Which engraving skills did William Blake learn during his apprenticeship?

During his seven-year apprenticeship with the line engraver James Basire, William Blake mastered the technical foundations of his craft. His training included the following skills:

• Plate Preparation: Learning to polish copperplates and prepare them for etching with acid.1
• Tool Maintenance: Sharpening gravers and grinding ink.1
• Image Transfer: Reducing images to the appropriate size for the copperplates.1
• Engraving Technique: Pushing the sharp graver through the copper, a process he performed using gauze to filter light and prevent glare from the polished metal.1

Blake became so proficient in these tasks that Basire entrusted him with independent assignments, such as copying medieval monuments at Westminster Abbey for historical documentation.1