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Old 08-30-2007, 04:17 PM
Bill Brockway Bill Brockway is offline
Steel
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: south Louisiana
Posts: 13
Default Re: Stevens Rifle; Q on this border work

Kurt -

The "semi-official" name of this cut is a "nick and dot" border. It is a very old style border, going back a couple hundred years or more. There is a very good tutorial on the "nick and dot" in one of Lynton McKenzie's engraving tapes.

Typically, the larger "nick" (the triangular cut on the outside line of the border) is cut with a fairly wide flat graver, maybe a #38 or 40, which is leaned over so that the side of the flat follows the outer border line. It is then driven straight in toward the apex of the triangle, and rolled out of the cut along the border line. The smaller "dot" (the smaller triangular cut) is typically cut with a square graver, laid over on it's side , and driven in and scooped out in a shorter distance. Different engravers produce different shaped dots, some of them are more oval than triangular. There should be no inner line to the border, unless the engraver scribed a line to get his dots in alignment.

This is much easier to do than to describe. Incidentally, the border on your friend's Stevens is one of the better ones I have seen.

Bill
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