Need advise on marking name on damascus

J

JTMCGUIRE

Joined
Feb 20, 2009
Messages
6
Which works better etch machine or stamp.i have been using a etch machine no luck on damascus.thanks for any advise.
 
I etch my mark on my damascus pieces. Do your final sanding, then etch your mark nice and deep. After that etch your blade for pattern. It blends in a bit but personally I prefer that. I want people to see my steel, not my name.

-d
 
I have a circle around the logo that will go on damascus. I simply polish the blade and etch my logo onto it and then use fingernail polish inside the circle to resist the blade etch. Be careful not to rub off the nail polish between etches or just re-apply.
 
Another trick, similar to Bruce's, is to polish the blade, and write your name or mark on it with a Sharpie. Etch as normal. The sharpie will mask the steel from etching. When you clean off the pen ink with some acetone, the mark will be in slightly raised shiny lettering.
Stacy
 
I haven't tried this yet, but the etching machines can etcvh pretty deep I would think that you could do the nail polish trick to get it down inot the etch and them lightly wipe/sand off any "overspray" that got on the surface before you etch in FeCl.
 
Thanks for these sugestions .i tryed a test piece sanded smooth etched name on both sides used nail pollishon one side left just in name.neitherside showed name to what yoy can reed i think i need a more powerfufl etching machine or differnt stencil. Thanks
 
I etch my name after the final sanding, then cover it with a piece of clear packaging tape. I then cut the excess tape away with an exacto knife and etch the damascus in FeCl. There's never any bleeding under the tape.
 
I used to worry that my etched mark wouldn't show up on the damascus blade, and I would send my damascus blades to a friend(who owns a diamond tipped pantograph) for my name to be engraved. Worked fine, but I finally tried to etch my name on a finished damascus blade. Worked fine, as I always rub down the blade after etching with some 1500 grit paper anyway. My mark shows up just fine. :thumbup:
 
I also etch my name on after final sanding. My etch machine is a personalizer. I put it on etch (DC), and hold it on for 90 seconds, etching it very, very deeply. Then without moving anything (stencil or etching pad), I switch the control to mark (AC), and hold it one for about 20 seconds. The DC setting puts a very deep etch in, and the AC setting turns the etch very dark black. I have tried filling in my etch with fingernail polish before etching the damascus. I just clean it up good and etch as normal in my Ferric Chloride and I get a good mark. Attached is a photo of the results I get.
 

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