Jesse Kaufmann Engraver

[Snakeoil]

This is the engraver I had mentioned in Ian's FL build log. He posts short vids on FB that are addictive to watch. The man is truly talented and skilled. He did the 100 year anniversary guns for Remington.

 

[Tom]

Wow!

 

[Missionary]

That was my 1st word ! That is one very handsome receiver.

 

[Tom]

That was my 1st word ! That is one very handsome receiver.

I'm not really into fancy, but I'm struck by the detail in that!

 

[JWFilips]

He is excellent! ( Although he does not use hand driven engravers.)

 

[fiver]

i think that's a reverse of a maynard reese painting.

the dog pictured by Reese won the field trials in 1958 [and won it like 3 times IIRC]
it was put on a federal Duck Stamp to commemorate the dog,, not the painter.

 

[Ian]

I can write my name with a graver and hammer.



Some people are so good at what they do it makes me not even want to try it.

 

[Snakeoil]

Hand engravers fall in the same category as buck saws and adz. If there is a better tool that works as well and gets it done faster, that's the right tool for the job. You have to keep in mind, JW, that Jesse does this for a living. If he were to tap-tap his way thru that Citori receiver, he's probably have to work for a nickel an hour. What I love about watching his engraving vids is how he modulates the frequency of the engraver. You know that the old guys that used hammers had to do the same, by making their taps lighter and harder depending on what they were doing. As I'm sure Ian can attest to, a tad too hard or soft more than likely tends to drive a "CRAP!!!" from the man behind the engraver.

I have nothing but respect for people with this kind of talent. I think this kind of work truly deserves the term "awesome", in spite of the fact that the younger generation seems to apply it to something as benign as a new pair of underwear.

When I worked at Knolls Atomic Power Lab, there were some old guys in the shop who had been their right after WWII. They all had their names stamped on their personal tools, where the metal allowed stamping to happen. Their names appeared as tiny block letters, no more than 1/16" high. I finally asked of them how they did that and he reaches in his tool box and pulls out this little stamp. This is a piece of square tool steel about 1/2" square. The end has been tapered and on the end is his name in raised block letter. I wanted one immediately. I asked how he made it and he said he didn't. There had been another toolmaker in that shop back then that made these for the other guys. He said he'd take a piece of tool steel that had not been hardened and with a tiny hand engraver and a jeweler's loupe, he'd start chipping away at the steel. They said you could not see what he was doing. He had the piece up close to his face so the loupe would focus and all you could see were tiny flecks of steel falling down on his lap. Pretty soon he's stop and hand the man the stamp. It was done. Just needed to be hardened and tempered. I wish I had asked one of those guys if I could have bought their stamp or asked for it as a gift when they retired. I'm still amazed at how it was made and the precision of the workmanship. And to put this into perspective. That half inch square stamp said. "B. VanFlue" on it. There were a couple of Polish guys in the shop with last names that used almost every letter in the alphabet. I never bothered to ask to see if they had one of these stamps.

 

[JWFilips]

Snake, Fully understand! When one is making a living at it he needs the best .
Ian, Well that is pretty darn nice! I have such a problem with Cutting block letters I found out I can engrave my signature far better because it is flowing lines!
Ian you know in the 18th Century The capital letter I could be an I or a J! John Bivens signed his guns " I Bivens"
Could also read Jan Harris

 

[Ian]

Ian you know in the 18th Century The capital letter I could be an I or a J! John Bivens signed his guns " I Bivens"
Could also read Jan Harris

I actually did know that, hence my decision to engrave my full first name

I don't faceychat or whatever, but have watched plenty of utoob videos. I bet Mr. Kaufmann uses one of those $4000.00 Lindsay AirGravers that has the pressure-sensitive air valve. Once folks get used to those they can fly through work and make incredibly smooth cuts without the microscopic chatter marks of a hammer tool.

 

[Snakeoil]

Here is the other side of that receiver. If you want to be truly anal, compare details on the leaves side to side. They are remarkably symmetrical. Note where the leaves croos the border at the bottom of the action.

 

[popper]

I guess now most industrial engraving is done by laser. All I ever watched/saw was by hand without a hammer but in soft metal or wood. I tried some on a cheap 22 rifle stock as a kid, wasn't very good at it and the other side was mucho different. Inlaid some silvered plastic I thought would make it neat. Wrong!

 

[JWFilips]

I bet Mr. Kaufmann uses one of those $4000.00 Lindsay AirGravers that has the pressure-sensitive air valve. Once folks get used to those they can fly through work and make incredibly smooth cuts without the microscopic chatter marks of a hammer tool.

I have a good friend and gun builder in NY that has one of those. It runs circles around us hand engravers. for years I couldn't understand why he was so good! I asked one day and he told me!.
He had a machine shop since he was a master machinist and had one to Identify parts and tools he made, etc
He would have been crazy not to use it in his gun building projects

 

[Snakeoil]

I guess now most industrial engraving is done by laser. All I ever watched/saw was by hand without a hammer but in soft metal or wood. I tried some on a cheap 22 rifle stock as a kid, wasn't very good at it and the other side was mucho different. Inlaid some silvered plastic I thought would make it neat. Wrong!

I think acid etching is also used.

 

[Txcowboy52]

Beautiful work. I can’t even imagine the talent it takes to create something like that.