Who is the best engraver in the world?

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18 October 2015, 22:46

boom stick

Who is the best engraver in the world?

Who is the best engraver in the world?
Philippe Grifnee?
Damn! I just read that he is dead. The best engraving I have seen I think.

18 October 2015, 23:31

KimR

Manrico Torcoli.

19 October 2015, 00:22

Aaron Little

Depends on the style you're after. I love Phil Coggans work.

19 October 2015, 00:22

Grenadier

There are several I would consider among the best. A few post on this site and will be mentioned, no doubt.

But one you hear little about is Angelo Bee. He has a distinctive style and has carved on countless Winchesters, Ithacas, and Remingtons. He loves gold and silver but he also engraves without inlay work.

SKB has been offering Angelo Bee engraved shotguns for some time. Here is a link to their "Angelo Bee Gallery": https://www.skbshotguns.com/an...gelo-bee-gallery.php

The internet makes it easy to find his other work, a few shown below.

19 October 2015, 01:09

shootaway

Sam Welch,Hans Eisbacher,Rabeno-three of the best whose work I have seen. Also Winston Churchill.Heinz Funk was another.

19 October 2015, 01:36

Texas Killartist

Roger Kehr who post here regularly.

19 October 2015, 01:52

BaxterB

Churchill, and some of the folks at Beretta. I handled a few SO10's that blew my mind.

19 October 2015, 03:50

Aaron Little

Some of Phil Coggan's work. Shows how capable he is at many different types of engraving:

19 October 2015, 05:22

Grenadier

quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Little:
Some of Phil Coggan's work.

That is some amazing detail in the animals and Nelson

19 October 2015, 20:12

Wink

I realize it's not exactly on topic, but Philippe Grifnée's brother Leon is a rifle stocker. He did my 9.3 X 62.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...141011081#7141011081

20 October 2015, 11:08

Rockdoc

I agree with Aaron. It is a very personal thing.

There are some fabulous US, British and European engravers. I have a few books on them.

TO pick a favourite would be very hard.

Also depends on the type of firearm, knife etc. and the context.

Cheers, Chris

20 October 2015, 16:03

Big Wonderful Wyoming

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/nina-kaiser/7a/6b0/a33

Nina is really good. Ferlach and Suhl graduate ex-Beretta and Merkel engraver.

Red hair so be warned!

She is probably the equal of anyone in the world as an engraver.
http://www.stankus-arts.de/ueber-mich.html

20 October 2015, 17:38

KimR

For a nice overview of gun engraving:Italian-Nobili's books;British-Tate's British Gun Engraving(predjudiced!)

20 October 2015, 19:53

fla3006

Depends entirely on what you want, style, game scenes, etc. The best engraving ever is being done today. 2 good ones in the USA I have used are www.gournetusa.com & www.resengraving.com but there are others. Extensive engraving can cost many thousands. It is much cheaper to have top engraving done in Italy or Belgium if you know the mechanics of exporting/importing.
Current list of FEGA master engravers: FEGAengravers

20 October 2015, 19:53

Bill/Oregon

Coggan's work is amazing. His ability to create a sense of depth is unparalleled.
Ken Hurst is a very good engraver, if he is still with us. He had a lot of fun resurrecting the "Frogmoor Ballard" whimsical motifs of the late Victorian era.

http://www.assra.com/ballard_frogmoor.htm

21 October 2015, 07:33

mehulkamdar

My good friend Roland Baptiste is often chosen by the finest gunmakers in the UK and Belgium for his work. Holland and Holland, Rigby, Lebeau Courally, Fernand-Marc Corman (both in his own name and on the new Francottes which he is allowed to build), and several other prestigious names commission his art. There are few nicer people to talk to, as well, and Roland is well liked in the business as an instructor of engraving who has mentored many younger people and helped them succeed in this field.

Mehul Kamdar

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."-- Patrick Henry

22 October 2015, 03:34

RichardAustin

Could be some older Italian woman you've never heard of.

22 October 2015, 23:23

fla3006

quote:
RichardAustin: Could be some older Italian woman you've never heard of.

Quite possible. Friend who owns a high-end shop here showed me a Browning Superposed he sent to Italy for extensive engraving, gold inlays, the whole 9 yards. As nice as any work I have seen, cost him $4K, still a lot of money but a small fraction of the cost of similar work from most "name" engravers.

24 October 2015, 03:46

MR.MASKAYEV

quote:
Originally posted by boom stick:
Who is the best engraver in the world?
Philippe Grifnee?
Damn! I just read that he is dead. The best engraving I have seen I think.

24 October 2015, 04:17

Aaron Little

You're being to broad in your statements concerning British engravers. The generic house engravers are far from great, but there are a few British engravers that are outstanding. Rashed being one of them if you like his sculpted/deep relief style. I don't see much else from him?

Ive also seen house engravers from other countries that were of the same level as British house engravers.

25 October 2015, 19:35

lindy2

I think Steve Lindsay does mostly knives, but has done some work on guns. I don't own any of his work (wish I did) but his photos show that He is pretty damn good!

http://www.engravingartist.com/guns/guns_copy(4).html

Phil Coggan likes Steve Lindsay's tools.
http://www.airgraver.com/PhilCoggan.htm

25 October 2015, 22:00

seant

I really like Jim Whites engraving. His work is spectacular. He has done several rifles and pistols for me. I couldn't be happier with his work.

27 October 2015, 00:44

MR.MASKAYEV

quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Little:
You're being to broad in your statements concerning British engravers. The generic house engravers are far from great, but there are a few British engravers that are outstanding. Rashed being one of them if you like his sculpted/deep relief style. I don't see much else from him?

Ive also seen house engravers from other countries that were of the same level as British house engravers.

11 November 2015, 13:32

Rusty

My vote goes to
Roger Kehr aka ScrollCutter. I am fortunate to own some of his work.

And Roland Baptiste whose work I greatly admire!

Rusty
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12 November 2015, 07:40

Schrodinger's Cat

Rusty, that is fantastic engraving.

I was going to vote for Eric Gold. I saw his engraving about ten years ago and thought it was spectacular, but don't even know if he is in the business any longer.

14 November 2015, 01:17

Betley park

I completely agree with the likes of Phil Coggin and Roland Bapise being included in the list, both produce work nothing short of exquisite.
You also have Barry Lee Hand, who produces work that is amazingly innovative, especially on mother of pearl inlay.
But there is no such person who could be classified as the best in the world, I believe these people as well as many others, produce work that would be described as world class.
An interesting thought is, what constitutes a great engraver.
An engraver who produces their work with the hammer and chisel or the engraver who uses a power assisted system.
Old school or new school, does it even matter, or does the end justify the means, and who cares?