Etching makers mark

AustinS1234 said:
Could you use vinyl sticker material for the stencil? I have a friend who makes stickers and I was thinking of getting him to make my logo and I’ll just stick the negative to the blade then etch over it. It won’t eat through vinyl will it?
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A knife making book written by Barney/Bob Loveless explains a way to do a Photo resist etch. It’s been years since I read it...Can’t remember the process. It was less expensive..
 
AustinS1234 said:
Could you use vinyl sticker material for the stencil? I have a friend who makes stickers and I was thinking of getting him to make my logo and I’ll just stick the negative to the blade then etch over it. It won’t eat through vinyl will it?
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Yes , you can use vinil sticker material for the stencil .
 
What I meant was there is a lot more important things to worry about mastering before attaching your name to it. Not trying to discourage anyone at all. Just trying to be honest and not sugar coat things. Learning to make Knives is fun but challenging. It’s one of those things where the more you learn the more you realize you don’t know. One of those “innocence is bliss” kind of things. For example a kid at work is learning to make blades. He is doing ok and coming along decently. Always brings them in for me to look over. He has gotten much better on his grinds. I kindly informed him using a story from years ago that in a nut shell “we all got to start somewhere”. That was not a diss on his blade it was a true statement. We all started at different levels then others. I think the hardest thing for people to get the hang of is design. Thy could have the grinding skills down reasonably well but really struggle with the form vs function aspect. We see it all the time here where new guys post sketches of blades that to them look great but are lacking visual refinement. I will say it again I’m not knocking these guys. This is a learned skill that is difficult to master quickly. Hell I still have issues with it from time to time.

In a nut shell practice practice practice and remember “what you want is on the other side of hard”. We are here to help you in any way we can. But you will have to do the leg work to learn the skills required to make the thing you desire.
 
Guys , there was not good or bad etching device . Quality stencil is what is important . If you have old Laptop charger it will done job just fine ...and fast .
etching is a simple chemical process
For marking you can buy something like this , cost 9$ !! Stancor PPC-48 Transformer Input =115/230 VAC , Output =15VAC

I just finished this ..............piece of bronze , piece of wood and wire is all you need
PLRNdnC.jpg
 
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AVigil said:
100 blades? That is a huge exaggeration.
Lets not discourage new makers with things none of us did ourselves.

If a person can not dial it in within 10 blades they need to study, learn and listen more before making more.

To the OP just look around you will see them being made from door bells as well as hobby train controllers on the cheap.
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Thank you. I'm right around the 8 blade mark and I think I have a good work flow and people seem to like what I'm doing enough to pay me. I'll check it out though thanks!
 
JTknives said:
What I meant was there is a lot more important things to worry about mastering before attaching your name to it. Not trying to discourage anyone at all. Just trying to be honest and not sugar coat things. Learning to make Knives is fun but challenging. It’s one of those things where the more you learn the more you realize you don’t know. One of those “innocence is bliss” kind of things. For example a kid at work is learning to make blades. He is doing ok and coming along decently. Always brings them in for me to look over. He has gotten much better on his grinds. I kindly informed him using a story from years ago that in a nut shell “we all got to start somewhere”. That was not a diss on his blade it was a true statement. We all started at different levels then others. I think the hardest thing for people to get the hang of is design. Thy could have the grinding skills down reasonably well but really struggle with the form vs function aspect. We see it all the time here where new guys post sketches of blades that to them look great but are lacking visual refinement. I will say it again I’m not knocking these guys. This is a learned skill that is difficult to master quickly. Hell I still have issues with it from time to time.

In a nut shell practice practice practice and remember “what you want is on the other side of hard”. We are here to help you in any way we can. But you will have to do the leg work to learn the skills required to make the thing you desire.
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No offense taken at all I get what your saying. I know I still have a massive amount of information to learn and i'm excited for that. It is going to take time hard work and a lot of money (more then ill make selling the blades haha) but for some reason I enjoy it and thats all that matters.
 
PEU said:
I built this electro etching power supply many years ago and its still going strong, feel free to copy and distribute it...!

Pablo

WhFDfv6.jpg
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I'm starting to realize my problem may reside in the electrical side of things. I am pretty mechanical and can usually figure things out rather quick but for some reason electrical has always confused me. I think I just need to read up on it more. Thanks for sharing your work though!!
 
AustinS1234 said:
I'm starting to realize my problem may reside in the electrical side of things. I am pretty mechanical and can usually figure things out rather quick but for some reason electrical has always confused me. I think I just need to read up on it more. Thanks for sharing your work though!!
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You don t need to know anything .Just buy cheapest car battery charger , one or two aligator clips ,make pads , mix electrolyte and you are in business.
If you want black finish after you etch switch polarity after you finish etch....

The difference between AC and DC lies in the direction in which the electrons flow. In DC, the electrons flow steadily in a single direction, or "forward." FROM negative(-) to positive (+) .In AC, electrons keep switching directions, sometimes going "forward" and then going "backward."


 
Actually, pure DC has no frequency and AC has (the 110v/60hz of your wall outlet) in a sinusoidal wave, its not about forward or backward.

Pablo
 
AustinS1234 said:
Hahaha yea My first few were preeeety bad... I’m not around 100 yet but I’m close. Im doing more custom orders and I want them to eventually be marked
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Lol!!!! I gave my first knife to my mother. I took a few of my diamond plates to my parents house to sharpen their kitchen knives. Apparently, mom handed me my first knife among her regular kitchen knives. I did a quick inspection of it and almost felt embarrassed about how ugly and poorly designed it was.
 
PEU said:
Actually, pure DC has no frequency and AC has (the 110v/60hz of your wall outlet) in a sinusoidal wave, its not about forward or backward.

Pablo
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Pablo - not sure why you say this? AC does have as part of its description a directionality of movement of electrons. And that direction has a direct impact on the details of the electrochemistry of the etch (ie whether you are taking metal off of the blade, adding it back on, or just kind of roughing up the surface (ac).
 
Guys.... I caved and bought a personalizer plus. Maybe it was someone on here or maybe a video I saw but I heard a great quote that sparked my purchase. "I enjoy making knives and I want to spend my free time doing just that, not making things to make knives." Although I like making things to make knives, this is only to a certain extent. If you get the right tools you will have the right outcome. as Liam Hoffman always says sometimes form follows process not function.
 
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