We have Crucible Engraving Tools back in stock and shipping. This tool engraves straight lines and arcs in wood so you can create decorative patterns or “spells” found on peasant furniture in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
Megan and I have filmed a new video on the basics of using the tool against a straightedge and in a compass. The new video is below. You can watch an earlier video of how to sharpen the tool here.
Our engraving tools are made entirely in the United States and were developed to create a simple and affordable way for you to try them out. The tool is $27 and includes a specially machined handle (that can be held like a pencil or installed in a pencil compass), plus two cutters and instructions.
Right now, the tools are available only in the U.S. and through us. We have some international retailers interested in them, but whether or not they carry them is their choice.
I developed these tools to help with my next book, “The American Peasant.” Right now the book is an ever-evolving substack (check it out here. Warning: my substack is not for kids). I am working on the book almost every day, and it looks like it will be complete in early 2024.
For now, I think you’ll enjoy trying the engraving tools – they are easy to sharpen and use.
— Christopher Schwarz
What is the model of the Starrett pencil compass you are using?
Thanks.
It’s sold now as the Starrett 92-6.
https://www.zoro.com/starrett-carpenters-divider-6-92-6/i/G800462395/
The version shown in the video is way old and has a wing nut to set the radius.
When you say ‘warning, your substack is not for kids’, is it because you just direct people straight to your OnlyTools page?
Nice looking product! Would this be useful for cutting the groove on a Windsor chair seat?
Yes. You’d need to make a pattern for the gutter, but the tool is the right shape and geometry
Great video. Thanks Chris!
That looks like pine. Any tips or thoughts for creating spells on other wood species?
I’m using basswood. The tool works fine in all the woods I use (domestic hardwoods). Including oak,maple, walnut, poplar etc.
The cut is very shallow. And sharp fixes almost everything.
Love the idea of spells, looking forward to learning more.
Does this fit in the Micromark trammel points without modification or will they require modification just like a mechanical pencil?
Very timely to have the Spell engraving tool arrive the same day the New York Time had an article on ancient spells; https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/science/archaeology-egypt-book-dead.html?campaign_id=34&emc=edit_sc_20231031&instance_id=106537&nl=science-times®i_id=91924318&segment_id=148763&te=1&user_id=51cd5702fc0a6763ed994f5da3ac8640, entitled Now Showing, an Ancient Spell Book for the Dead. “…sort of visual map that allowed the newly disembodied soul to navigate the duat, a maze-like netherworld of caverns, hills and burning lakes. Each spell was intended for a specific situation that the dead might encounter along the way. For instance, Spell 33 was used to ward off snakes, which had an unsettling taste for chewing “the bones of a putrid cat.” And “Without the right spells, you could be decapitated (Spell 43), placed onto a slaughter block (Spell 50) or, perhaps most humiliating of all, turned upside down (Spell 51), which would reverse your digestive functions and cause you to consume your own waste (Spells 52 and 53).
None of the graphics look like your spells, thankfully.