EC Lyons : Square Scorper : # 36

Wood engravers use Square Scorpers 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.

This is a fine Square Scorper (#36). It has strait sides, which means that it will cut a line of a constant width. Because the tip of the cutting face is completely flat, lines cut with this tool will begin and end abruptly, with a square edge. They will not swell or taper, like lines made with a spitsticker or a graver might; nor will they be rounded at the ends, like cuts made with a Round Scorper.

Scorpers are often used to lighten areas of a print by stippling: repeatedly pecking at the woodblock with the tip of the tool, so that the surface bears a carpet of tiny incisions. This tool will create angular, squarish dots; for rounded dots, you will need a 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. Square Scorpers are known as 'Flat Gravers' in the U.S.A.