Fig. 1. Fine Liner.
To be a really skilled striper, the workman needs to be the possessor of a steady hand, or, in the words of another, of "hand magic," of an accurate eye, and plenty of color sense. In point of fact, it is highly necessary that the striper should be a good colorist; one, in short, who is thoroughly conversant with the rules of color harmony and contrast.
Fig. 2. Medium Fine Liner.
The first law with which the novice or learner of the art of striping or ornamenting is confronted is that of color and form. This he must study patiently and persistently, the while practicing with the pencil in order that the purely mechanical part of the art be well mastered. Grace, freedom, sure-handedness, are indispensable factors, as applied to the mechanical features of striping and ornamenting, and these can be attained only through the agency of diligent practice, combined with the help of an eye educated to act quickly and accurately. There can be no arbitrary rules laid down to govern the art of striping in so far as it has reference to style. Style is but the fleeting fancy of "the passing show," and while it is here today it may be gone tomorrow. Hence, the fashion in striping is indefinite and sufficiently elastic to adapt itself to local requirements without departing far from what may chance to be at the time generally accepted as the prevailing style. For, after all, the striping must be subordinate to form, color, and surface, and its lavish or meagre employment, in plain or fancy design, is controlled very largely thereby.
Fig. 3. Heavy or Medium Line.
THE STRIPER'S OUTFIT.
The pencil equipment is properly a matter of the first concern to the striper. The last decade has witnessed the retirement, in large part at least, of the round pencils, save when stripes are to be done in sizes exceeding 1/8 in. The vividly sensational name of "dagger" or "sword pencil" has been applied to the pencil which has taken the place of the round liner. Practically all vehicle stripers use these pencils at present. A single pencil, if necessary, can be made to draw a various assortment of lines, running from the hair line to the round line, or even heavier. But, all things considered, the writer deems it best to have a pencil made to draw a certain line and no other. This necessitates the ownership of a larger equipment of pencils, but it also provides for uniformly good work more easily accomplished than can be expected when one pencil is made to do duty in drawing the variously sized lines called for in the average carriage and wagon shop. In [Fig. 1], accompanying this chapter, is shown a fine line sword pencil. This draws a hair line when filled properly, and cannot be made to exceed a fine line and do effective work. [Fig. 2] is a medium fine line pencil, and [Fig. 3] represents a pencil with which a fine line or a round line, or any line varying between these two, may be drawn. The striper should be provided with at least four different sizes of pencils. To make the sword pencil, proceed as follows: Take the desired portion of hair from a large camel's-hair pencil of selected quality, and draw to the proper bevel from one side of the flat portion of the hair. Then, taking the hair carefully in the left hand, with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand work a bit of trimmer's paste into the end that is inserted into the handle. Narrow strips of paper, say 3/4 in. in width, and of the full length of the hair, are cut and spread with a thin glazing of the paste, and on these prepared strips, about the center of them, lay the hair, keeping it perfectly straight. Next, fold the uncovered portions of the paper over the hair. The day following, or at any time in the future, the superfluous hair and paper may be trimmed from the embryo pencil and a handle attached. A straight-grained piece of pine affords a good handle. Split in center of handle, insert the hair in the split, wrap tightly with stout linen thread, and the pencil is ready for use. In the making of the sword pencil there is often a superfluity of short hairs, of which it is desirable to be well rid. To remove them, take the hair before it is greased, and with the end that is to be bound with the thread held between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, pull the long hairs over to the right, thus exposing the short and useless hairs and affording an easy removal of them. This process of weeding out the naturally short hair develops the pencil of one length of stock excepting, of course, the desired taper of the tool. While many supply houses now furnish sword pencils of all sizes and lengths, the first-class stripers, the chevaliers of the art, prefer to make their own pencils, and the writer heartily coincides with that preference, the shop-made pencil usually having a poise and balance not possessed by the store-purchased article. To those of my readers who accept the dictum that there is no royal road to the art of striping; that the severe schooling in the busy arena of every-day practice is the culture that graduates the talented striper, I would say, learn to make your pencils. Your first attempt, or your second, and perhaps even your third, may not result successfully, but patience and a capacity for taking infinite pains will eventually, if not shortly, win. It is best to make pencils in lots of 1/2 doz. Two or three out of the lot, even after one becomes tolerably proficient in pencil making, may prove defective. The method of making the sword pencil, as above advised, has the advantage of being easily and quickly acquired, and is therefore recommended to the learner as a feasible one to adopt. With these sword, or dagger, pencils many of the ornamental striping designs which will accompany this and later chapters may be executed, the extreme point of the pencil being used in describing all curves and fancy circles.
