Since seal cutting is a combination of calligraphy and carving, the skill of carving is of course an important key to the quality of the work. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, seal cutting was very popular. After the spread of several famous artists, the knife methods were roughly divided into thirteen kinds, with different descriptions and mysterious words, so that people who started to learn knife methods later were often confused by the names of these knife methods. I don't know how to use a carving knife. To sum up, there are two methods: punching knife and cutting knife. If these two knife methods are used properly, any kind of seal can be made.

To know how to use a knife, you must first know the structure of the knife; Usually we divide the meat cleaver into three parts, and the bottom part is called "knife edge" (or blade edge) when exerting force. One or two sides or even three or four sides of a blade are called "blades". (Carving knife, a common flat-edged double-edged knife, referred to as flat-edged double-edged knife, is a two-edged flat-edged carving knife. ) The upper part of the blade is called the "shaft". The blade has a flat mouth and an oblique mouth; The flat mouth is used for carving stones, and the ordinary mouth is used for carving bamboo and wood. Blade is divided into thin and thick; Thin ones are sharp and can be used to carve fine prints, while thick ones are blunt and suitable for carving clumsy prints. There are square and round shafts; The round handle is easy to hold, and the square handle needs to be wrapped with cotton thread or rattan thong so as not to be awkward. As for the size of the carving knife used for stone carving, it is generally enough to prepare two kinds; Larger, the blade is about half a centimeter wide. One is relatively small, and the blade is only about two millimeters. Due to the size of lithographs, the most commonly used seals are about one and a half to three centimeters square. With these two kinds of meat cutters, you can be satisfied.

Secondly, what we need to know is the bias and correctness of the knife. As everyone who studies calligraphy knows, there are two ways to move a pen: centering and slanting. Then, the bevel of the knife is very similar to that of the pen. In order to distinguish it from the center and oblique direction of calligraphy, we call it "front" with a straight knife and "side" with a horizontal knife. The common stone seal mostly adopts the side front, and rarely adopts the front side. The so-called positive, is the knife into the stone. When the blade touches the stone surface, 80% of the blade is carved on the right side, and the cutter shaft is inclined forward or backward at an angle of 80 degrees with the stone surface. In hard engraving, the knife row is cut in the center of the stroke, so the blades on both sides of the blade are squeezed outward with the cutting of the blade, making the two sides of the engraved stroke look like patches. On the other hand, when carving the blade on a stone, the blade tilts 75 degrees to the left or right, so when carving the blade on a stone, only one side of the blade is close to Yin Shi, and the other side is useless, and the carved strokes are smooth and peeling. It is not easy to carve thick strokes with the leading edge, but it is wider with the side edge. Carving can't be done with one knife. You should use the knife method well, because the words are suitable, so you can engrave well.

Now let's talk about the knife method. The so-called "punching knife method" is to hold the front or side and move forward. Because the profile is generally used, the carved strokes are very refreshing and powerful. "Knife cutting" means cutting down with a knife. Under the force of the cutter, it will move forward slightly. Each knife can only carve about half the length of the blade, and several knives must be connected together to carve it completely. It's completely different from the length that a knife can carve. The printed matter carved with the cutting knife is relatively flat, while the printed matter carved with the punching knife is more flat and smooth. But it also depends on the purpose, because some seal cutting is different from the above; For example, Wu Changshuo is used to brandishing a knife to hit his face pale and muddy, and Xu Sangeng is used to printing the wind with a knife, which is the best example. If you take the general learning process as an example, learn to cut the knife first, and then learn to punch, because the knife is very short and easy to carve. As long as it is carved with one knife and one knife, although the carving is not good, the problem will not be obvious. However, skilled punching knives are needed. It's not easy for a novice to carve with one knife. If there is an obstacle in the middle, the carving is poor. It is often inclined or used for knives. Of course, the oblique carving has no brushwork, and the knife is easy to hurt your hand. So the treatment of printing should start with a knife. After carving with a knife and a punching knife, there are still some shortcomings, which can be corrected by punching. This method of mending was called mending knife by the ancients. In fact, mending the knife is also using cutting and punching. It's just a name, not a knife method. In order to let scholars know about ancient swordsmanship, it is divided into regulations and notes for easy understanding.