Chapter 12 Section 2 Knife Technique

Knife technique is a unique means of expression in the art of seal cutting.Before the Yuan Dynasty, seals were mostly cast.Even seal materials such as jade, teeth, and bone that need to be carved with fake knives require the help of grinding instruments because of their high hardness.The use of knives to carve seals is due to the combination of seals and calligraphy and painting art, and the demand for artistic seals has increased sharply. After the discovery that soft stone has become the main material for seals, engraving has gradually become the main material for printing.The seal cutting knife technique has also become the seal cutting technique that people consciously pursue.After several generations of seal carvers' exploration, it has been summarized into 14 kinds of knife techniques (13 kinds according to one theory).In summary, it can be divided into:

Knives are the main tool for seal cutting. Seal cutting pays attention to holding a knife, just like writing and painting pays attention to holding a pen, playing the piano and fingering. Non-standard methods often become obstacles to the development of skills.The seal cutting knife seems to be held by the hand, but it requires fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders and even the whole body to operate it.In order to coordinate the strength of these parts, the correct posture of the knife is very important.The effective method of holding the knife can make the carving knife run freely in the hand; the depth of the knife can be adjusted at will; it is convenient for the knife to be carried steadily and lightly.There are two commonly used knife methods:

a Similar to the method of holding a pen, pinch the handle of the knife with the thumb and index finger, the middle finger against the handle, and the ring finger and little finger close to the middle finger.When engraving, the knife is used with five fingers together, and the little finger is stretched forward to touch the seal stone, which plays a role in stabilizing the wrist and controlling the balance.This method of holding the knife can rotate freely, which is convenient for expressing the subtle changes of the printed lines flexibly and meticulously.It is suitable for small printing materials with soft texture, and it is suitable for engraving fine and powerful Zhu Wen iron wire seal printing.

b Hold the handle of the knife with your thumb, hold the upper end of the handle with the remaining four fingers, and move the knife from top to bottom with the joint force of five fingers.When engraving, you can know everything in your palm, and it all depends on the flexible operation of your wrist.This way of holding the knife is easy to exert force, and the engraved lines are thick and full of strength, which is suitable for engraving large seals in white script. a The handle of the punching knife is tilted sideways, and the corner of the knife enters the stone.With the fingers solid and the palm empty, push the knife vigorously with the five fingers and the wrist, making punches of up and down, left and right, forward and reverse.Among them, the horizontal charge is to tilt the knife outward, and the right corner of the blade is inserted into the stone.When carrying the knife, the middle finger pushes the knife from the outside right to the left.For vertical punching, use the middle finger to move the knife, and move the knife up and down to punch.Reverse charge is to pinch the handle of the knife with the thumb and index finger, push the middle finger back, lie on the handle of the knife in the "mouth of the tiger" on the side of the palm, and push forward from the bottom.When using the punching knife method, the ring finger and little finger play a positioning role, resisting the seal surface, controlling the force and preventing the knife from running away.

The knife punching method is suitable for engraving white characters and seals. The knife should be punched with moderate and uniform force. If the force is too strong or the knife is penetrated too deep, it will be difficult to handle the knife and you will not be able to handle it freely; if the force is too small or uneven, the knife will enter shallow; The engraved lines will be floating and delicate.The punching knife method is convenient for expressing the round and flowing strokes of the printed text, and the lines are strong and straight. b Knife cutting method Hold the knife with five fingers, the handle is vertical, enter the stone with the corner of the knife, and press the knife down frequently with your wrist force, so that the two corners of the knife alternately cut into the stone, and the cut knife marks are connected into printed lines.When cutting, do not press the knife too hard, so that the traces of jumping knife engraved are intricate and look like sawtooth.The lines carved out should be coherent and integrated.The inscriptions engraved by the cutting knife method are thick and vigorous, and the knife technique has a strong meaning, and can carve harder printing materials.

c The mixed method of punching and cutting is mainly based on punching knives, and cutting knives are used during operation. Cutting and punching complement each other, which enhances the expressiveness of the knife method and enriches the flavor of the knife. a The double-knife method applies knives on both sides of the printed strokes, and engraves the solid lines of the printed strokes with two or more knives.Zhu Wenyin engraves the outline along both sides of the strokes, and uses the method of cutting and stamping to shovel off the bottom of the printing outside the strokes, so that the strokes of the printed text are raised on the printing surface.The knife used to engrave Zhu Wenyin requires smooth and even lines.The profile of a successful Zhuwen is in the shape of a loach's back, and the lines drawn by the seals produce the artistic effect of penetrating through the back of the paper and thick and full that the pen used in the center of calligraphy has.

The double knife method is used to engrave the white seal, which is to apply a knife along the inner sides of the strokes of the seal to carve off the solid lines of the strokes, retain the flat surface of the seal, and leave concave strokes.The engraving of white text requires uniform and neat force, and the outline of the printed text is clear and smooth. Each stroke of the double-knife method needs to be engraved with a knife twice or more. The operation method is to fix the position and direction of the knife, and rotate the stamping stone. The dovetail and stubble left over from the beginning and end of the line have been trimmed.

b The strokes of the single-knife fingerprint are completed with a single-line knife mark, which is used to engrave fine white text.Use a knife at the actual place of the printed strokes.The single-knife method is not only engraved with one knife at a time, but also can be engraved with repeated knives.However, all the knives must move in the same direction, and the traces of double knives cannot be shown.The single-knife engraving method requires steady and sure handling of the knife, forming a spicy, natural and unmodified effect. Knife technique is a means of expressing the beauty of seal cutting art.Possess proficient knife skills, be able to handle the knife freely, achieve dignified start and stop, smooth knife movement, and agile turning, and can definitely and accurately express the rhythm and shape of the printed lines.At the same time, the knife technique is used well, and it also has a formal beauty, such as the flowing, rough, mottled, casting marks and other gold and stone charms produced by different knives.The successful knife technique is to see the meaning of the brush in the knife, and the rhyme of the knife in the pen. The knife and the pen do not harm each other, and the charm is meaningful and harmonious.

In the process of engraving, if there is any unsatisfactory place, it can be modified and arranged by compound knife or supplementary knife.The compound knife is to use an additional knife to make up for the unsatisfactory original engraving, or to engrave a knife again to complete the effect if the force is insufficient.For the compound knife, it should be noted that the method of adding the knife after the knife should be consistent with that of the original knife, and the traces of the compound knife should not appear.Make-up is to adjust and modify the places where the performance is not enough or the skills are not ideal when the work is completed.The knife method of making up the knife can be distinguished from the original carving knife method, and the methods of picking, scraping, cutting, and spinning are used in an eclectic manner.The purpose of compound knife and supplementary knife is to keep improving, avoid extraneous problems, superfluous, and damage the form and spirit of the printed text and the charm of the original knife carving method.

Smashing is a way to learn from the mottled and incomplete aesthetics of ancient seals that have been passed down for a long time, and to increase the beauty of the seal surface.If the white surface of the printed cloth in Baiwen is relatively neat and looks dull, you can use the corner of a knife to poke the residue, and the airy feeling will appear after the seal; in the places where the strokes of Zhu Wenyin are complicated and crowded, a certain line can be broken or weakened to achieve looseness. Smart; or destroy the too square and strict outer frame and printed corners to add natural and vivid interest. "Killing" should be an artistic treatment based on the overall planning of the composition and the artistic effect of the printing surface. The seemingly random knocking, if you do not have the ability to control the material mechanism and moderate force, will fall short and self-defeating, so don't abuse it when you are not sure.

The use of knife techniques directly affects the performance of skills, and only by correctly mastering the use can skills be improved.It is advisable to use force to carry the knife and combine it with reality. Holding the knife requires both force and flexible rotation, skillfully and freely adjusting the angle of the knife edge and the depth of the stone.There should be changes in severity and severity in punching and knife handling.When engraving arcs and turning lines and using pens, the stone should be turned with the knife. It is not necessary to complete the work in one stroke, and not to engrave the strokes with one knife. It can be trimmed and perfected with a supplementary knife.The turning strokes of Bai Wenyin should be softly virtualized without leaving hard edges and corners; the intersection points of Zhu Wenyin's strokes should be solidified so that the frame between the printed texts has a strong and straight effect. Knife technique is a means of expressing the beauty of seal cutting art.With proficient knife skills, one can handle the knife freely, achieve dignified start and stop, smooth knife movement, agile turning, properly express the subtle changes in the shape and spirit of the printed characters, and convey the rhythmic beauty of the printed lines and the structure of the printed characters. Beautiful shape.At the same time, the knife technique is used well, and it also has a formal beauty. Different knife techniques produce gold and stone charms such as flowing, rough, mottled, casting marks, and cracked stone marks.The successful knife technique is to see the meaning of the brush in the knife, and the charm of the knife in the lines, which is meaningful and harmonious.