EC Lyons : Bullsticker : # 66

Wood engravers use Bullstickers to create incisions on the surface of woodblocks. As woodblocks are inked with a roller, these incisions do not receive ink. They therefore show up white in the final print.

Bullstickers are chunkier versions of Spitstickers, and this is a medium Bullsticker (#66). The tip of the tool is pointed, but the sides are curved, the face resembling a seed in shape. This makes it possible to draw long, fluid lines which twist and curve gracefully, and which taper away rather than terminating in a flat or round edge (like lines drawn with a scorper).

This tool is 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 UK and the United States. Bullstickers are known as Oval Gravers in the US.