Ken Erickson Knives: A Retrospective

I think the font could be 'bolder'. your name on the knife is a strong statement and this font looks a bit 'slight' to me.
many traditional makers used their first initial instead of full first name, so possibly "K. ERICKSON" arched over "Waupaca".
you could get 2 stampings made up, 1 with a small font for the smaller (sweet !) Pen knives.
roland
 
rprocter said:
I think the font could be 'bolder'. your name on the knife is a strong statement and this font looks a bit 'slight' to me.
many traditional makers used their first initial instead of full first name, so possibly "K. ERICKSON" arched over "Waupaca".
you could get 2 stampings made up, 1 with a small font for the smaller (sweet !) Pen knives.
roland
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I think two stamps will be a necessity. I was hoping to get the smaller one worked out first. "K. Erickson" is a possibility. My stamp maker told me that this was the largest font usable and keep within my width parameters.

Blues said:
(And I've just taken the liberty of PM'ing him in that regard. ;))
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I look forward to Gene's help and input if he so desires:thumbup: Thanks!
 
I like both Charlie and Elliot's ideas. But honestly, I like the stamp the way you have it also. The stamp for me really is an afterthought. One thing you might think about doing is to design a stamp that would accommodate a date/year, like the way some master smith's mark their knives. Haven't really seen that on many traditionals, and that would help people down the road know the time period in which a knife is made.
 
You could use this exising stamp for the secondary blades on your regular sized knives. Marking all blades is an OLD tradition!!
 
Ken
IMHO the new stamp looks really great. For some reason it has a very old school look appearance to my eye. The only change i would make is to somehow "attach" the "N" a bit more to "ERICKSON".
Looks great.
Rick
 
I like the curved stamp, and since I know stamps aren't cheap, I see no problem with you using it the way it is. Use that one for a couple years or so and get another one. The example you show there is stamped pretty lightly so I would put it back on the bench and whack it again to make it a tad bit bolder.
 
cnas122 said:
One thing you might think about doing is to design a stamp that would accommodate a date/year, like the way some master smith's mark their knives.
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A valid point. I think that Mike Alsdorf incorporates the year in his stamp.

waynorth said:
You could use this exising stamp for the secondary blades on your regular sized knives. Marking all blades is an OLD tradition!!
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I like this idea using this stamp. When the old makers did this was the stamp used on the small secondary blades a scaled down version of the main mark?

1200S said:
The only change i would make is to somehow "attach" the "N" a bit more to "ERICKSON".
Rick
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To me the N , being spaced a bit far almost could be mistaken for a Z. Good eye Rick!


KnifeHead said:
I like the curved stamp, and since I know stamps aren't cheap, I see no problem with you using it the way it is. Use that one for a couple years or so and get another one. The example you show there is stamped pretty lightly so I would put it back on the bench and whack it again to make it a tad bit bolder.
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Kerry , thanks for the tips and tricks via PM last night.
Your right, not cheap at a buck and a quarter, but I want to get this one right:thumbup:
 
Ken-for what it's worth, I like the arched name stamp, but think K. Erickson with Waupaca underneath would look great, as rprocter stated. Have you thought about stamping the secondary blade with the year it was made? But, as long as you keep making these great knives, any stamp you use will only add to the appeal of your knives!!!....Tony
 
[quote Ken Erickson]I like this idea using this stamp. When the old makers did this was the stamp used on the small secondary blades a scaled down version of the main mark?
Sometimes, Ken. But secondary stamps varied considerably.
Case used stamps that were considerably different from the main stamp, as did many cutleries. Some cutleries put a different stamp on each of four sides of a two bladed knife!!
Here's a Robeson HJ with two different stamps. There is also a pattern number on the back of the main.
RobesonJuniorHJmark.jpg

RobesonJuniorHJtang.jpg

RobesonJuniorHJpileTang.jpg
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I can't say that I'm a fan of the year on the blade. I prefer a little more "mystery" in figuring out the time period from the stamp. I think it might also diminish the value of the older knives somewhat as well since newer collectors always want the latest out of the shop. Without the year, they are all "classics". I'm open to critique on that last point...
 
I'm gonna go with the majority opinion on this one, Ken, and say that I'm not wild about your first name below the arch formed by your last name. Maybe flip it and have your first name cradled by your last name? The font isn't so much of an issue, to my eye. Bolder is better, within reason, but you've already established that you have to work within the constraints of the medium.

As far as the year goes, maybe you could do what I believe Kerry did on my BP: Mark the year on the inside of the liner. Or would that make it too easy for future collectors?

James
 
Thanks for all the great input concerning my mark! Gene made a very nice gesture and we are in the middle of working up a better mark. Thanks Gene!

I did go ahead and finish the knife today using the first stamp. This knife is NOT available but I thought I would share a few pictures. Sorry for the quality of my pictures of late. My light box is completely unusable at the moment.

Ken

IMGP7639_edited-1.jpg

IMGP7638_edited-1.jpg

IMGP7637_edited-1.jpg


3 5/8 swayback
Really nice butterscotch/yellow paper Micarta.
ATS-34 blade and spring
 
guys, you're gonna make me buy a swayback DAMN
all look nice and useful, the upswept handle is somehow, strange and that's the nice part of it
Maxx
 
fiuuhhh....always drooling on Ken Erickson knives, wish i could afford one, nice thread btw Elliott, hope someday i can contribute to this thread. thank you for sharing those pic guys.

falah
 
Ben B said:
I can't say that I'm a fan of the year on the blade. I prefer a little more "mystery" in figuring out the time period from the stamp. I think it might also diminish the value of the older knives somewhat as well since newer collectors always want the latest out of the shop. Without the year, they are all "classics". I'm open to critique on that last point...
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Different makers do it different ways. Shadley, for instance, stamps all of his knives with a number. Not sure where he is right now, but I'm sure it's at least in the 2000 to 3000 range. Also not sure if it diminishes the value of older knives...I guess it depends on the Maker. There are plenty of 20 year old knives that I would pay more for than a newer blade. If you are actually using a blade, then the date might be irrelevant. But for collectors, I think the more information they have on a piece, the better. Not only would they have more information prior to purchase, but if there were large discrepancies in prices between certain years, it would help solidify the value and take some of the gues work out of the equation.

Plus, with dates, it is easier to see the evolution and progression of a maker's knives over the years. Ken's knives for instance...I'm sure he can date the older ones pretty well. But for us, I'd love to look back in 10 years and see how his knives involved (his skill, taste in patterns, etc.), and dating those knives would provide an easy reference for us fans.
 
cnas122 said:
Ken, I think Kerry is onto something. I'm going to buy you some dumbbells so you can't put some more muscle into that stamp and make it darker ;)
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Campbell,

I actually did what Kerry had suggested. Put her back on the bench and wailed away at it. In hand it comes across much better than the photos convey.

I will give serious thought about dating my knives, but I am leaning toward not numbering them.

I will keep working on it.

Ken
 
I think a date stamp is not needed. Let the owner or potential buyer "read the knife", and not be influenced by what his preconceived ideas might be based on year it was made.
Did Renoir, Picasso, Van Gogh, neatly write the date in the corner of their paintings ? No, a masterpiece is timeless !
roland
 
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