Stencil Design - Indecision

J. Keeton

J. Keeton

Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
1,218
I'm normally extremely decisive... however, this one is tearing me up. Looking for some opinions here on a stencil design to be used with an electro-etcher. They'll probably be between 1/2'' and 5/8'' long.

1.) Will any of these designs be easier to etch cleanly?
2.) Which looks the most visually appealing to you?

Thanks for the input!
JK

Bonus: Any other font suggestions?


 
Never etched a logo so I can't help you there.

As they all sit, #3 appeals to me most visually.

#1 is neat but the Texas shape looks off center.....too far to the left, it appears.

I think #2 would be cool with just the last name with the Texas shape for the o. The first initial crammed on to the last name doesn't do it for me.

Pretty quality logos though either way.
 
Hey Jmmy, what program are you using to design your stencils? I'm looking to do a stencil for mine but don't know what program to use.
 
I like #1 or #3, but definitely go with Kuraki's suggestion on 1, and on #3, I'd probably dial down the boldness just a tad.
 
You guys are awesome; Thanks for the help here.

Very good eyes too! The Texas was definitely off center. Also the K and N were different sizes in option #1 since I typed them in lower case (with the selected font it just makes them shorter caps) (Copperplate Gothic Bold in Microsoft)

I'm making these stencils in Microsoft Power-point. It can be finicky at times, but I think it gets the job done.

Here is my next round:

 
I like #1 or #2 - I wouldn't know what the Texas letter would be - I think it's a "O". I'm not very good at guessing {g}

They will all etch just fine.

edit: I see John likes the Texas for the letter "O". I guess that's why the make Fords 'n Chevys {g}
 
I think it is fine, but just to toss around ideas you could try doing the O like this, not sure if you can match up the font though
banner-go_big_logo-horizontal-home.png
 
IMHO, the Texas shape isn't reading as an "O" for me. I know what it is from the context but not really a good "O" shape. Just for giggles could you try an "O" with the treatment Randy suggested?
 
Why the extra small tits on the E and T letters ?

They look like etching traps - no upside

Definitely no letters mashed together.

I'd skip the curves and the state shape - as a non texan that shape is meaningless to me. If you sell them local then you're all in texas and it wont really help.

Also print it out actual knife size and tape it on a knife.

By the time it's small enough to fit on the knife - all those details are gone.

J. Keeton or J. KEETON in Arial is my choice

Just make it easier to read.
The old dudes with money can't see without their glasses anyway.
 
12345678910 said:
Why the extra small tits on the E and T letters ? They look like etching traps - no upside. Definitely no letters mashed together.
Click to expand...
Count has said it nicely - those small tits will be so small on the final blade they won't hardly show, if at all. Small details like that are the first thing that can cause trouble when etching. As said before, make the logo the size you want, tape on a blade (or cardboard cutout) and see how it looks. See if the tits on the letters show up.

12345678910 said:
The old dudes with money can't see without their glasses anyway.
Click to expand...
Boy, does that sum up me...... except the part that says "with money" {g}
 
i4Marc said:
I like tits as much as the next guy but maybe we could call the protrusions on the letters serifs. :thumbsup::D
Click to expand...
Well, somebody came up with the correct name for the tits. I did not know the word "serifs" and have learned something today. Thank you Marc.

Ken H>
 
Yep, fonts that don't have the flares on the ends are sans-serif, or "without" serif. These would be fonts like Helvetica, Arial, Trebuchet, etc.

Examples of serif fonts would be Times New Roman, Century Schoolbook, Copperplate, etc.


I don't think the serifs will be a problem when etching but good advice has been given regarding printing to size and taping to the blade to see how it looks. Take a look through the maker's mark thread here to see how many different serif fonts look at final size:

https://bladeforums.com/threads/makers-mark-shout-out.1572566/
 
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