A burin ( / ? b j ??r ? n , ? b ?ːr ? n / BUR(E) -in ) is a steel cutting tool used in engraving , from the French burin (cold chisel). Its older English name and synonym is graver . ^[3]

This sense is not to be confused with the prehistoric stone tools with the same name .

Etymology [ edit ]

The term burin refers to a tool used by engravers that has a thin, pointed blade and is used to etch or cut. The first known use of the word dates back to France in the mid-1600s, when the term was coined for the tool we know today. ^[4]

Design [ edit ]

The burin consists of a rounded handle shaped like a mushroom, and a tempered steel shaft coming from the handle at an angle and ending in a very sharp cutting face, creating a "V"-shaped groove in a printing plate of soft metal, classically copper . ^[5]

The most ubiquitous types have a square or lozenge face, but there are many others. A tint burin has a square face with teeth, to create many fine, closely spaced lines. stipple techniques can be done with many flicks of a conventional burin, and this was the earliest technique used. Later wheeled tools called roulettes allowed the easy creation of many fine dots. ^[6] A flat burin has a rectangular face, and is used for cutting away large portions of material at a time.

Uses [ edit ]

An engraving burin is used predominantly by intaglio engravers, but also by relief printmakers in making wood engravings . Usually an engraver will have several tools, of different sizes and shapes of cutting face. ^[7]

The burin is held at approximately 30° to the surface. The index and middle fingers guide the shaft, while the handle is cradled in the palm. The 16th-century Dutch engraver Hendrik Goltzius found his unusually malformed hand was well suited for cradling and guiding a burin. ^[8]

The burin was and is also used by goldsmiths to engrave inscriptions or designs on metal, which preceded its use in printmaking . ^[9]

Notes [ edit ]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Engraving burins .

References [ edit ]

• Griffiths, Anthony , Prints and Printmaking , British Museum Press (in UK), 2nd edn, 1996 ISBN   071412608X