knife makers stamp ..very dissapointed

J

Jax knives

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May 25, 2020
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59
I'm a new in-experienced biginner knife hobbiest. I bought a knife stamp from a reputable company. Using it by hand cold stamping wasn't recommended. I built a knife holder and hammer stamped it and yet netted inconsistent uneven results. I bought a hydraulic press and fitted it and again netted uneven inconsistent results. By the time I used enough pressure to net a deep enough impression it bowed the knife and left a dimple on the reverse side. I would rather not hot stamp and the only method I haven't tried.

Is it common to use a stamp and know that it's a crap shoot if youre going to get a good stamp or trash a blade you just spent hours making?

At this point I would never ever recommend a knife stamp process to anyone ever. I think the k ife stamp recommendations are bad advice for consistent good quality impression .
 
Metal stamping is pretty common. But it for sure takes a little practice. It sounds like your material may not be the best for stamping? How was it annealed?
 
I’ve hot stamped a few hundred blades at this point using only a pair of vise grips to give my stamp a handle and it works perfect every time, the first few blades didn’t turn out as all as I would have liked which I expected so I practiced on scrap blades first, hot stamping is very easy to do and if you are heat treating your self you should be doing some thermal cycles on the steel and can easily hot stamp on or before your first cycle. I’ve seen people stamping blades cold and it does work but you need to get it a good hit and you need a stamp made for cold stamping, they are made differently, a cold stamp should be sharp like a chisel on all the peaks where a hot stamp is more broad. If I were to take my hot stamp and try using it cold it wouldn’t work. Also if it bends the blade just straight it back.
 
I cold stamp and for the most part have very good success. It took a little practice to make sure the stamp is sitting flat before I strike it with a 3 pound hammer. I have found as long as I have solid backing and and the stamp is sitting flat one good strike with the hammer and i am good to go.
 
I found using those 90° angle magnets perfect for this. I support the stamp its sides with the magnets and slide the blade under and give it a strong whack. The stamp will rebound and stay stuck to the magnet. Also what’s you stamp look like. A lot of detail will make it much harder to imprint with a hammer. But yes it will bow the blade and create a raised area on the back. The material has to go somewhere. When you stamp you upsetting that area and pushing the material down and our words. You want to make sure you anvil is nice a flat and thick. You can also clamp the blade in place so you are not fighting trying to hold 2 things. Shoot for around .005 deep or so with your stamp. But like I said if it has a lot or detail your going to be hard pressed to get it even with a hammer. This is why thy make stamp holders that keep the stamps perfectly perpendicular to the blades surface. This will give you an even stamp even with a hammer.
 
I’ve tried etching and stamping, neither worked to my satisfaction. I simply draw my makers mark with a sharpie, then engrave it in. It’s not fancy, but it works.
 
Uncle Al has or used to have a stamp holder. I have used it for years with good results. I use it to stamp cold.
 
JTknives said:
I found using those 90° angle magnets perfect for this. I support the stamp its sides with the magnets and slide the blade under and give it a strong whack. The stamp will rebound and stay stuck to the magnet. Also what’s you stamp look like. A lot of detail will make it much harder to imprint with a hammer. But yes it will bow the blade and create a raised area on the back. The material has to go somewhere. When you stamp you upsetting that area and pushing the material down and our words. You want to make sure you anvil is nice a flat and thick. You can also clamp the blade in place so you are not fighting trying to hold 2 things. Shoot for around .005 deep or so with your stamp. But like I said if it has a lot or detail your going to be hard pressed to get it even with a hammer. This is why thy make stamp holders that keep the stamps perfectly perpendicular to the blades surface. This will give you an even stamp even with a hammer.
Click to expand...

Great idea on using magnets to hold the stamp. Big part of my struggle is holding the stamp perpendicular to the blade.

My stamp is simple letters and small so that probaly helps.
 
I cold stamp and use a arbor press modified from the stamp maker. I will post a photo, it works well and just one whack gets me my results. My mark is just one small letter my son designed for me.
20200711_214928563_iOS.jpg
 
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I seem to recall seeing Luke Swenson cold stamping his folder blades using an arbor press. The stamp is held in the bottom of the arbor ram, pressed into the blade using the hand lever, and then he gives the top of the ram a sharp whack with a hammer.
 
If you are bowing the knife when you stamp it might not sitting be flush on a hard enough surface?
 
Maximus beat me to it. There is no way the stamp could leave a bow or dimple if the blade was flat against the backing plate.

Also, are you stamping the blade at the ricasso where the surfaces are parallel and at 90° to the stamp?
 
stamp hot. red hot right before hardening. one strike. i use the henry evers stamp holder from everstamp. stamp on an anvil/thick metal and it should not show on the other side.
 
Thanks for all the suggesstions/tips, greatly appreciated. Nothing like just plain old experience.

problem solved: took it to my tool/die friend and he stated the face of the punch was not 90% to the punch shaft. Explaining why the "x" in my "jax" logo was more shallow/faint then the "J" which was much deeper and wider. He made an adjustment to square it up when in my press and works great and needs no where near the pressure to get a uniform/even stamp. I probably should have caught that but I didnt, i just figured if the shaft was straight all was good. sometimes two eyes are better than one.
 
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