About the Course
Western Style Engraving
Bigger scrolls, bolder bright cuts, and wriggle-cut rope borders — English scroll technique taken further.
Western engraving builds on English scroll work with larger scrollwork, more bright cuts inside the scroll, bigger leaves, and bigger traditional western flowers. You'll learn wriggle engraving — a technique that produces a texture resembling a braided rope — along with triangle and curved triangle (Corn Row) bright cuts, S bright cuts, and rope border work, then shade leaves and flowers using specialized liner gravers. You'll leave with a finished western-style engraved sample plate.
Class Details
Duration: 5 days (Monday–Friday)
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (one-hour lunch)
Class size: 4 students max
Prerequisite: Hand Engraving I and II. English Scroll Engraving is strongly recommended first, as it makes this course significantly easier
What's included: Tools provided for in-class use; materials and your finished sample plate are yours to keep
Skills You'll Gain
Cut wriggle engraving, producing a texture that resembles a braided rope
Execute triangle bright cuts and curved triangle bright cuts (also known as Corn Row)
Execute S bright cuts
Engrave a rope-style border combining bright cut techniques
Engrave traditional western-style flowers, bigger and bolder than English scroll florals
Shade leaves and flowers using specialized liner gravers
Day-by-Day
Day 1 — Wriggle engraving: cutting the wriggle technique that produces a braided-rope texture.
Day 2 — Bright cut fundamentals: triangle bright cuts and curved triangle bright cuts (Corn Row).
Day 3 — S bright cuts and rope border: combine bright cut techniques into a rope-style border design.
Day 4 — Traditional western flowers and shading: engrave bold western-style flowers, then shade leaves and flowers with specialized liner gravers.
Day 5 — Capstone project: bring wriggle engraving, bright cuts, rope border, and western flowers together on a finished western-style sample plate.
What This Class Doesn't Cover Standard English scroll work at its original, finer scale (covered in English Scroll Engraving, strongly recommended before this course). Bulino engraving, flare cutting, and lettering — each a distinct discipline covered in its own course.
What You'll Leave With A finished western-style engraved sample plate featuring a wriggle rope border, triangle, Corn Row, and S bright cuts, and traditional western flowers with liner-graver shading.