Silverpoint Drawing Complete
Do-It-Yourself Points

You can make your own points, if you so desire. Best results are obtained from a thicker point that is "pure" silver, or ".999 fine." This is much softer than sterling, so it will deposit more metal on the drawing surface. You can improve this even more by annealing the point, making it "dead soft" (this has been done to the ones I provide). A close-up appears to the right, showing the cone and bevel ends. Use a file to get the shape roughed in, then finish with fine Wet-Or-Dry sandpaper, followed by polishing. Two-millimeter rod is roughly equal to #12 American Wire Guage, and this size can be inserted into many readily-available lead holders, which range in price from $5.00 or so on up to $20.00 or more.

Note: I recommend that you do all shaping and forming operations before you anneal the point, as working the silver tends to harden it. Annealing means heating the metal up to about 800 °F - not to the point where it starts to glow (Too hot! You'll burn it!), but to the point where the gas of the slightly-reducing flame used to heat it begins to glow yellowish due to carbon incandescence. Keep the gas flow very low and work slowly. If you have no idea what I'm talking about here or you're at all unsure or nervous about annealing the point yourself, have a metalsmith do it in a temperature-controlled kiln. If your chosen metalsmith doesn't know what I'm talking about either, find a different metalsmith!

You can view my manufacturing process here.

The "traditional" wire point is hardened sterling silver. Hardened sterling is recommended because of the thinness of the wire point. Hardening is accomplished by drawing commercial sterling silver wire down an additional three sizes on the drawplate. Make sure this point is well-rounded so it won't cut the ground or paper, or act as a scraper rather than a drawing instrument. If you use one-millimeter diameter wire, a Number 60 drill bit will make a tight hole in a hardwood dowel.

Add a bit of adhesive to the end of the wire before pressing it into the hole. Use a piece of wire three-quarters to an inch long, and insert half of its length into the hardwood handle. Note: if you have not been able to accomplish the hardening, use either a shorter piece or a larger diameter to avoid bending the point while drawing. And I recommend that you taper the dowel a bit toward the end, rather like a sharpened pencil.

You can use a 0.9-mm mechanical pencil; the wire size will be .035 inch.

Sources for silver: try a metal-smithing student at a college, or a local manufacturing jeweler. If they don't have any wire or rod in stock, they may be able to "draw" it for you from bar or casting material. Keep in mind that drawn wire is hardened by the process; that's good for a traditional thin sterling wire point, bad for a thick pure silver rod point.

See Also / Next:

Tips on Usage - opens in new window.
  Reshaping the point, and how I make what I think is a "perfect surface".

Drawing Techniques Workshop
 Getting the most from the medium: cross hatching, gradual tonal buildup, direct dark drawing, blending methods. Experimenting with different types of points

Last update: January 2007