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Adam Savage’s Tested
Adam Savage Tries Traditional Hand Engraving! (Tries = Key Word)
⏱ 51 min video · 3 min read17 Jun 2026Worth watching
TL;DR
Adam Savage gets a hands-on introduction to traditional hand engraving from Marlin, described as the last hand engraver in the San Francisco Bay Area. The video covers the fundamentals of graver technique, tool setup, and the philosophy behind a craft that is largely disappearing despite high demand.
Key points
1
Marlin is a 12-year veteran and self-described last traditional hand engraver in the Bay Area, who learned through a 2.5-year side-by-side apprenticeship.
2
The core technique involves holding an onglette or flat graver at a precise angle (around 10 degrees) and using a gentle squeezing push motion, not arm force, while rotating an engraving block with the other hand.
3
Engraving is fundamentally about the negative space left behind, not the cuts themselves — the uncut polished metal is the light source that creates contrast and detail.
4
Entry cost for traditional hand engraving is around $450 for all new tools, not the $5,000 pneumatic setup often cited online — copper practice plates are a low-cost starting material.
5
Hand engraving allows cuts pneumatic tools cannot make, such as the pluck cut and the jump pop cut (serif creation), and Marlin can identify pneumatic versus hand engraving just by examining the cuts.
Actionable insights
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Test graver sharpness by touching it lightly to your fingernail at an angle — it should stick; if it slides, the tip is chipped.
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Use dop wax (green beeswax-based, approx. $10 per stick) to mount jewelry or curved objects in an engraving block without damaging them, and poke anchor holes with a scribe for easy removal.
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To draw a design before engraving, ink onto metal with a micron pen, then scribe over the ink lines before wiping the ink away, leaving a precise guide to follow.
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Avoid wrapping fingers around the graver handle — use a half-round mushroom handle held in the palm, pinched between thumb and forefinger, with remaining fingers resting on the outside to maintain correct angle and avoid blocking the cut.
Notable quotes
“I can do what the pneumatic people can do, but they cant do what I do.”
“It clicked. Oh, its about shaving. Its not about gouging out metal. It doesnt make it better by making it deeper.”
“This is professional picking.”
Worth watching?
✅
Worth watching the full video?
Watch if you want to see the physical technique demonstrated in real time — watching Marlin engrave a flower and inside a ring while explaining each micro-movement is genuinely instructive and hard to replicate in text alone.
Saved you some time? The creator still deserves a like.
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