How to shape your gravers? Page #2 of 3 lessons => 8 photos

 I am displaying an Onglette graver just for this particular 'grinding & sharpening lesson'.

 All of my gravers are "HSS", or "High-Speed Steel", the reason is that this steel has a longer overall working-life, and they retain their usefulness for longer periods of time.

 I have contoured the grinding wheel to create a curved edge. This is because the graver should have only slightly pointed areas, not flat ones.

You can see how fine the front of the graver now looks.

 The length of the graver should align with the first knuckle of the middle finger. This will be the optimum length of the tool that the setter is holding. You can see a faint colouring of the tip of the blade, which is due to the 'accidental' heating of the blade during the grinding process. WOOPS!

 You can now see how fine the cutting blade is shaped. A large, bulky blade will never help in creating fine-looking creations.

This is my very own grinding wheel that I still use every day.

 Here are the shapes of my two gravers, which illustrate the 'before and after' results of the bench grinding processes.

 This is an assortment of gravers that I have 'on hand' at all times. The lengths are not the determining factors, but how they will be shaped for gemstone setting.

Every cutting blade is purchased with a "High Speed Steel" composition.