Makers Mark

[Cloyde]

Just a question, in general the makers mark goes on the presentation side of the knife, When you make a knife for a lefty do you change the side your mark is on or do you leave it on the same side as just your standard side?

 

[silver_pilate]

Hmmm. Never had that one come up before. I would probably mark it on the obverse/presentation/left side as usual unless requested otherwise, just to keep my run of knives marked in a standard way.

--nathan

 

[Cloyde]

Thanks Silver Pilate, I never thought about it untill now, I'm left handed and took me for ever to make sheaths right handed. Now that is most of what I make, hate to tell you how many cows suffered to get the sheath cut for a leftly now. I'll just leave it on the left save me being confused and that does not take much anylonger.

 

[JCaswell]

If it's a dedicated left-handed version I'd have the maker mark on the opposite side from usual. If it's ambi, I'd put it on the standard side.

 

[fludunlimited]

I put my mark on the top of the blade like this

 

[TekSec]

I just like the standardization of the left side of the blade. Never gave it much thought though....

 

[Cloyde]

Thank for the advice,

 

[Will Leavitt]

I always thought that the left or "inside" for a right handed knife was called the "private" side traditionally?

I always mark mine on the left cause I only have left sided stecils

 

[James_Terrio]

OK guys, answer me this... do you prefer the mark to be read from the user's point of view (bottom of the letters toward the guard) or the other way, with the top of the letters by the guard?
To me it looks nicer when you can read it from the tip, but I almost always see it the other way. Who made this "rule" and will everyone laugh at me if I break it? No biggie, everyone laughs at me anyway

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

FWIW, there is no set of rules (none that I know of) formally written down on this for knives.

The traditional way in Japanese swords is to mark the omote (signature side of the nakago). The other side is the ura (private side facing the body). If this system is used on a knife, the sides are named the same, but they are the opposite sides. Japanese swrds are worn edge up in the sheath, knives are edge down. There are no left hand swords in Japanese tradition. It was not allowed. Confused yet?

The traditional western way seems to be to mark the left or "private" side.
On a dedicated leftie knife, I see no reason not to reverse this, as the private side is now the right side.

The "sides" of a knife are named with the knife in the hand point out and edge down.
Here is a link to an article on this subject. It is a great source of blade terminology info:
http://www.jayfisher.com/knife_anat...ews,_sides,_and_names_of_locations_on_a_knife

I mark the knife depending on how I feel the mark looks best. Most of mine are marked on the right side of the blade with the lettering paralell to the spine (words starting at the handle). If I use a stamp, I mark the left side of the blade with the letter tops toward the handle.
Stacy

 

[Teknition]

I always etch my logo on the left side of the blade. My reasoning is that most blades are photographed with the tip down and to the left, leaving the left side of the blade exposed. I think that most knives are photographed this way because 90% of the time the knife is for a right handed person, and as a result, the sheath looks better when pictured tip down and left. If the sheath is pictured tip down and to the right, it looks "upside down" and awkward.

When I'm taking pics of the knives I've made, I always include one of the knife in the sheath. When the pics are all placed together on a website or forum, I think it looks better if the orientation is fairly standard.

As Stacy already mentioned, there are no set rules, mark it which ever way you feel comfortable with.

Brad
www.AndersonKnives.ca

 

[Barkes Knife Shop]

My mark is on the near side which is the left side of a knife. But about a year ago, I made two knives with my makers mark on both sides of the knife. When you put the knife in a sheath its usually for a right handed person. A person left-handed would usually carry their knife on the opposite side on their belt. This would allow for makers mark to be noticed.

But there is no guidelines pertaining to this issue. It is totally up to the maker's decision or the person purchasing the knife. This is the first-time I have saw this topic come up on here. :thumbup:

Terry

 

[Barkes Knife Shop]

i always thought that the left or "inside" for a right handed knife was called the "private" side traditionally?

I always mark mine on the left cause i only have left sided stecils

Near Side And Far Side