This morning I had the pleasure and honour of meeting one of Britain's top engravers - Geoffrey Casbard. He is a family friend of a friend, so I actually got to meet him at his studio, in his house in Hertfordshire. He has spent most of his career engraving guns, and his work is exquisite, breathtaking.
He explained a little about the tools that he uses - he sharpens his gravers to a fine point as he mostly works on steel which is much harder than copper or silver, and the tools need to be flexible or they will break. He also showed me how he did gold inlay into the steel - all using tools he had made himself.
I looked through books of prints which he had made from the actual engravings - which he has as samples and reference. He told me that he still makes samples when he has time - to practice! This from someone who has been engraving for the last 40 years at least.
When I asked him what tips he would give me - a very early beginner - he said that practice and more practice - oh, and save up for an engraver's block!
He very kindly allowed me to take some photos which I told him I would put on the blog.
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His workbench and engraver's block
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Engraved gun parts from his album of work - I love the gold ducks!
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Engraved gun with grotesque design
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| Pendant that he made just for fun and to practice! Gold inlay on steel |
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| Book of prints taken from actual engravings |
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| Another 'practice piece' - work in progress |
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| I found this image online - one of his engraved gun parts with gold inlay |
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| Another image I found online showing his engraving on a gun |
And if that weren't enough excitement for one day - I also discovered W. E. John's house in Hertford! I had actually walked past it without noticing on my way to Kat's studio last time in was in Hertford - what a disgrace! At least I noticed it today!
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| Captain W. E. John's House in Hertford |
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| Captain W. E. John's House - plaque |
What a wonderful experience......a meeting to remember forever.
ReplyDeleteMr. Casbards work is exquisite, he must have a very steady hand and a great eye for detail.
Practice and more practice, it's the same for everything in life isn't it?
Claire :}
I am lucky to own a John Powell 12g shotgun Which was engraved by
ReplyDeleteMr Casbard. On one side are Pheasants the other has Ducks whilst the underside I think has a Woodcock, and what an engraving. Thank you MR cASBARD
To the guy that commented in april 2020, i would love to see a picture of this gun. I am geoffrey's grandson and im very interested in his work. unfortunatley we dont own a gun in the family and it doesnt look like we ever will considering how much they're worth these days. My grandad was such a humble and hard working man but he never really got the recognition he deserved. he taught me how to draw and paint as a child and tried to teach me a bit about engraving when i was in my early teens but being at that age i just didn't appreciate it enough. now i am older i wish i had paid more attention because his work fascinates me. when i left school i thought about pursuing a career as a gun engraver but i wouldn't want to be taught by anyone but him if im honest. He was really one of a kind.
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