World's Smallest Engraving on Razor's Edge

Graham Short, after 150 attempts, has succeeded in etching the words "Nothing Is Impossible" on the edge of a Wilkinson Sword razor blade. The engraving measures only a tenth of a millimeter, and can only be viewed with a medical microscope at 400x magnification. As you might expect, creating this engraving required an almost superhuman level of concentration and dedication. Mr. Short worked at night, when traffic vibrations were at a minimum, with his arm strapped to his chair with a luggage strap to minimize random movements. He monitored his heart with a stethoscope, and only attempted to make a letter stroke between beats. Continue after the break to find out more.

Mr. Short is an avid swimmer, swimming up to 10,000 meters every day, and is able to lower his heart rate to only 30 beats per minute at rest. He sits still for 90 minutes, breathing and slowing his heart rate, before starting his engraving session. He worked from midnight to 5am five or six nights a week, completing 3 letters on a good night.

Mr. Short is a copper and steel engraver by profession, and has done miniature engravings in the past, including engraving all 278 letters of the Lord's Prayer on the head of a gold pin. His razor blade engraving is for sale for about $76,000, or £47,500. He says that his wife is supportive of this self-described obsession: "Nobody else is mad enough to do it, but she positively encourages me."

[via PSFK]

from The Telegraph