hand-vice.
Ordinary etching-ground and transparent ground in balls.
Liquid stopping-out varnish.
Brushes of different sizes.
Two dabbers,--one for the ordinary varnish, the other for the white
or transparent varnish.
A wax taper.
A needle-holder.
Needles of various sizes.
A dry point.
A burnisher.
A scraper.
An oil-stone of best quality.
A lens or magnifying-glass.
Bordering-wax.
An etching-trough made of gutta-percha or of porcelain.
India-rubber finger-gloves.
Nitric acid of forty degrees.
Tracing-paper.
Gelatine in sheets.
Chalk or sanguine.
Emery paper, No. 00 or 000.
Blotting-paper.
A roller for revarnishing, with its accessories.

To these things we must add a supply of _old_ rags.

16. =Quality and Condition of Tools and Materials.=--Too much care
cannot be taken as regards the quality of the copper, which metal is
used by preference for etching. Soft copper bites slowly, while on hard
copper the acid acts more quickly and bites more deeply. It is to be
regretted that nowadays plates are generally rolled, which does not give
density enough to the metal. Formerly they were hammered, and the copper
was of a better quality. Thus hammered, the metal becomes hard, and is
less porous; its molecular condition is most favorable to the action of
the acid, the lines are purer, and even when the work is carried to the
extreme of delicacy, it is sure to be preserved in the biting.

English copper plates, and plates that have been replaned, are
excellent. It is a good plan to buy thick plates, of a dimension smaller
than that of the designs to be made, and to have them hammered out to
the required size. The plates thus obtained will not fail to be very
good.

The vice must have a wooden handle, so as to prevent burning the
fingers.

To meet all possible emergencies, lamp-black may be mixed with the
liquid stopping-out varnish (_petit vernis liquide_). Some engravers
find that it dries too quickly, and therefore, fearing that it may chip
off under the needle, use it only for stopping out; for retouching, they
employ a special retouching varnish (_vernis au pinceau_).[4]

For brushes, select such as are used in water-color painting.

The silk with which the dabbers are covered must be very fine in the
thread.

In order to protect his fingers, an engraver conceived the idea of
smoking his plates by means of the ends of several candles or wax tapers
placed to