Help choosing maker's name

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bittermanbrewing

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May 8, 2013
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As I delve into the arena of knife making, I need a bit of assistance choosing my maker's name. I have a difficult last name to spell and pronounce - a Americanization of a Lithuanian name, and I feel like it might be difficult for prospective customers to locate me via maker's mark. I am one of two left that carries that particular version of that name, so it would be nice to see it continue into the future, albeit stamped or engraved on a knife, rather than a genetic offspring. I have asked my friends (some knife collectors) and they seem to prefer one of my alternatives. My alternatives include variations of my initials or of my screen name - JEP Knives, Bitterman Knives, etc. My last name is Paltanavich. So as potential consumers, what do you think?

Thanks!
Jason
 
Use your name. If you do your work well, the name will be remembered.
 
Use your name . Of course, my fathers side is Polish/Lithuanian and Mongolian. I'm used to the whole butchering of my last name and experience wonderment whenever someone gets my name right. Maybe a nickname, or Lieuteva knives?
 
Use your name. It's something to be proud of and not a common name around here.
 
Paltanavich is not that bad
Mine is Puzhnyak which is Ukrainian I have yet to hear an American that can say it without choking LOL
 
For the past 20 years I have used a mark with 3 scallop shells with an initial inside each one. Next year I am switching my last name which like yours is Lithuanian.
 
Yeah, use your name. It's not that hard imo, and is somewhat memorable.

They say that a word or name becomes part of your vocabulary after you've said it approximately 3 times. Give em a reason to do just that. ;)
 
Use your name. It represents the pride you have in your knives. It is up to the reader to learn how to pronounce it properly. The only thing I would mention is that you may want to have a logo, image of some sort or initial associated with your name that can be used on it's own. There are times when places to put the maker's mark are too small for the whole name. a stylized initial or something will work in those instances.
 
Use your name. You were given something unique, use it. Me on the other hand, my name is Chris Jones... which I'm sure there are entire pages in phone books with just my name! :eek:

Chris
 
Russ Andrews said:
Use your name. If you do your work well, the name will be remembered.
Click to expand...

Absolutely.
People don't have to pronounce it correctly - they just need to recognize it and be able to associate it with a person.
Use your name.
I've heard Joe Szilaski pronounced 10 different ways, but we all know who he is.
Or should.
 
I agree with the others, you have a unique name that should serve well as a mark. Good 'ole boys that have trouble with it will likely just say "Palta", which isn't a bad alternative. Really Paltanavich isn't that hard to say... or maybe I'm saying it wrong. :)

I'm also having trouble deciding on what to put on my knives. I was using my initials and a gear, but I've just stopped marking them for the time being since they're going to family and friends. Eventually I'd like to start selling, if only for the cost of material, so I'll need to mark them.
My problem isn't pronounciation. But if I put "Germany" on a blade people are just going to think it's refering to the country. I'm debating on using my full name or just first and middle; "Curtis Ryan"
 
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Haha, I feel your pain man. As a Russian, my last name is Yantifovich. so there. we are in the same boat.
 
People have been butchering the pronunciation of my name since i can remember, I put it on my knives so they can do a proper job.

Truly amazed when someone gets it right.
 
In the knife world everyone is trying to come up with something a little bit different and unique. Probably the number one thing that trips makers up is some form of recognition, logo design, knife design, name etc. Something that someone will recognize across the room.

I think your real name is ready made for this. Use it.
 
thanks for all the advice. You made it an easy choice. While simultaneously showing me more difficult last names, cough cough Yantifovich.;-) And yes, names should be sources of pride. Guess can take a queue from marketing, if its not good enough to put my last name on, then it's just not good enough. Thanks again for the great advice.

Not to mention, at least I won't have to worry about registering for a domain name if I decide to have a website.
 
I'm in the same boat. Last name is Sidoti (Sicilian). Not very common, and I'm stuck on a logo. Was thinking a simplified version of the family coat of arms. Something that would not take too much time on the laser engraver.
 
This subject has come up several times before with some excellent threads discussing pros and cons of logos vs name. Consensus has always come down on the side of name. Those people with unusual names can bless their luck that they have something unique with which to brand their work, and in this day and age of chemical and laser etchers, you can pack quite a long name in a small space if needs be.

Someone in one of the other threads said that they didn't just have their name, but also their city and state. The idea being that if one of their knives was bought and sold several times, the eventual purchaser, say three or four transactions down the line, would have little trouble in tracing the maker if they wanted to buy more of their work. Logos are hard to trace. A name in conjunctions with "knives" on google could be all a potential buyer needs to find you on one of the forums, or your own web page.

I may not have an unusual name compared to some of you guys, but there are not all that many of them in the US, and no others in the UK that I know of, so after a brief time looking at a logo made of my initials, I went with a chemical etch of my two initials and last name.
 
People can butcher any name, my last name is Walk and its been butchered all my life. Lots of people "correct" it for me to walker or walke or wok. Agree with others, use your name if you want or an initial with a distinctive mark.
 
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