Stephen does not employ a microscope and power tools to engrave a pattern on a knife. Such techniques take very good photos and can take long periods of time as the engraver is looking at his work under great magnification. In this way much time is spent on an incredibly small area. Using this technique it could take MANY MONTHS to engrave one shotgun using a 20 power microscope but only a few weeks to engrave a finely detailed engraved shotgun employing the traditional hand engraving techniques. Stephen employs a 2x power magnivisor. The eagle below took only several hours. The engraving cut by Stephen on the bolsters took less than an hour.
