Marking method for multiple blades

james terrio

james terrio

Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
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Apr 15, 2010
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I'm crunching the numbers on a run of several dozen knives. To meet the desired price-point, I need to keep every step as efficient as practical without sacrificing quality. I'm not set up for, and have no desire to invest in a stamping procedure. I'm not entirely pleased with the consistency of my results, and the set-up time required to etch blades with my mark individually. (there's just no way I can stay on-budget by fooling around taping down one stencil at a time on 30 or 40 blades.)

So, I'm wondering about having the maker's mark engraved, either by mechanical means or by laser. Anyone have any experience with this?
 
Yes, I've tried them all.
By hand with an etcher is the most cost and time effective.

Make you stencils big enough that you don't have to tape them down.

I never tape anymore.

Wet the blade and the back side of the stencil with Windex.
Place the stencil, swipe 15 times with a small pad, remove the stencil, drop it in a cup of water, walk to sink, wash blade with baking soda, repeat.

40 blades, less than 1 hour, start to finish
 
I've had some laser engraving done, fantastic perfect marks

They used adobe Illustrator as the source file- so I did my own work and brought it in.



It was about 5 or 6 $ per mark, but that was just a few at a time,

with volume, it would go down.


I thought it was expensive, but the time it takes to get a nice etch, or sand it out and try again - no contest.
 
Thanks for your input, gentlemen. There is a lot of room for improvement in my etching... I'm not even sure I'm getting the proper voltage, that may be a big part of my problem. I am using pro stencils and electrolyte. Clearly I'm doing something wrong, but I don't really care to put much more work into this etching thing; Dammit Jim, I'm a knifemaker not an etcher! :D


12345678910 said:
I thought it was expensive, but the time it takes to get a nice etch, or sand it out and try again - no contest.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking. I'll try to get some quotes locally.
 
Spalted said:
Check this video out for a mechanical way, skip to @ the 40 second mark
Click to expand...

That looks cool, but the chances of me spending a few grand on a pantograph and mill are roughly equal to the chances of me hiring a staff to do my grinds for me.

FWIW I've sourced some local trophy/engraving companies... they want $0.75/ letter, won't deal with carbon steel and don't actually engrave stainless, they chemically/laser print an image onto the surface of the blade. They claim the resulting image will resist chemical erosion, but had no answer at all about abrasion-resistance. That's not gonna work for me or my clients.
 
Buy a pantograpgh. Total investment for mine is around $500 including a new font set and one custom makers mark.

I just bought a New Hermes GM pantograph for $240 including shipping and am getting a new font set. I went this route after a ton of research, and looking at tons of maker's marks at the OKCA show.
 
Brian Ayres said:
Buy a pantograpgh. Total investment for mine is around $500 including a new font set and one custom makers mark.

I just bought a New Hermes GM pantograph for $240 including shipping and am getting a new font set. I went this route after a ton of research, and looking at tons of maker's marks at the OKCA show.
Click to expand...

Where did you get yours Brian?
Dean lapinel
 
We have several pantograph machines, and in the past marked other maker's blades for them.
There are deals on Hermes pantographs on Ebay, but you have to be a good shopper and know something about them.
There are also engravers that use a fiber laser engraver. These machines will actually cut into the steel.
 
deloid said:
Where did you get yours Brian?
Dean lapinel
Click to expand...
I won two separate auctions on eBay. One good deal, one great deal. Each pantograph had extras. I plan on keeping whichever one is better and the best jigs, diamond drag styluses etc and reselling the other. I already have one set up and sm VERY happy with my practice engraving.

Ordering fonts from http://www.able-engravers.com/engraving_fonts.htm

I looked at auctions for pantographs with fonts but none had fonts that I liked, and, some of the used brass font sets were worn which would cause the engraving to be less than crisp.

Standard larger fonts also can't reduce enough for really small marks with a 7:1 ratio so I'm ordering smaller fonts to allow me multiple size options.

Expect to pay $250-$350 for a good New Hermes GM pantograph. There are other brands that are $600 new but you are stuck with the standard fonts.

A diamond drag seems to be the way to go vs a 110v powered engraver.
 
I've done it all, etcher, hand engraved (with my handwriting:confused:), stamp, jewelers. I was not satisfied with the inconsistencies with the first 3. Etching was ok but on damascus very inconsistent. I was most satisfied with the jewelers. They were charging $10/blade a bit expensive but ok for higher end blades. Then the last time I took it in the guy upped his charge to $30/blade, NOT. I went the jewelers pantograph. Got mine for $300 delivered with 2 fonts. But as Brian pointed out the fonts were just too big for practical marks. I had a custom name plate made for about $65. Now I can get a nice crisp mark, adjust the size to better fit the size of the knife and do it as I need them not when someone else can get to it. Also if I mess it up it is my fault. Laser engraving would be nice but I would be back depending on someone else to get the job done. That is unless I picked up a laser and did it on my own but can't justify the cost of that. So I am happy with how I have it set up. Your experience may vary.
 
12345678910 said:
do they use a carbide burr?
Click to expand...

Diamond tip stylus for the drag type pantograpghs. You are only supposed to use them infrequently in a powered pantograph like the New Hermes GM models. Angle of the tip is 90 degrees to 150 and the tip width also varies.

I was advised to use a 90 degree tip by someone who knows more than me as a noob.
 
Brian Ayres said:
Diamond tip stylus for the drag type pantograpghs. You are only supposed to use them infrequently in a powered pantograph like the New Hermes GM models. Angle of the tip is 90 degrees to 150 and the tip width also varies.

I was advised to use a 90 degree tip by someone who knows more than me as a noob.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I was thinking of the powered ones like the New Hermes GM models

I've had some engraving on factory made knives i gave as gifts and I wasn't happy with that.
The steel was relatively soft compated to how I do my own and they had to double or triple to get a mediocre mark.
 
The New Hermes machines with rotary capability can be used without the motor. You will need a diamond drag stylus. This is what I use to mark my knives.

IMG_3376.jpg


Using the rotary cutting function on steel will ruin the spindle-so don't do it! The lettering can be sized to the knife. This knife is 2-1/4" closed. (I hope I don't run afoul of the picture rules!)

Most engraving companies now use CO2 lasers, and these will not satisfactorily mark steel.
The fiber laser cuts deeply into steel with the proper wavelength laser beam. Very precise, but the machines run 20-40 thousand dollars. There are several companies on the web that use this method for custom marking guns. Do a search.
 
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