EC Lyons : Lozenge Graver : # 6

Lozenge Gravers are used by wood engravers and copper engravers. The face of the tool is lozenge-shaped and will cut a line deeper than it is wide. This is a medium Lozenge Graver (#6).

Copper engravers use Lozenge Gravers to create incisions on the surface of metal plates, which will hold ink during the printing process. The lines thus show up as black in the final print. Lozenge gravers will often raise a slight burr on the metal plate, either side of the cut, which can be scraped away to give a clean line.

Wood engravers use Lozenge Gravers to create incisions on the surface of woodblocks. As woodblocks are inked with a roller, these incisions do not receive ink, and therefore show up white in the final print. Because lozenge gravers are very sharp, wood engravers use them to create fine lines. The width of the line is dependent on the pressure used, and it is possible to create a flowing line which widens and contracts (though Square Gravers will create lines which vary in width more dramatically.) As well as line work, it is possible to produce short stabs which widen from a sharp point, or to lighten areas by stippling: repeatedly pecking at the wood with the tip of the tool, so that the surface bears a carpet of tiny incisions. Because of the shape of this tool, these incisions will look like scratches; engravers wishing to stipple a surface with dots would be better off using a Stippling tool or a small Round Scorper.

This tool was made from high carbon tool steel in the United States by E.C. Lyons. It is supplied factory-sharp, but it has not been honed to a fine edge. Please note, engraving tools are known by different names in the U.K. and the United States. Lozenge Gravers are known as 'Lozenge Burins' in the U.S.A.