Etch versus stamped names?

[deloid]

What is your general feeling as you look at world class knives at shows. Is the trend to etch more than stamp now?

 

[TekSec]

I stamp and it's a pain to get one perfect without using a press and making sure the metal is flat enough on both sides. Etching is less precise (it can shadow or ghost around the edges depending on the design or the stencil), gets deep, but not as deep in some cases as a stamp. I'm going to be buying an etch setup in the near future, though. I love the way my stamp looks, I just get stressed everytime I put a blade in the press. Also, you have to stamp pre-heat treat which means you have to finish sand and polish on the stamp. If it's not deep enough or evenly stamped, you'll sand some of the detail off. Oh, and I've heard some makers complain that when you stamp, you mess with the metals molecular structure and it causes weekness. I don't put an awful lot of stock in that, but I suppose it's possible.