

The age of the machine is upon us. Laser engraving, in general is not, in my opinion, up to the best hand engraved works. However, it is up to the less than best hand efforts. Given time, the laser efforts will rise to meet those "best" standards. As it is, laser engraved birds really look like birds; dogs like dogs, etc. That cannot always be said of the hand engraved versions.
In the future, those with the funds and inclination can and will opt for the hand engraved work, simply because they can. Look at the people who collect expensive watches when a Timex can probably keep time at essentially the same level of accuracy.

It is my opinion that there will always be a market for art ala hand craftsmanship.

DDA

And I am thankful for that Rocketman. As for laser engraving, at least everybody can own one...and just like everybody else's.

I can order a customized one-off T shirt with a picture of my dog or my spouse on it. I just send them a picture, they feed it into the computer, and then print the picture on the Tee.

Then there is three dimensional printing.

It would seem that in a year or twenty years the same could be done with laser or EDM engraving. A unique design is converted to zeros and ones and the machine engraves the gun.

What a load of romanticized bull.

"and just like everybody else's" conveniently forgets the "standard" patterns that ALL the gunmakers used and use today.

A tool is a tool. Engraver people don't cut those patterns with their fingernails. Hammer/chisel or laser it's still just the engravers tool. A masterpiece can be written longhand or composed on a computer. Tools do not define the artistry.

Imperfections make the charm of hand engraving? That is just at stupid. So the finest, most capable engravers, the ones that approach perfection so closely that their mistakes can't be found must be "lifeless" and despised as well? I want to spend $25K on some mistake loaded engraving so everybody knows it was done by a craftsman. Oh, yeah, fer sure.

And out of just what evening mist do you suppose those laser patterns arose? And where do you think "traditional" patterns came from? I have a book full of patterns that are ALL composed of stock elements. But, somewhere along the line before it got to steel, some artistic, creative person had to put those things together.

And THEN, the general whine here is always about the loss of the traditional styles and look - and THEN here you whine about the laser copying that look. That Boxall and Edminston boxlock would likely blow right past about, well, all of you and never be pinged as anything but hand done. If I could afford it they'd be cutting a few of my guns right now.

I'd bet some vital body parts that it will be few years before scanning patterns and refining the cutting will produce engraving that will defy criticism. And the engraver people doing it will be as honored as the ones are now. Actually that 3D capability is here now and just needs a real market.

get real, people

have a day

Dr.WtS

What a load of romanticized bull.

"and just like everybody else's" conveniently forgets the "standard" patterns that ALL the gunmakers used and use today.

A tool is a tool. Engraver people don't cut those patterns with their fingernails. Hammer/chisel or laser it's still just the engravers tool. A masterpiece can be written longhand or composed on a computer. Tools do not define the artistry.

Imperfections make the charm of hand engraving? That is just at stupid. So the finest, most capable engravers, the ones that approach perfection so closely that their mistakes can't be found must be "lifeless" and despised as well? I want to spend $25K on some mistake loaded engraving so everybody knows it was done by a craftsman. Oh, yeah, fer sure.

And out of just what evening mist do you suppose those laser patterns arose? And where do you think "traditional" patterns came from? I have a book full of patterns that are ALL composed of stock elements. But, somewhere along the line before it got to steel, some artistic, creative person had to put those things together.

And THEN, the general whine here is always about the loss of the traditional styles and look - and THEN here you whine about the laser copying that look. That Boxall and Edminston boxlock would likely blow right past about, well, all of you and never be pinged as anything but hand done. If I could afford it they'd be cutting a few of my guns right now.

I'd bet some vital body parts that it will be few years before scanning patterns and refining the cutting will produce engraving that will defy criticism. And the engraver people doing it will be as honored as the ones are now. Actually that 3D capability is here now and just needs a real market.

get real, people

have a day

Dr.WtS