What do you use to mark your blade

Z

zcostilla

Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
79
Are you using stamps, or engravers, or what? How much does it cost to set up to do it yourself. We have to use an engraver at work, and I suck at it freehand. It's just a hardened tip in a dremel sized handle and it vibrates. The speed of the vibration controls the depth of the engraving. That thing is the most useless piece of junk we use. I'd rather leave a knife unmarked than use that!

Zac
 
I use ferric chloride etchant from Radio Shack. I mask the area with nail polish (Mary Kay) and use a brass stylus, a sharpened brass rod, to make the mark. If I don't like the way it looks before I apply the FeCl3, I take off the polish and try again.

The FeCl3 can be applied directly and let it set at room temperature. This usually takes about 20 -30 minutes. Wash it with water and some baking soda, and remove the nail polish.

You can also run some DC current through it. I just use an old phone charger. I cut off the plug and put aligator clips on the leads. One goes on the knife and the other one gets attached t a Q-tip saturated with FeCl3. Dab it on and hold it until it looks done. This makes the process alot faster. If I remember correctly, the blade gets the positive lead attached to it. If it doesn't etch, swap the leads and it should work.

Try it on some scrap and have some fun.

Ric
 
I use stencils with an etching machine and electrolyte. You can get them from a number of places. Done right it looks like it was typed on the blade, deep.
http://www.img-electromark.com/

You can buy it all there, machine, hand pads, electrolyte, stencils, etc.
 
I eltro etch and make my own stencils. It allows me to make a custom set-up for any order. The results are excellent. The price is reasonable. The flexibility is unmatched.

Rob!
 
Mike, Thanks for the link,they have a few different models on their site. Which one do you use? Shawn
 
Shawn, I use the Marking Methods 300A unit. However I don't recommend those people anymore. They refuse to sell small knifemakers the good green stencil material, claiming it's not as good as the gold when the truth is they buy it from the link I left above. They also told me on the phone they really prefer the high dollar accounts(which they save the good stencil material for) and not us small timer knifemakers.

IMG started the whole metal etching process for steel in the first place and Marking Methods just went off on their own from IMG.

IMG loves doing business with us knifemakers and you won't get the cold shoulder from them.

Tell the people at IMG that you're a knifemaker and you want a unit like the MM 300A and they'll take care of you. Tell them you want the heavy duty green type stencils, not the gold, and you want deep etch hand pads with the machine. They have various electrolytes for different steels so you have to know what you're going to be using. A quart of that stuff lasts a long time.

They will do art work for you to help you design a stencil(s) and are very nice about it all as well as reasonable. You can go with just about any font you want, so there's plenty of room for individual tastes.

I don't believe artwork is charged for until you approve and order the stencils in the approved drawings(they send samples, either in the mail or via computer). That's the way it worked for me anyway.

I generally use two sizes, one for larger knives and as small a one as I can get for the rest.
I would recommend your first initials and last name, and under that, city and state. No need to put maker in there. People will assume you are the maker and it just makes the logo too big.
Just doing initials or some tricky logo won't pay off in the long run. You'll know who did them but no one else will, or where.

See it all the time on the Bernard Levine knife identification forum. People looking for the name of some custom maker who only maked their knives with initials. Sometimes they are identified, but most often not.
 
I can't find any mentioning about unit for knifemakers on IMG website.
Which one is it and how much is it?

Thanks,
Alex
 
Mike Hull said:
I would recommend your first initials and last name, and under that, city and state. No need to put maker in there. People will assume you are the maker and it just makes the logo too big.
Just doing initials or some tricky logo won't pay off in the long run. You'll know who did them but no one else will, or where.
Click to expand...

I agree with that and have done the same with a small simple logo.

I use home made etchomatic type etcher and stencils from IMG.

I am also going to be using a rubber stamp on my coated blades. I use Gun-Kote and will stamp the logo in a contrasting colour for a bake-on logo. Have yet to try this yet but it should work out pretty good. I hope :rolleyes:. Any one do this with any luck?
 
I just got my metal stamp from Henry Evers and I am very impressed. It makes a nice even clean imprint. I can even re-index it if the first strike was not deep enough. I think about all the time I wasted screwing around with stencils and buffing out the bad ones.:grumpy: My stamp will even work on my leather sheaths so it has dual use.

I know there are alot of you that have not had any problems with electro stencils, this is just my two cents worth. One on my other hobbies is electronics and I have enough componets to make at least 100 units without buying any parts. But I will stick to the stamp since alot of my knives are either blued or I leave the heat pitting on for the primitive look. The stamp will work in both cases.
 
I make period and primitive knives, and use a nitric based steel etch with a ground I mix from ingredients from Sheffield Knifemakers Supply. The instructions call for ether, but I found that common toulene will work, the ground just takes longer to set. Then I write my name in the ground and apply the etch. I used the same etch when I made high end knives of ATS-34, and 440C, you just add a little muriatic acid with the etch for those steels. I made a lettering jig from some draftsman lettering tools, and the results were excellent, clean, and neat lettering. I believe the cost of the tools was around $30.00, in early eighties money.
 
Alex, I will see what I can do. I have had problems trying to post photo's on this board.
 
pennyknife.jpg
[/IMG]Alex, here is a shot of the jig I mentioned. I use the zero on the letter rule as a guide which I line up on that dark plate to the right of the three point stylus. The dark plate has the corresponding letters of my name with reference lines for the zero. The blade has to set square and clamped in place, and set for the name to be centered. At this time the ground has already been applied, and the point on the stylus cuts the letters through the ground. Then a dam of modeling clay is placed around the cut letters and the acid is applied. About 16 to 18 minutes latter you have a nice set of letters. It does require a little practice with the ground and acid to learn how to get the desired result, without etching where you don't want it to. Anyone wanting more details, and there are a few, contact me.
 
"My stamp will even work on my leather sheaths so it has dual use." -B Finnigan

I have a friend who used to do some engraving. His father was a master engraver for a firearms manufacturer. He told me that it you use a stamp designed for metal on paper or leather you will quickly ruin the stamp. I don't know if he is correct or not but it may be something worth asking Henry Evers about. I'd hate to see you ruin your new stamp.
 
I bought an Evers stamp back in 1972, or 73. I use it primarily for leather, brass, and other soft metals. It is still like new as far as the lettering.
 
I should have specied, my friend claimed the stamp would be ruined for stamping steel if you used it on those other materials. I don't know why, perhaps it would round the edges? Or perhaps he has no idea what he's talking about. I don't know, but I would want to know if I had just shelled out the money for a nice stamp.
confused-smiley-013.gif
 
I would think that if the stamp was made for steel that leather would not have any affect. If that was true then their leather stamps would have to be made from a tougher tool steel the the steel stamps(???). Makes no sense.

I could see how the tanic acids could accelerate the corrosion process on the stamp. Maybe that is what he was talking about?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top