For the past few decades, Grand Master Engraver Ron Smith has been recognized and known for his firearms and knife engraving. Many people who admire Ron’s work think of him as a steel engraver, which he certainly is. But that’s not all Ron does and it’s not how he got started…he began in the jewelry trade.

Ron spent years working in precious metal for a jewelry manufacturing firm. He learned metalsmithing, stone setting and other skills of that trade. Ron will also tell you he developed his letter engraving skills especially early because lettering is a more important commercial skill in the jewelry trade than scroll or scene engraving.

This broad background in jewelry work undoubtedly helped Ron in his later pursuits of fine engraving and intricate metal inlaying. Today, Ron still enjoys using the skills he learned so long ago. He made this custom silver buckle set in 2005 as a gift. Ron hand sawed it from sheet silver and formed the parts to the graceful final shape. Notice how the scroll design is reinforced by the curved edges of the buckle itself. This results in a well balanced artistic design that is very pleasing.

Those engravers who use Ron’s work as a study example should also consider developing a broad skill base like Ron did to open more creative doors and opportunity.

To learn more from Ron and his work, consider adding his books Drawing and Understanding Scroll Designs and Advanced Drawing of Scrolls to your collection. To learn more about Ron Smith’s career, read his interview at iGraver.com's online forum The Engraver's Cafe.