What is Engraving?
[[File:Hercules fighting the Centaurs.jpg|thumb|260px|''[[Hercules]] fighting the [[Centaur]]s, engraving by [[Sebald Beham]]]] '''Engraving''' is putting a design onto a hard, flat surface, by [[carving]] into it. The result may be a decorative piece in itself, as when [[silver]], [[gold]] or [[steel]] are engraved, or may provide a printing plate of [[copper]] or another metal, for [[printing]] images on paper which are also called engravings. Engraving was an important method in history of making images on paper, both in artistic ways, such as making a [[decorative print]], and also for printing [[Book|books]] and [[Magazine|magazines]]. It has long been replaced by [[photography]] in its commercial uses and, is nowadays much less common in [[printmaking]], where it has been almost completely replaced by [[etching]] and other techniques. ==The engraving process== [[File:gravers.jpg|thumb|An assortment of hand engraving tools]] [[File:Dürer-Hieronymus-im-Gehäus.jpg|thumb|250px|left|St Jerome by [[Albrecht Dürer]] 1514]] Engravers use a [[steel]] tool called a [[burin]] to cut the picture or pattern into the surface, mostly a copper plate.[http://expositions.bnf.fr/bosse/grand/214.htm] [[Gravers]] come in a variety of shapes and sizes that give different line types when used. The burin gives us a line that is unique because of its steady appearance and smooth edges. The [[angle tint]] tool has a slightly curved tip that is commonly used in printmaking. [[Florentine liners]] are flat-bottomed tools with multiple lines on them, used to do work on larger areas. Flat gravers are used for doing work on letters, as well as most [[musical instrument]] engraving work. Round gravers are commonly used on [[silver]] as well as other hard-to-cut metals such as [[nickel]] and [[steel]]. ==History and usage== In [[ancient history]], the only engraving that could be made were the shallow grooves found in some [[jewellery]] after 1000 B.C. In the European Middle Ages [[goldsmiths]] used engraving to decorate [[metal]]. I