Touching up the Plate
| A 'burr' is a bulge of metal pushed up along the side of the impressed line in the plate. In the finishing of the plate, the larger burrs would be removed by the use of a hand scraper. Most 'blurs' in the vertical margins were caused by shallow depressions left after overeager scraping. |
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| If the burr was smaller, the finisher would chose to burnish out the bulge of metal, pressing it back into the surface of the plate. Too much pressure on the burnishing tool would tend to fill the fine lines at the border's edge. The net result was a partial erasure of the design. |
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 | As the roller impression wore out, the fine edge lines began to disappear from the transfer. During the final finishing of the plate, hand gravers were utilized to 're-cut' these lightened or missing 'frame lines'. This hand re-cutting is usually evidenced by a thicker, more uneven line. |
 | <- Both Side Lines Re-Cut "LI" Right Side Line Re-Cut "BI" -> Top Re-Cut with Bow over "POS" - "CB" (S.G. notes it as a 'Re-Entry') 30x Magnifier shows a re-cut of a burnished out burr. |  |
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| As a last resort, after the proof sheet was pulled, but before hardening the plate, an impression might be re-rocked without being first erased. Unless perfectly registered, this operation could cause distortions and spots of color in the 'white' areas of the stamp. If badly done, some areas of the stamp will show a double impression of the design. This also falls under the category of a 'Fresh Entry'. |  |
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