Why are your gravers prepared differently? Essay #3 (final page) => 8 photos

 These are the basic shapes of gravers that any diamond setter and engraver will use. Remember that each of them must always be kept in pristine and high-polished condition.

 You can see just how important it is to have a well-maintained graver. The most important aspect of diamond setting is keeping your graver finally tuned for precision metal cutting.

 To reshape your graver is also a learned skill. It must be held at a 45-degree angle to achieve the best cutting results. This is the angle that is required to give you the best cutting & carving to the metal.

 These are the polishing papers that are in numerical order starting with a #240 as a soft Emery grit paper. The paper on the far right is the very smooth #1,200 grit paper.

 In this photo, I'm displaying an Onglette graver being positioned and then sharpened on a well-lubricated 'Oilstone'.

 In this second photo, I'm reshaping a "Flat" graver as I need to have a 100% sharp edge to the base of the blade.

 Even the base of this blade will eventually get worn & dull from constant wear. Never assume that all gravers will stay sharp, as we all know that on a Flat and Onglette gravers, these are two areas that need to be always well-maintained. 

 I exert a constant downward pressure as I 'want & need' this pressure to gently reshape the cutting edges.

 You can now see how thin the face of the Flat graver must be.

 I always rub the bottom of the blade on 'paper polishing' paper. I start with a basically #2/0, #1, followed by the #600 grit and then finally the smoother #800, or finally the #1,000 grit paper.

 In this photo, you can easily see what these two gravers look 'before & after' the intense shaping.