What Is Pyrography?
Pyrography consists of two words.
Pyro - from the Greek word pur which means ‘fire’.
Graphy - from or suggested by the Greek word graphia ‘writing’.
This ancient art can be traced back as far as cave paintings, where a branch burned in a fire or a heated stone could be used to create charcoal marks on a cave wall. It is still debated to this day as to whether cave painting was purely an art form or a primitive form of communication?
Pyrography or Woodburning did not become popular until the late 1600's, early 1700's when in Europe metal rods would be heated in fires and used to brand lines and simple patterns onto wooden objects. This early form was called Pokerart or Pokerwork. The Victorians even invented primitive blow torch machines. John Cranach became adept in this art and published his first works about Pyrography 1811.
James William Fosdick, who was born in Charleston, Massachusetts developed a system that used highly flammable materials such as petrol or benzine, which was pushed through a fine nozzle and ignited to burn images onto the wood. As you can imagine, this method was highly dangerous and not recommended!
Eventually with the birth of electricity the first soldering irons were born. These irons had very crude tips, but eventually led to the Pyrography machines known today. There are two types of machine available.
The wire point - this has wire nibs that can be shaped to suit the type of mark/effect you wish to create.
The solid point - this machine comes with interchangeable tips to suit the type of effect you wish to achieve.
Both usually come with a temperature control unit to burn lighter or darker marks. At the moment I am using the Janik S2 solid point for all my work.
Pyrography can be achieved on a variety of materials including wood, leather, velvet, paper, tagua nuts (vegetable ivory) and gourds. Most wood types are suitable for burning although lighter, harder woods such as sycamore, lime, maple and ash are best suited. Plywoods can also be used, although should not be burned too deep, as the glues may be toxic. MDF should never be burnt upon, as its fumes are highly toxic and can cause health problems.
If you wish to know anymore information about Pyrography, please do feel free to contact me and I will try to answer your questions or at least point you in the right direction.