stamp Vs electro etch

H

holmsy

Joined
Dec 17, 2005
Messages
132
hey guys,
from what i have seen, marking blades with an electro etcher seems to be favoured by allot of makers and i was just wondering what everyone thought were the advantages and disadvantages of a stamp or etcher. Personaly i like the look of a stamped name over an etched one. Do you have to heat the blade to stamp it or can it be done cold?

as far as i can tell
1. stamp is one design, but etch can easily make lots of stencils
2. stamp can sometimes be a bit tilted broduecing un even indent
3.stampslast very long time so low cost per indent with no consumables
4. etch can have bugs and problems but a stamp is either fine or broken, there aint no half way

so what do you guys use to mark your blades? and why.

also does anyone know where i can get a cheap stamp, just after basic letters.

Brett
 
I use a stencil & etch because some of the detail of my "RHINO CUSTOM KNIVES" Logo with the rhino head could be lost with a stamp. Also I believe its Mr Bob Loveless in his book says there is some risk of putting stress risers in the matrix of the steel with a stamp, he and I are stock removal makers using ATS-34 / 440c / S30v stainless steels, forging may be different?? I have never seen a Knife that has failed because of a stamp thou? also there is your #2 about hitting it just right. you could make a guide that would remove most of this problem. If you are after Letter stamps, try jantz supply or koval supply. any of the big USA supply houses should have them. Good luck! Laurence www.rhinoknives.com
 
thanks for your input rhino knives.
Im also a stock removeler currently all 440c with a little 1095 thrown in everynow and then.
i was thinking of rigging up a press with a bottle jack to eliminate #2 if i decided to get a stamp, my number one concern is weather i need to heat the steel.
you make a good point about the detail, although i have seen some pretty detailed stamps i beleive the price goes up quite a bit with fancy images and things
brett
 
I use and prefer a stamp.For stock removers it is done cold and in an annealed state. Some forgers like to stamp hot. I modified an arbor press as a guide by milling a slot in the ram for the stamp.I then mounted a striking plate to the top of the ram and use my 4 lb hammer.As far as stress risers, possible though I have not seen a problem in fifeteen years, and don't know of anyone who has had a blade fail because of it.As far as finding cheap stamps, good luck.IMHO buy a good quality stamp from a company like Evers and it will last for years.I think I paid about $140, but that was years ago. Hope this helps. Dave:)
 
I use an ECE system because of its versitility. It can be applied to any part of the blade without risk of damage to the steel. You apply the stencil at the end of the blade making process after the blade is hardened and the final finishing is being done. You can clean up the logo at the same time. If your logo is intricate, as rhino pointed out, the etch will give you a cleaner look.
Fred
 
Used an etched logo for a long time. Have a stamp but have since gone to heat treating steel befor grinding so placement is a concern. Now use a jewelers engraving machine that can be set up for different size letters based on size of space on the tang on my slipjoints and size of blade or spacer on linerlocks...so for flexibility, engraver works best for me....but is limiting as to anything other than name and blade steel pretty much..
 
The thing I really like about an etch, is that I can wait until I completely finish the knife, and put the stamp exactly where I want it. Alignment is much easier for me this way. Also, you can't stamp in the hollow of a blade. Just about all stamps are used on the ricasso. If you want a different location, such in the grind of a blade, the etch is a great choice. The Double Nude that Loveless uses, and the "Texas Rose" Double nude that I use, would be impossible with the stamping technique. You can see them here. http://www.lovettknives.com/ Mike
 
I've used both and finally broke down and had Infinity Stamps make me a custom stamp that I've been using. I like the simplicity of it. Its also nice for leather and Micarta as well as the pocket clips I make. On harder metals though you have to make sure you get it right. Its harder to make corrections with a stamp vs the etch in my experience, or I should say, more likely to be necessary with a stamp. Sometimes you underestimate the whack needed to make it work so you can read all letters well.

If you plan to use it for just your logo and nothing else I'd say get a stamp. There is no question the etch machine will be more versatile to provide more than just your logo but for myself it was never used for anything else so the stamp seems to be something better in my case.

If you haven't looked you can find some good deals on the electro etch machines on ebay. Thats where I got mine.

STR
 
mlovett said:
The thing I really like about an etch, is that I can wait until I completely finish the knife, and put the stamp exactly where I want it. Alignment is much easier for me this way. Also, you can't stamp in the hollow of a blade. Just about all stamps are used on the ricasso. If you want a different location, such in the grind of a blade, the etch is a great choice. The Double Nude that Loveless uses, and the "Texas Rose" Double nude that I use, would be impossible with the stamping technique. You can see them here. http://www.lovettknives.com/ Mike
Click to expand...
Would you Please! GET THOSE KNIVES OUT OF THE WAY OF THOSE NICE HAND GUNS! SSShesssh! I can't see all of them:D :D LOL Mr. Lovett makes some fine points about limited placement with a stamp, Also there is the size factor, I have four sizes of my logo I can etch and I have a logo for "Paul bos" Heat treat, of his name with a Hot flame!. Laurence www.rhinoknives.com
 
I also like the look of a stamp. Something else to keep in mind is the size of the stamp. The width of my stamp dictates how small a blade I can make and have enough space on the ricaso to stamp. If I was to start making small folders I would have to get a smaller stamp made.
I agree with DC, pay the money and get a quality stamp first off and for ease of stamping keep it simple.
 
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