Most of us have probably heard of what "carving" is, that is, the use of different carving tools to leave a specific design on a carved material. In fact, engraving has been around for thousands of years and has evolved into an art with the development of engraving to this day. If you want to carve your own jewelry at home, you can read this article first to learn the basics. Then start carving.
Definition of Jewelry Engraving
To learn jewelry engraving, you can start by learning what the definition of jewelry engraving is. Simply put, jewelry engraving is the process of carving something special, such as a pattern or text, into a gemstone or other material. Engraving on jewelry is a great way to add personalization to your jewelry.
While you might think that engraving on jewelry is a complicated thing to do, with the advancement of technology, there are many different engraving methods that have been invented to be able to make the engraving process a little bit easier. So, if you are interested in jewelry engraving, all you need is a little extra patience and you can easily learn to engrave jewelry at home yourself.
What are the methods of jewelry engraving?
1. Hand-carved
Hand engraving is one of the most traditional methods of engraving jewelry. Hand engraving jewelry refers to the use of manual engraving tools to cut the surface of the jewelry. Next, let me introduce you to some hand engraved jewelry often used some engraving tools.
- Different types of carving knives
- Engraving materials
- Metal Scraper
- Ball Vise
The main reason why hand carving has been around for thousands of years is because there is a big difference in the significance of a hand-carved piece of artwork and a thousand pieces of artwork carved by machine. But it has to be admitted that hand carving still takes too long compared to other carving methods. However, if you are willing to spend a long time waiting for an engraved piece it is certainly possible.
2. Machine engraving
Machine engraving refers to the use of engraving machines instead of hand engraving tools to engrave various designs on jewelry. In fact, most of the jewelry we see with engraving is machine engraved. The most common type of engraving is laser engraving.
The principle of laser engraving is that when a strong laser shines on the metal, the irradiated metal will instantly evaporate due to the high temperature, eventually leaving a pattern on the surface of the metal.
Laser engraving is known for its high efficiency, so it is the first choice of many businessmen when engraving jewelry. And as long as you will be engraved on the computer set up in advance, laser engraving machine basically can do a one-to-one restoration. But laser engraving requires a lot of energy, which also increases the capital cost.
How to pick a jewelry engraving machine?
However, if you want to buy a jewelry engraving machine, you can take a comprehensive look at it from several perspectives. Because no matter what type of engraving machine you buy, your goal is to make it easier to engrave.
- The tip of the carving tool should be small enough so that you can carve more delicate patterns
- It's best to have different engraving modes for your engraving machine so you can engrave different styles of work
- After-sales service as well as the warranty period, so that you can ensure your legitimate rights and interests, and you can extend the life of the engraving machine
How to engrave jewelry at home?
If you've thought about trying your hand at engraving jewelry at home, then hand engraving may be the best option for you. For one thing, hand engraving is relatively inexpensive. On the other hand, if you can learn how to carve by hand, then you will have a solid foundation for learning how to use a carving machine. Next, I'll explain what the general engraving process is like.
Graphic design
Before you carve, you need to roughly conceptualize the pattern you're going to carve and then draw it out on paper, or draw it out on a special drawing software and then print it out. This way you won't have your hands full while carving.
Selecting the engraving tool
After determining the pattern you want to engrave, you can choose the appropriate tool according to the pattern you want to engrave. For example, if what you want to carve is letters, you can choose the V-shaped carving knife as your carving tool.
Cleaning Jewelry
Taking out the jewelry that you are going to engrave, we are going to do a thorough cleaning of the jewelry. You can go for a special cleaner and gently wipe the surface of the jewelry with a softer textured cleaning cloth.
Fixed Jewelry
Take out a jig or a special engraving ball vise and hold the jewelry in place to make sure it doesn't shift during the engraving process.
Start carving
Before you start engraving, you can use an engraving tool to carve a rough outline on the surface of the jewelry. Then gradually in gradually carve the pattern in its entirety. The most important thing you need for this process is patience.
How do I choose an engraving method?
By this point, one might ask which carving method is the best? This is actually going to be different for each individual. If you are more of a manual person, you can choose hand engraving. If you are looking for high efficiency, you can choose machine engraving. In short, there is no engraving method that suits everyone perfectly, and you have to decide based on your time budget as well as your money budget.
