I want my knives to be works of art. Functional, but art... Like most artists, I will sign my art.
I might consider a brand name if I was producing midtech/production knives, but even then I would still most likely choose to put my name on anything I was responsible for designing....
When I studied Biology in University I was often very annoyed with how often it seemed that the scientist was more important than the discovery. I despised that, and vowed to try and make any discovery I was part of more important than I am, as if the discovery is important it will long outlive me, as I am unimportant and care that knowledge was progressed. I am a hobbiest, and will most likely remain so for a long while, and while I try to make attractive user quality knives, I doubt my knives will hold much collector value in the future. I want the knives to be held under their own merit, few opinions based on the name within. I've seen makers decline in quality, I've seen companies change their quality focus for the worse. I've seen good knives shunned because of the maker turning into a "less than honest individual". I hope that the knives I make, as a very small volume maker, can avoid some of this.
I do use two stamps after my first knife, which was engraved after heat treat. The first is the knifemaking name- Black Tyr Knives, and the second is my personal chop that I have used since I was around 8, surrounded by a tear. The symbol carries all 4 initials in my name, as it is a tradition in my family to assign themselves a sign based on their initials (my dads was shaped similar to a shield). My first foray's into weapons making as a young teenager each had an eye somewhere in the piece, to which I added a black tear to. I liked the black tear ideal for weapons so when my focus was drawn to knives I just added the knives to what I called my admittedly crude neandertalithic makings. Conversing with my wife's cousin in my early 20's he noted that I should change the tear to Tyr because of them being homonyms and to tip my hat toward my Nordic heritage. As a lover of Norse mythology I smacked my forehead in disbelief of this oversight and the name has stuck.
I also put the name of my knives in my sig so there would be some record of the knives if anybody down the road searches for them (doubtful), and plan on making a simple website to keep records tying my personal name to that of my knives.
Here are the stamps I've chosen:
And here are the first 2 items that started the name.
Besides, there are way too many Kris Jacobsen's out there.
, so I feel that it's beneficial included my first and middle initials... you know... to avoid confusion. 
He used to hang out here on the forums quite a bit... but doesn't look like he's posted here since early 2011.
