Burin. A burin is a specialized engraving tool used primarily in printmaking, particularly in the technique known as line engraving. Made from hardened steel, the burin has a sharp, angled tip that allows artists to create fine lines and intricate details on metal plates, typically copper or zinc. When using a burin, the artist pushes or pulls the tool across the plate’s surface, cutting into the metal to form grooves. These grooves hold ink, which is transferred to paper during the printing process. The precision of the burin allows for a wide range of effects, from delicate, detailed lines to bolder, more expressive marks. Burin engraving is valued for its ability to produce high-quality prints with rich textures and tonal variations. This technique has been used historically by artists such as Albrecht Dürer and Francisco Goya, and it continues to be a respected method in contemporary printmaking, allowing for intricate and visually compelling artworks. Made from hardened steel, the burin has a sharp, angled tip that allows artists to create fine lines and intricate details on metal plates, typically copper or zinc. When using a burin, the artist pushes or pulls the tool across the plate’s surface, cutting into the metal to form grooves. These grooves hold ink, which is transferred to paper during the printing process. The precision of the burin allows for a wide range of effects, from delicate, detailed lines to bolder, more expressive marks. Burin engraving is valued for its ability to produce high-quality prints with rich textures and tonal variations. This technique has been used historically by artists such as Albrecht Dürer and Francisco Goya, and it continues to be a respected method in contemporary printmaking, allowing for intricate and visually compelling artworks. The first known use of the word dates back to France in the mid-1600s, when the term was coined for the tool we know today. Different blade tips The burin consists of a rounded handle shaped like a mushroom, and a tempered steel shaft coming from the handle at an angle and ending in a very sharp cutting face, creating a V-shaped groove in a printing plate of soft metal, classically copper. The most ubiquitous types have a square or lozenge face, but there are many others. A tint burin has a square face with teeth, to create many fine, closely spaced lines. Stipple techniques can be done with many flicks of a conventional burin, and this was the earliest technique used. Later wheeled tools called roulettes allowed the easy creation of many fine dots.