Marking you work

nivejuncky

nivejuncky

Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
264
I am trying to figure out the best and most economical way to mark my work. I make mostly balisong knives. I have tried using an etch-o-matic with the blue stencil material that comes in the box with poor results. I have started to mark the inside of the handles until I can get a better stencil made.

My question is how do you guys like to mark your work and why? What are the trade offs?

Appreciate it fellas.
Don
 
I tried all the common marking methods, electro chem etch, hand held engraver, and stamp both hot and cold. None of them gave me the look I wanted. I began taking my knives to the jeweler to have them engrave them for a more professional look. At $5-10 it was not too bad. I moved and had to find a new jeweler and the first time he charged $15 a bit steep and the second time he charged $30. I finally broke down and purchased a jewelers engraver and had a master made. The engraver was $399 on ebay with 2 sets of lettering. The master was $65. I purchased a few extra stylus for $15 each. I have now marked well over 100 knives with my first stylus and the master will last forever. I can vary the size from 1/2 to 1/6th size. It provides a professional look with some flexibility. It works equally well on plain carbon steel and damascus and even Stainless.

Sorry for the ramble but I went through years of dissatisfaction to get to this point. You have to decide what will work best for you.
 
At least I don't feel so bad now. My mark has changed so much, I probably have people confused. But it was all due to having trouble finding a reliable marking method that I liked. I use a metal stamp and very simple initial as a mark, but I like keeping it simple as possible and I like the old fashioned look. For a while there (I know this sounds odd), but I was resenting the fact that I even had to put a mark on my knives because everytime I did it turned out I did not like it.
 
A C Richards said:
I tried all the common marking methods, electro chem etch, hand held engraver, and stamp both hot and cold. None of them gave me the look I wanted. I began taking my knives to the jeweler to have them engrave them for a more professional look. At $5-10 it was not too bad. I moved and had to find a new jeweler and the first time he charged $15 a bit steep and the second time he charged $30. I finally broke down and purchased a jewelers engraver and had a master made. The engraver was $399 on ebay with 2 sets of lettering. The master was $65. I purchased a few extra stylus for $15 each. I have now marked well over 100 knives with my first stylus and the master will last forever. I can vary the size from 1/2 to 1/6th size. It provides a professional look with some flexibility. It works equally well on plain carbon steel and damascus and even Stainless.

Sorry for the ramble but I went through years of dissatisfaction to get to this point. You have to decide what will work best for you.
Click to expand...

I didn't know you could engrave hardened steel, not that I looked into it, I just assumed it wouldn't work
 
The pantograph engravers use a diamond stylus. It will engrave hardened steel.
That's how I mark mine.
 
I marked my first few with salt water/electro etch but that left a little to be desired, so then I bought a dremel engraver...... I just started using stencils from laser printer photo paper and FeCl. It works great so far, the lines are nice and crisp and designs are very easy to manipulate.
 
A C Richards said:
I tried all the common marking methods, electro chem etch, hand held engraver, and stamp both hot and cold. None of them gave me the look I wanted. I began taking my knives to the jeweler to have them engrave them for a more professional look. At $5-10 it was not too bad. I moved and had to find a new jeweler and the first time he charged $15 a bit steep and the second time he charged $30. I finally broke down and purchased a jewelers engraver and had a master made. The engraver was $399 on ebay with 2 sets of lettering. The master was $65. I purchased a few extra stylus for $15 each. I have now marked well over 100 knives with my first stylus and the master will last forever. I can vary the size from 1/2 to 1/6th size. It provides a professional look with some flexibility. It works equally well on plain carbon steel and damascus and even Stainless.

Sorry for the ramble but I went through years of dissatisfaction to get to this point. You have to decide what will work best for you.
Click to expand...

Doesn't sound like rambling to me. Really I would rather have too much information than not enough. I realize that some of you guys on here have been at this a lot longer than me and would rather learn from your experience than mine. :D It is very frustrating to put so much effort and time into something only to have it marred with a crappy makers mark at the end. It has gotten to the point that I actually dread this part of the process. lol. I used to make fixed blades and I would coat the area where the makers mark went with polyurethane and then use a scribe to make my mark. I would then take an eyedropper and put a few drops of fecl on the area for about twenty minutes. I would soak it in windex and baking soda to neutralize and than strip off the polyurethane with acetone. It seemed like a lot of effort and basically an all day thing. The results were still hit and miss. More good than bad though. Sometimes there would be small holes in the urethane that I would miss or when I used the scribe the urethane would start to peel or chip.
 
Thats what I would get with the salt water etch. I found that poly breaks down with certain solutions and you dont get the etch you would like. If you use FeCl, you need a good resist. Sharpie marker, nail polish, laser printer ink all work fine. You can also get resist at hobby stores and electronic stores that also sell the ferric. Nail polish remover takes it all off after. Initial cost and setup is the big thing. It all depends on what you can afford and what works for you.
 
I use a stamp from the Evers stamp company, I don't know if they are still in business. I have been using the same stamp for over 20 years.
 
Hardened steel is no problem. The diamond will scratch any steel you want. I thought it would wear out faster than it does. I am at less than $4 per mark and it is ark going down. I will het a new master when I finish my MS. Then I will probably change the stylus too. Or maybe for my MS test knives. The thing I really like is how clean it looks. Even on damascus. Good luck and have fun doin it.
 
I went to your site to get a look at how the engraved mark looks but there wasn't a clear enough picture. The thought of engraving a mark on a knife appeals to me, I think it would add a touch of class to the blade. Could you post a picture of just the mark so I can see how it looks? I realize that if I took my work to a jeweler it wouldn't have the same care and attention to detail that yous would. Its too late for the ones I have finished but new ones that haven't been sharpened yet may get that treatment
 
here is a quick pic. I hope it comes out clear enough to see. If not I will take a shot of my test block and send it off.
 

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A C Richards said:
here is a quick pic. I hope it comes out clear enough to see. If not I will take a shot of my test block and send it off.
Click to expand...
Ok that I like, would a local jeweler be able to do something like that on my hardened blanks. I wouldn't dare bring a sharpened knife in for them to do and would call ahead before going in. I could just imagine what would happen if I went into a jewelery store with a 12" over all bowie. They would be hitting the alarm before I could say what I was there for:D
 
I used to take my fully competed pieces to them without any problem (sharpened and all). I fact they loved seeing them. They would comment on how they would like to buy one someday, but if I had a nickle..... Just take them in a case or call before you go so they know what you are bringing. They have done weirder things than a knife blade I am sure.
 
We would rather everyone mark their own blades!
Standard lettering is $15, plus postage. 2-3 weeks turnaround.
 
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