If you’ve been searching about wood burning, you’ve probably seen the word pyrography come up. You may be wondering what the differences are or if they are the same thing, and I’m here to clear it up!
The two words get thrown together a lot and while they are basically the same thing, there are some differences between pyrography and wood burning.
I have been doing this art form since around 2015/2016 and I love it. It’s one of the main reasons why my blog is even here, as I would constantly get questions on my social media about what tools I use and recommend, and how I create my original wood burning artwork.
What Is Wood Burning?
Wood burning art is the art of burning onto wooden surfaces to create designs. It’s quite obvious, as you are burning wood, hence the term “wood burning”. 🙂
What Is Pyrography?
Pyrography is exactly wood burning but pyrography also means burning onto other surfaces as well besides wood. So pyrography art is burning designs onto wood, leather, paper, gourds, or whatever is possible to burn. The definition is writing with fire, so pyrography covers all burnable surfaces!
Pyrography vs. Wood Burning
It all comes down to the surface you are burning!
Pyrography
Wood, leather, paper, gourds, cork, & more!
Wood Burning
Wood
So from the definitions and chart above, you can see why many people refer to wood burning as pyrography, because it is. Though with pyrography, the craft is much broader because of the number of surfaces you can burn on. I will say wood is by far the most popular surface.
Even if you were just going to burn on a surface like leather, you would still buy a wood burning tool, because that is what they are called.
Regardless if you are a wood burning artist who creates wood burned art, you can also call yourself a pyrographer. Many pyrography artists branch out and burn onto other surfaces when they are confident with burning onto wood. Once you learn your wood burning tool, it’s easy to work on other surfaces.
One time I burned my logo on a leather bag and it was so much fun! I started with super low heat because I knew it would take differently than wood. It was buttery smooth to work on, but I think I will always prefer burning onto wood personally.
Tip: make sure to always research before burning onto a new surface to make sure it’s not toxic. Also, always test your wood burning tool on new surfaces before starting a new project because different surfaces burn at different rates than wood.
Check out all of my wood burning related blog posts here!
What Are The Best Wood Burners For Pyrography?
There are many wood burning tools on the market. If you are a beginner, I always suggest the Walnut Hollow Versa Tool. I have used this tool since I started this craft and it’s a great affordable option.
The other burner I use is the Razertip dual machine. It’s great because you can easily switch from pen to pen and it heats up instantly.
Conclusion & Final Thoughts
When I talk and blog about wood burning art, I refer to it as pyrography all the time! In my mind, I think of pyrography as the official name and definition of the craft.
Thanks for reading and let me know in the comments if you have any questions or comments about the differences between pyrography and wood burning art!
-Amanda
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