Makers mark vs Etcher?

J

Jax knives

Joined
May 25, 2020
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I would like to hear opinions and pro'/cons of the two and which you prefer and why. I have a makers mark but as a beginner I'm somewhat unhappy with it and see some deff disvantages. It was realitively a small investment so no big deal to abort it and go etcher.
 
Are you asking about a Stamp vs electro chemical etching?
 
I use neither, but the stamp is much quicker and simpler than etching.
 
I electro etch, because with my luck I would grind off the stamp trying to get it flat.

Bob Loveless had no love for stamped blades due to the possible stress risers that it creates.
 
I use an electrochem etcher because I do stock removal only. I also think the Bob Loveless opinion mentioned above by Adam makes sense.

It also couldn't hurt to change your thread title from "Makers mark vs Etcher?" to "Stamp vs Etcher?".
 
DanF said:
Once heard a MS say, “stamp for forged and etcher for stock removal”. He never said why.
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If I had to guess: Efficiency. A stamp appears to be the fastest way you can put a mark on a knife, but as far as I know you can't do it to a knife that hasn't been heated first. So a stock removal knife maker with no anvil and no heating aside from the heat treatment process has to rely on the etch.
 
Learn something new every day!
 
David Mary said:
If I had to guess: Efficiency. A stamp appears to be the fastest way you can put a mark on a knife, but as far as I know you can't do it to a knife that hasn't been heated first. So a stock removal knife maker with no anvil and no heating aside from the heat treatment process has to rely on the etch.
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I cold stamped all my blades. I think it creates a much nicer stamp as your not pounding scale into the mark. I actually don't know of anyone that hot stamps. I know it’s a thing but I don’t know if any knife makers that do it.
 
I recently saw a maker on YouTube do a hot stamp. Cold stamping while annealed is probably a bit more common these days though. Lots of guys use an "electrochemical" etcher, and I've even seen a few makers doing acid etching with vinyl resists cut out on something like a "Cricut" vinyl cutter. The best way, IMO, would be a fiber laser etch, but not everyone (certainly not me) has a few grand to dump on a laser machine.

No matter what method you go with, your setup and technique will determine your results. Any of them can look really good, or really bad.

Personally, I like the electrochemical method, since you can make just about any kind of stencil that you want for not a lot of time, money, or effort, and done properly, it gives a really clean result. Even if you have your stencils made by somebody like T.U.S. or Ernie Grospitch, they're relatively inexpensive for the number of etches you get per stencil.
 
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the design of the mark itself. Designs with fine lines/details can be difficult to look good if using a stamp. Whereas etching allows pretty much any design and fine details.
 
If I have to throw something in the junk bin because of a process I try not to do that again.

If an etch goes wrong I can fix it, if a stamp goes wrong it is a harder fix. That being said I have never made a jig for my stamp and want to try that in more of a production style setup. I sign a lot on the spine and the etcher works great for that.

I make some stamps by hand for jewelry and consider hand stamping more of an art, electro etching more of a science. I etch my knives and hand stamp my jewelry.
 
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JTknives said:
I cold stamped all my blades. I think it creates a much nicer stamp as your not pounding scale into the mark. I actually don't know of anyone that hot stamps. I know it’s a thing but I don’t know if any knife makers that do it.
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I’ve hot stamped at least a couple hundred knives with the same stamp, the difference between a hot and cold stamp is as simple as how wide you want the lines to be on your stamp, if you want really thin detailed lines then use a cold stamp if you want a broader line with more depth use a hot stamp. I like the stamp over etching because it’s much harder to wear away, I also leave a scale or forged look to most of my knives but I still like the contrast I get with a hot stamp with a clean blade, the scale after being wire brushed gives contrast in the stamp. Another factor is speed and cost, I can stamp a blade in 3 seconds, and for stock removal you can hot stamp with a propane torch and a small block of steel or harbor freight anvil, you dont need more than a red heat.
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i do both. i like a hot stamp because when its hot you dont have to hit it as hard. the stamp has a blacker background that wont accidentally buff away. the stamp wont bleed over like etching does around the edges. i like etching because you can carefully place it and get it exact, and it can be done on already hardened blades. stamping is more economical, all you need is a stamp and stamp holder. nothing else to buy again. with etching you have to go through getting artwork design for a stencil, buying the stencils and solution, and an etcher when they wear out.
 
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