Serious questions about a Makers Mark

D

Dixieblade57

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Jun 20, 2007
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I have a few knives under my belt now and I really want to try and establish myself as a maker. So no more sending out plain Jane's (without my name or mark)!
I have decided on a makers mark for my knives. A question seems to keep poping up when I mentioned the makers mark to friends and family! Everybody want to know don't I need to patient someting like that?
So do I need to register or patient a makers mark if I am using something other than my name or initials?
My next problem may be what I have settled on as my makers mark is a symbol used by American Indians. I have choosen this to celebrate my wife's Indian Heritage!
So have I got a problem with using this symbol since my wife is of Indian ancesstory?
I would like to clarify wheter this is a problem or not because once I establish my mark I will be using it on my web page to promte and market my knives!
Can anyone shed me some light on this subject??????????
 
No patent (actually it would be a trademark) is needed unless you really want to get it registered and trademarked. As far as Native American usage of symbols, if it is something specific to a tribe, you may want to request permission from the council before using it. More of a moral issue than a legal one. But if you want to celebrate a heritage, better to ask than have them upset.
 
Dixieblade57, I would suggest that you add at least your last name to your makers mark.
If someone sees one of your knives it will make it easier for them to find you and order a knife.

Take Care
Charles
 
I've talked about this a number of times, and I still feel its very important to utilize YOUR name when marking your knives. Many times over the years I have had people show up at my shop, with a knife marked with an obscure logo or initials, asking if I could tell them who made it so that they could order another. Without a name, it's next to impossible to identify with any certainty exactly who the maker is/was, unless the logo is universally identifiable with YOU (which isn't very likely). If an individual can't identify you from your knives, then they certainly cannot contact you for another one.
My knives are marked with CAFFREY on one side of the ricasso, and with MS (Mastersmith) on the other. I'm fortunate in the fact that there are no other makers with the same last name (at least none that I'm aware of), and I'm certain that there are no other Mastersmiths with the same last name.
This means that when someone who is not familiar with my name sees a knife they like, and wants to order/inquiry about a knife, all they have to do is look me up on the internet, or check for my last name in knife publicatons.

If a maker's name is more common like Smith, Jones, etc. I would also recommend at least a first initial.

OK, now I'll climb down off my soap box.....

I doubt that you would need a trademark for the symbol your thinking of using. In fact if it is a commonly used symbol, it's doubtful that you would be granted a trademark for it anyway. Most commonly used symbols and/or names are considered "public domain" and will not be granted trademark status by the federal government.
 
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I have to agree with Ed.I use my first intial and my last name.I am also am a sheathmaker and get to sheath many customs some of which have had symbols or just intials. I have been asked many times about who made the knife when I show pics, but most of the time I don't have any idea unless it was the maker who sent it to me.People won't remember symbols and you can't look them up in a directory. If you want to use a symbol , put it next to your name.Dave:)
 
On the Custom Knife forum I have many times seen someone post a photo of a maker's mark that was just a symbol, asking if anyone knew who the maker was. Sometimes people know the maker, many times they don't. As a maker, that is not what you want.
 
I use my name as my mark PC Randall, did not realize how proud I would feel when someone looks at the blade and says "Wow, you did make this, your name is right here"
 
mine is J.J.Todd
i did at one time use a logo of sorts but i want people to know who made it.
 
Just to offer a competing view. I understand the frustration a collector would have not being able to identify the maker of a favored knife, and perhaps responsibility to history is the ultimate reason for using your name. Personally however, I identify more closely with my stylized initials than my spelled out name for those things I've made. I've used both. I can't offer a rational explanation, that's just how it is. Perhaps since I don't intend to try to be famous I don't feel the need for anyone to track me down later for another order. The mark is just my way of saying "someone made this with his hands." I know who it was.

Many have attempted to create a "dictionary" of maker's marks over the years, but somehow those efforts never get any traction. If anyone out there is interested in helping such a thing get off the ground I'd be happy to host it. Probably better if it were a community item though, hosted by dozens or hundreds of makers. Open source principals could work in this realm. Any ideas?
 
OK, I have just finished reading all the posts above. After giving this another rethink I guess I agree!!!!!!!!
I used to build alot of custom fruniture pieces, and usually in some obscure place I would mark it with my name or initals. I did it because I figured the pieces would stand the test of time and someday somebody would decide to refinish the piece and discover the makers name and date the piece was made.
So I must agree about the sence of satisfaction and being recognized.
I don't intend to be famous at this knife making but a little recognization could go along way.
The knives I have sold to this point have all gotten postive feedback but from here out I want folks to recognize them as mine if they pick one up. In fact I am building one now that the guy planned on taking it and having my name engraved on it when I present him with it upon completion. That's when I decieded no more plain janes, I want my knives to have my mark!
So once again I will go back to the drawing board for a new design on my mark, and thanks evryone for the advice here. My biggest problem in all my ideas has been that a particular design looks good until I start to shrink it down to the size I need it to be to go on a knife. Then it begins to look all distorted or looses its perspective. Hey, that's one thing about using my name big or small its still the same!:D
 
Helpful tip: when you are developing your mark, do it with an application that uses vectors to draw the elements and not pixels. Vectors allow you to re-size your mark to ANY size without distortion. Adobe Illustrator is a good application, but there are others. Also make sure it looks good in black and white first, color comes last.
 
Have you decided on your imprinting technology yet? Electro-etch? Stamp? Engrave? It might have an influence on your design choices. I found that plain and simple fonts seemed to be the most legible at small sizes. When I get around to getting a leather stamp for sheaths I do hope to get a bit more creative though. Of course a real testiment to maker recognition is when your blade and knife designs themselves become so much "you" that they themselves are recognizable as yours.
 
I will be starting with electro etch. I thought I wanted a stamp till I found it was about $200.00 for the stamp and another $200.00 for the little machine you wack to stamp it. That may be how I go later but for right now I have and electro etch machine built up that didn't cost a dime.
So being the frugal er cheap @$$ :eek:I am I will start with that route!!!!!!
I am still trying to get evrything off the ground and I can't sell knives fast enough to cover all the goodies I think I could use!:D
 
I just ordered a sheet of stencils, and like many others here, I can strongly and enthusiastically recommend Ernie Grospitch. Great to work with and a straight shooter. Should be getting the stencils mid next week.

Anyway, I used to have a very basic makers mark. Just a backwards B and a K coming off of it standing for "Burgess Knives."

IMG_3162-1.jpg


I still like it a great deal, but I know that it is completely unrecognizable to everyone except for me or the few local customers I've served. I wanted something that could be used to track me down if needed, and something that people could instantly associate with me. I have no pretensions of becoming famous or even recognizable in this vast and talented field. I would just like the knives I've made to be identified with me if needed.

Here's the new mark I'm getting. It will be just over 1/2" wide x 3/8" tall. Oh, and the B and K will be completely aligned.

NBurgessLogo.jpg


--nathan
 
silver_pilate said:
I just ordered a sheet of stencils, and like many others here, I can strongly and enthusiastically recommend Ernie Grospitch. Great to work with and a straight shooter. Should be getting the stencils mid next week.

Anyway, I used to have a very basic makers mark. Just a backwards B and a K coming off of it standing for "Burgess Knives."

.................
I still like it a great deal, but I know that it is completely unrecognizable to everyone except for me or the few local customers I've served. I wanted something that could be used to track me down if needed, and something that people could instantly associate with me. I have no pretensions of becoming famous or even recognizable in this vast and talented field. I would just like the knives I've made to be identified with me if needed.

Here's the new mark I'm getting. It will be just over 1/2" wide x 3/8" tall. Oh, and the B and K will be completely aligned.

..........................

--nathan
Click to expand...


I absolutely agree with this line of thinking. I've been saying it for years, don't use your name if you don't want it remembered in the future. Look in on the Bernard Levine forum from time to time and see the knives that are brought to his attention with just some mark or initials. They are rarely identified, even more modern makes.
If you are proud of your work, mark it with at least first initials, last name and city/state. No forgetting that. It doesn't have to be huge, just readable.
 
As a new maker (with sloooow production- 6 this year alone) I decided to go a different route- I use both the symbol and name (not my last name but the name of my knife making endeavor- Black Tyr Knives). I put my name on the main side (left and whatever else it is called, can't think of it right now) and my symbol on the back. It is something primal in me that wants the symbol, and it is in fact my 4 initials in one symbol (I'll look for it tomorrow maybe). It is not what most recommend but do not know where I'll live in the future so do not want a city name on a hundred dollar stamp that is useless to me (I have listed when I made each knife, materials... so I can always look back at when and where it was made). I always have to be a little bit different so that is what I figured would work out best for me.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Nathan Burgess - Silver P

I wanted something that could be used to track me down if needed, and something that people could instantly associate with me.
Click to expand...

customers - collectors can't google search the backwards letters ?????
 
customers - collectors can't google search the backwards letters ?????
Click to expand...

Haha...yeah. I have had a heck of a time finding out how to type a backwards B! :D But I do know there is only one N. Burgess in Lubbock, TX, at least the last time I checked.

--nathan
 
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