Few heritage crafts demand the patience, precision and artistic vision of traditional gun engraving. From elegant scrollwork and gold inlay to breathtaking bulino game scenes, every cut is made by hand, creating pieces that will be admired for generations.
For our latest Heritage Crafts feature, we spoke to master engraver Allan Portsmouth, whose remarkable career began with an apprenticeship at Holland & Holland at just sixteen years of age. Since becoming freelance in 1990, Allan has completed commissions for many of Britain's most prestigious gunmakers, including Holland & Holland, Westley Richards, William Evans, William & Son, Asprey and Ray Ward. We caught up with him to discuss apprenticeship, craftsmanship, inspiration and the future of this extraordinary British tradition.
You began your apprenticeship with Ken Preater at Holland & Holland at just 16 years old. Looking back, what are the most important lessons you learnt during those formative years, and how did they shape the engraver you've become?
My first year at Holland & Holland was spent in the apprentice school, where we made hand tools. The quality associated with Holland & Holland was instilled in me from day one.
After that first year, you moved into a department to begin learning your chosen craft. I remember seeing the engraving patterns for the first time and wondering, "Where do you even start?" The level of detail completely fascinated me.
Ken Preater was very old school, as were all the foremen back then. He was a fantastic teacher and recognised how keen I was to learn. He gave me the strongest possible foundations, always emphasising that quality came first.
I stayed in touch with Ken until his passing a few years ago. We spoke every week on the phone, and I would send him photographs of my work and other engraving I'd discovered on Instagram. We both loved seeing exceptional craftsmanship and discussing the different techniques behind it.
Your work ranges from elegant scrollwork and gold inlay to incredibly detailed bulino scenes. Can you talk us through the creative process behind a commission, from a blank action body to the finished masterpiece?
When I receive a new action to engrave, the first thing I do is clear my bench, which is usually covered with reference photographs from the previous job. I like to study the lines and flow of the action, picturing how the design will fit and develop.
Every commission is like a relationship. Some days you want to spend every waking hour with it, and other days you don't want to look at it at all.
Usually the customer has already chosen a design, although I always enjoy working directly with them as it gives me a much better understanding of their vision.
There is a clear step-by-step process: drawing and cutting the scroll design, recessing and matting the background with a pointed punch to create the dark contrast that makes the scrollwork stand out, before adding the shade lines that give the engraving its flow and depth.
Gold inlay involves cutting and undercutting the recess before hammering the gold into place, while bulino is created through thousands of tiny dots and fine cuts, almost like building an image pixel by pixel.
Engraving is a craft where you're constantly learning. Even now, I'll discover or develop a new technique while working. When I finally complete a gun, it's often difficult to let it go. They're a bit like children that you've nurtured before releasing them into the world.
Gun engraving is often described as one of Britain's finest heritage crafts. When you're cutting steel by hand, do you feel a sense of responsibility to continue traditions that stretch back hundreds of years?
I certainly do. I think I was one of the last engravers still working before air-assisted tools became common. Even today, I still use hand-push gravers for almost everything. Only the deeper work is completed using a Lindsay air-assisted palm control. I prefer the palm control to a foot pedal because you still retain that sense of pressure through your hand while cutting.
Some engravers have told me they've found it difficult to return to hand-push gravers after years of working with air-assisted tools, which makes traditional hand engraving something of a dying art.
I'm always happy to help engravers who are learning the craft. Quite a few contact me through Instagram, and if I can help by sharing my knowledge or pointing them in the right direction, I always will. More often than not, I encourage them to study the work of Ken Hunt, just as I did.
You've engraved pieces for some of the most prestigious names in British gunmaking, including Holland & Holland, Westley Richards and William Evans. Does each house have its own distinct style or character, and how do you adapt your work while maintaining your own artistic identity?
Every prestigious gunmaker has its own distinctive style of scroll engraving, often recognised as its signature pattern. That said, the possibilities are almost endless depending on what a customer wants.
Every engraver also develops their own individual style, even when producing those traditional house patterns. Occasionally you're given complete freedom with the scroll design, and I can often look at a gun and tell you who engraved it, even if it's based on a classic pattern.
The level of precision in your engraving is astonishing. What qualities or disciplines does someone need to master this craft, and is it something that can still be learned through dedication, or does it require a particular artistic instinct?
You do need a certain artistic instinct to reach a high standard of engraving. Anyone can be taught how to cut steel, particularly with today's air-assisted tools, but creating exceptional engraving requires something more.
There really isn't a secret to learning the craft. It's simply practice, practice and more practice.
Bulino engraving demands enormous patience because it's such a slow process. Sometimes I even find myself holding my breath, knowing that the precise placement of a single dot can make or break an entire scene.
Finally, as someone who has devoted decades to hand engraving, how do you see the future of the craft? Are enough young people entering the profession, and what would you say to anyone considering a career preserving these remarkable traditions?
I believe there will always be a place for hand engraving because there will always be people who appreciate the beauty of handcrafted art. Laser engraving has improved enormously in recent years, but it can never truly replicate the depth, character and feel of work created entirely by hand.
The gun trade has begun to feel the effects of a shortage of skilled craftsmen after many years without apprenticeship schools. Thankfully, that now seems to be changing, and I'm hearing that several manufacturers are reintroducing apprenticeship programmes. Hopefully that will bring a new generation into the trade.
For anyone considering a career in engraving, I'd encourage them to look for apprenticeship opportunities with one of the leading manufacturers or consider studying at Sir John Cass jewellery school.
Our sincere thanks to Allan Portsmouth for taking the time to share his experience and insights with us. His extraordinary craftsmanship is a wonderful reminder that Britain's heritage trades continue to thrive through dedication, patience and a lifelong pursuit of excellence.
To see more of Allan's exceptional work, follow him on Instagram: @allanportsmouth.