knife blade engraving

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butcher_block

butcher_block

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Dec 6, 2004
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well that said it all
how to
who does it
i had 2 knives that i need to get names and dates put on
and i cant seem to find the right people to do the work
any help would be great as i dont want to etch the names and dates in to the blade stencles would cost out of this world
but if thats what i have to do then thats what i have to do
butch
 
You want someone who does it with a pantographic engraver, Butch. Like what you see on mugs and plaques and jewelry.

Thus, try a jeweler or an engraving place at the local mall. Another option may be a trophy seller.

If you don't like the costs of two stencils, you sure as hell don't want to call one of the art engravers. Besides, most of them don't like working on hardened steel.
 
it was an after thought of the buyer ish wheni started i told him i couldnt do it
i just need to get something done the cost is not my deal i told him i would look for someone to do it cause i know he didnt want me to charge him like 120 extra for the 2 knives
and the malls wolnt even get near them cause if they mess it up they dont have 100 extras to replace with

ooo and to make it more fun its on the inside of the fullers he wants the engraving
 
I think that gun engravers would be a much better choice than the crappy mall based vector art engarvers. A good gun engraver can do a small piece of engraving for a very reasonable price and even add a little flare to it with scrolling or what not. Trophy engraving is the worst quality engraving available and has poor depth, irregular sides and leaves burrs and such. Let me dig you out a good link real quick.

Heres a good guy and he has very reasonable prices. I dont know any knife specific engravers although the guild or society probably has listings for its members who can do such work. Talk to this guy though about what hardness and state the steel is in (anealed or hardened) ect.... I guess the steel would have to be treated or it would ruin the graving in HT. Anyways, if nothing else he may be able to point you to someone who can do the work.'

http://www.thegunengraver.com/

He's doing some pistols for 300.00 heavy coverage (smaller ones of course) so I cant imagine that two small name plates could be that much.
 
butcher_block said:
it was an after thought of the buyer ish wheni started i told him i couldnt do it
i just need to get something done the cost is not my deal i told him i would look for someone to do it cause i know he didnt want me to charge him like 120 extra for the 2 knives
and the malls wolnt even get near them cause if they mess it up they dont have 100 extras to replace with

ooo and to make it more fun its on the inside of the fullers he wants the engraving
Click to expand...

I'd try a couple jewelers, Butch. That machine has a diamond point, usually, so it'll cut the hard steel well. Something you may consider is to contract two stencils from someone here who makes their own.

If you'll do this often, check into IMG and find out about setting yourself up to make yer own stencils with the lights and blue sheet and developer. It isn't that especially big a deal from what I read, since I don't do it! :D

$120 would be a discount price for two names and dates from some of these guys who hand engrave. Lettering well is one of the tougher aspects of engraving. Ron Nott is up your neck of the woods (Summerdale PA). You could PM him through KnifeNetwork, where he hangs out in the Fine Embellishment forum.

Edited to add: iI start thinking about this, and ask meself how the hell would you get a typical stencil handpiece to fit down into the fuller without making one up special for this?
 
I use my Marking Methods electro-etch and make a one shot stencil on my electric type writer. It aint real fancy like a pantagragh but it works good. Plus its free. If you are interested I will type them out for ya and send them to ya.
 
I wrote mine beofore I saw your second post. If 120 for both is to much then you may not be able to get a real engraver to do it. Stay away from trophy shops though and if you have a jeweler do it get exapmles of the engraving. I have seen alot of bad engraving come out of jewelry shops and think its because they dont do it much. A few initials or a name on the inside of the band is the most average jewelers do and I have seen them butcher that.

Seems Bruce may be able to help you out.
 
BigJim makes a good point. A good gun-engraver would render a nice, premium result.
Mike's idea is also good, if you can find someone to take it on. It's faster and probably much less expensive.

Another option is to get on the internet and find a laser engraver near you (someone you can go see in person.) My experience with such folks is they charge 30 or 40 bucks to convert your file to their format, then it's simply machine time (which in this case would be mostly set up and then seconds of cutting). This is a better option when you're doing more pieces, obviously.
You're still looking at about $100 for the project in actual cost which isn't the cheapest alternative (probably still cheaper and faster than a gun engraver). On the plus side, you can do just about any graphic you care to make in Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator, or similar.

If cost is a big deal and standard fonts are cool, go with Mike's idea!

My 1.5 cents
 
Forgot to mention that if the blade is already hard the gun engraver wont be able to do it. Is the name and date going on the blade?
 
Butch, is this the pair of KBars with the fullers? I figured you meant the blades are already hardened? That's what makes it tough for a hand engraver. Points are at most in the high 60's HRC. They really dislike engraving steel around 60.

ooops, sorry, Bruce. Didn't see your post....
You still have a typewriter, eh? Old.... :D
 
Butch, if you have a mill or good drill press with 2 axis crossfeeds you can cut decent block letters (see photo). If you need instructions let me know. The name in the photo is .100 tall

Leon Pugh
 
I engrave the customer name on many of my cutlery,fishing,and hunting knives. It is done with a pantograph and should not cost more than $10 per knife. I have my own equipment, but any commercial engraver can do a hardened blade. The end results can be very nice, especially with the computers doing the work nowadays.You can have almost any type font and style you want.The diamond stylus doesn't see much difference in Rc40 or Rc60. No gun engraver will touch a hardened blade.
Stacy
 
thanks guys
yep its the kabars i did
and yes ther ehard and finished
i kind of like the laser engravign as it would be name enlistment # and dates of the tours they had gon on together if i can get an EGA for him al the better
i ll have to look around and make some calls
butch
 
Butch there is a jeweler in New Danville PA that has done that type of work for me even after heat treating. Although its better before hand.E-mail me and I will give you his contact info if you like. kkc68@juno.com
Kirby
 
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