Pointed Pen Calligraphy and Engraving on Glass
That’s it. I’m really a squirrel.
I can’t help it. 😩
I’ve always been on the inquisitive side about how things work. I probably could’ve worked in the STEM field if it hadn’t been for the time I mixed all the household cleansers trying to invent something the world had never seen before.
I had enlisted my usual team of helpers-my little brother and my best friend at the time to help me while my mother took a quick run to the store just down the street.
In under twenty minutes, we had mixed everything in the house, including the teddy bear in a basin in my room. Nothing was safe! All of it went in. When my mom got back from the store, she was not happy about any of it. At all. 😳
Suffice it to say, it was safer for me and my big ideas to restrict my inventions to paper and crayons and leave all the household items alone.
Engraving On Glass
Many years later, things haven’t changed. I’m still inquisitive about how things work…and this time around, I was curious about freehand engraving.
I can’t say when I first got the itch. I love seeing lettering out in the wild and I had already been playing with my Cricut and lettering for engraving wedding plaques. But, maybe it was when I first saw The Happy Ever Crafter’s video interview with Carla Hagan on hand engraving.
I loved the interview. But, I was still learning lettering at the time and I wasn’t sure about the expense.
Fast forward to this past week when an engraver was delivered to my door as a Valentine’s Day gift from my husband!
This engraver is from the owner of Ink Me This, Kestrel Montes. I’ve been on her email list for forever-at least as long as I have wanted the engraver.
I had been watching videos all week for how to use it. Still, when I got it in my hands, I was all thumbs and I didn’t even know what the parts were or how to put them to use. But do you think that stopped me from playing around with it?
Guess again. Curiosity always kills this cat!
Watch the unboxing video below from my IG Stories this past week.
The Ink Me This Engraver
While I still have a lot to learn about engravers in general. I’ll share what elemental knowledge I have of this one:
This engraver is a partnership between Kestrel and a company named RAM. So, with Kestrel’s input, it is built with the needs of calligraphers in mind.
These engravers have a brushless motor which means it should not fatigue your hand or wrist.
They go up to 35000 RPM making them versatile for engraving on glass, wood, stone, and glass, etc.
They fit burs that are 3/32” but can accommodate 1/16” burs with the included reducer. Burs to an engraver are like what nibs are to a pen.
They come in three colors and can also be customized with your name or logo.
For more information on this engraver, see the write up here. Should you purchase one, be sure to return the warranty information within 10 days of the tracking receipt.
Additional Supplies
The engraver comes with everything you need to start engraving. But, you will also need some additional supplies. See the photos below to see how I use some of these supplies.
goggles and a mask for safety
a brush to remove dust as you engrave
some drafting tools (Stabilos, Microns, Posca pens, Sharpies, china markers, etc.)
a pillow to hold rounded objects
a microfiber towel to wipe off dust
rub ‘n buff or equivalent (optional) to add color
bur lube (optional) to extend the life of your burs and make engraving smoother
rubbing alcohol to wipe the surface with before beginning, to wipe off drafting marks, to wipe off excessive rub ‘n buff
After engraving my first few times, I’d have to say the most important piece of advice I’d have for engraving on glass is that contrast matters. Being able to see what you are doing while engraving can be a challenge with all the dust as it is. So, having a drafting instrument that contrasts with the glass or a background that can provide contrast if the glass is clear is pretty crucial. The micro bead pillow I am using is white, so I had trouble seeing where to engrave on clear glasses after I had wiped the draft off. When I used the grey towel I was wiping with behind the glass, it became a lot easier to see what I was doing. This one below, I couldn’t see what I was doing since it was later in the day…I had to improvise a bit because the contrast light bulb hadn’t went on yet.
The improv is okay. But, I really liked the draft better.
Pointed Pen Calligraphy
From what I’ve seen about them, these engravers tend to be the domain of calligraphers. It seems they are a natural extension of pointed pen calligraphy.
To me, I think of pointed pen calligraphy as the daintier sister to big brother, broad nib calligraphy, with brush calligraphy being more like their fun cousin. I love them all in different ways. But, I do think I’ve been intimidated most by pointed pen. She’s just so proper and yet so delicate at the same time. Those are two things I am not! 😂
But, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and break out those pretty nib holders I bought back at the beginning of the pandemic to see if I could make peace with them.
While I think hand lettering will always be my fave, learning pointed pen calligraphy is more suitable for projects like these. There are a ton of variations in pointed pen calligraphy that I have yet to explore. Besides, maybe with some pointed pen practice under my belt, I can make my engraving that much better!
I always knew the one person I would turn to when it came time to learn pointed pen…Molly Suber Thorpe.
I have mentioned Molly Suber Thorpe on this blog before. I have both of her books. I just love thumbing through them! But, I also love the way she makes learning pointed pen calligraphy so accessible for beginners.
Her first book teaches modern calligraphy and in it she discusses leaving room for creativity in expression when it comes to calligraphy…unlike strict, traditional calligraphy in which the utmost consistency from stroke-to-stroke and letter-to-letter is a must.
Don’t get me wrong. Traditional calligraphy is beautiful-and modern calligraphy isn’t an excuse for sloppy calligraphy either. But approach and confidence when learning a new skill is important…and Molly’s approach just makes me feel at ease just starting out with a pointed pen even while being able to challenge myself with it.
Look at my ugly ducklings below.
Kestrel’s site also has a suite of calligraphy and engraving classes that are taught by her and other expert calligraphers throughout the year. I have plans to take a few some day when I have a little more experience with the pointed pen and some time. If the engraver is any indication of the quality her classes could be, I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from her classes as well.
For now, it’s going to take a while to get better at pointed pen. In the meantime, I’ll keep playing with the engraver too so that these skills can develop together.
Putting It All Together
While there’s no substitute for hands-on, in-person learning, short of an online course, Telisa of Roessein Art is the most helpful calligraphy engraver for beginners that I’ve seen yet online. Check out her videos for what to take to an event (if you’re in that market), tools to make calligraphy engraving easier, and how to engrave on various surfaces like plastic and uncoated metals.
If you’re a squirrel like me, and you’re now eyeing this engraver like I did when I first saw it, you can’t go wrong buying it…Sort of. It works like a dream and my wrist, which can ache from time to time, hasn’t suffered at all! But, on the other hand, all I can say is there’s not one thing that’s safe in this house anymore!
Speaking of which, y’all seen my mom around here lately? 👀
