The Inside and Outside of the Face thus finished, he considers what Sholdering the Shank of the _Punch_ makes now with the Face, round about the Letter. For, as the Shank of the Letter stands farther off the Face of any of the Stroaks, the Sholdering will be the greater when the Letter is first made; because the Outsides of the Letter, being only shaped at first with Fine Small Files, which take but little Steel off, they are Cut Obtusely from the Shank to the Face, and the Steel of the Shank may with Rougher Files afterwards, be Cut down more Tapering to the Shank. For the Sholder of the Shank, as was said before in this ¶, must not make an Angle with the Face, of above 100 Degrees; because else they would be, first, more difficult to Sink into Copper; And Secondly, The broad Sholders would more or less (when the Letter is Cast in such Matrices) and comes to the Press, be subject, and very likely to be-smear the Stroaks of the Letter; especially, with an Hard Pull, and too wet Paper; which squeezes the Face of the Letter deep into the Paper, and so some part of the Broad Sholdering of the Letter, receiving the Ink, and pressing deep into the Paper, slurs the Printed Paper, and so makes the whole Work shew very nasty and un-beautiful. For these Reasons it is, that the Shank of the _Punch_, about the Face, must be Filed away (at least, so much as is to be Sunk into Copper) pretty close to the Face of the Letter; yet not so as to make a Right Angle with the Face of the Letter, but an Obtuse Angle of about 100 Degrees: For, should the Shank be Filed away to a Right Angle, _viz._ a Square with the Face, if any Footing or Topping be on the Letter, these fine Stroaks will be more subject to break when the _Punch_ is Sunk into Copper, than when the Angle of the Face and Shank is augmented; because then those fine Stroaks stand upon a stronger Foundation. Therefore he uses the _Beard-Gage_, and with that examines round about the Letter, and makes the Face and Shank comply with that.