Customer wants letters on knife handle.

JG Custom Metal Works

JG Custom Metal Works

Joined
Nov 27, 2013
Messages
1,626
A friend wants me to make him a knife with red letters on the handle. He wants "USMC" in gold/yellow on one side and "PDD" in red on the other side.

Making him the knife is not a problem. I'm just unsure of how to go about doing the letters. One idea I had would be to finish the handle and then have the letters engraved/relieved. Then I could pour dyed Gflex into the letter cavities and sand the excess off until the outlines of the letters are flush/crisp.

He's willing to pay to have the letters engraved, or done by a professional engraver.

I wanted to see if any of you gents have tackled something like this before. There may be a simple way to go about this that I'm missing.

I would greatly appreciate your help.

I'll probably send him a link to this thread so he can stay involved with the process.

-Cheers
 
Last edited:
You'll have to find someone with a pantograph milling machine or a CNC mill to have the engraving done.
Without some undercutting of the letters, the epoxy may not stay in well.
 
I suggest doing a flat handle inlay that is engraved.
 
The best material for t he inlay would be Inlace. It is an acrylic inlay material made for this exact purpose. It is what many of the fancy acrylic type handles and pen turning blocks are made of.
Woodcraft and several of the knife supply companies carry it. You can dye it or buy pre-colored, and you can also use metallic dusts to color it. I would get a tube of the metallic dust in red and gold and buy a clear kit.

The lettering will have to be routed out by hand with a Dremel or CNC unit. A sharp #11 blade will be needed to trim the edges and make undercuts. Make the letters deep enough to allow some depth for sanding as well as color depth and strength.

Check a few trophy shops to see if they can do the cutouts if your hand skills are not up to it.



NOW:
I know that this is what the customer wants.,...but what someone wants and what is best for him are not always the same. With the very best outcome, this is likely to look a bit like a 14 year old thought it up and did it in his bedroom.
I highly suggest the markings be engraved on the finished blade professionally. It will be crisp and bold. It won't be in colors, but it won't look amateurish. One of the jobs of a professional is to guide the customer in the best direction. One of my favorite lines when guiding a customer is, "Its great when money is no object , but that does not mean it will look good."
 
Maybe a plate pinned to the handle? I've seen this on art knives mostly.Google Van Barnett knifemaker for ideas.
 
I agree with Stacy. Suggest that it be engraved or even etched. If you have an etching machine, or know someone who does, you can just order stencils. You could do an OD green/desert tan handle, or any handle material of your choice, and yellow and red liners. That would give you the colors and the letters just in a different layout. It would be a shame to make a nice knife and it look bad because of a poor inlay/engraving on the handle. Good luck and be sure to post pics of the progress/finished product and be sure to thank him for his service.
 
I just went through this with a "cattle brand" on the blade. The guy wanted his Diamond P (a square set on the tip with the P centered) and I went through hell trying to accomplish the task. I even went so far as to order an engraving font from Australia but the blade was too hard to get a good engraving.
I wound up getting a stencil from Patricia at IMS and it all turned out good but the effort and time was NOT good....
With that said, since you're doing it on the handle material and not the blade look in your area for laser engravers. The regular machines will do that but not steel. To engrave steel (not brass) it takes a machine that uses some sort of gas, not sure what type though......
 
I agree with Larry about Ken Nelsen at Kallenshaan. He is my go-to for special pen inlay work. Nice guy. I have his card stuck on my monitor.

If getting Ken to do the setup, he will cut the letter in two flat scales in the wood of choice ( say green stabilized curly maple), and cut the inlay pieces in red and yellow colors in the same wood type. You will assemble the "inlay" and lock it all together with plenty of thin CA glue. Once done, they will assemble and finish as any other scale. Once shaped, a flood of CA to make sure all is well sealed is a good idea.

You will need a well drawn to-scale drawing or CAD. Think about pin placement before making the drawing.
 
Engraving the bolster might be the way to go. These two were comissioned to commemorate a big whitetail buck. One was for the guide and the other for the outfitter.

qJT5ggD.jpg


This would allow you a very usable knife without having to worry about the letters in the handle chipping out. Barring that I would probably etch the blade.

7ls7I7G.jpg


I've done numerous cattle brands as pictured on this set, company names, wedding dates, logos etc
 
I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share your ideas with me on this. My friend has been following the thread as well. I think, after considering all that's involved, we're gonna forgo the letters on the handles.

I think I might still etch the letters he wants on the ricasso.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top