A hand engraver does not scratch metal. Every line is a chip, sheared from the surface by a hardened steel point narrower than a grain of rice. Sterling silver is 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper, and that copper is the whole story. Fine silver at 99.9 percent is too soft to hold a crisp edge. The cut smears, the groove walls slump, and the line dies. Copper brings solid solution strengthening, lifting hardness from roughly 25 HV to around 60 to 80 HV annealed, and higher still as the metal work hardens under the tool. The graver is the entire system. A square blank rotated onto its corner presents a V of about 90 or 120 degrees, and two ground angles decide everything: - Face angle, typically 45 to 50 degrees for silver. Steeper resists chipping. Shallower cuts more freely and leaves a brighter wall. - Heel, a small relief facet of around 15 degrees behind the point. Without it the tool ploughs and cannot steer. Steering is the part most people misread. The engraver does...