Scratching the Etching Itch

Redmeadow Knives

Redmeadow Knives

John Conner
Moderator
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
13,546
Some things in forum life are inevitable, the first of which is that after I tell you that I have a "Personalizer Plus" Etcher on the way, there will be a post about making a homemade one at a tenth of the price. I'm aware of this, and simply chose to buy one and use my swear words on knifemaking, not etcher machine making:D

Those posts are more than welcome as with any other information about etching you want to talk about.

I also have a stencil maker coming from Martronics. One of the biggest things I always heard about etching was the cost of stencils, which are mainly custom made. That always steered me away from the process. With the ability to make my own stencils though, I can have a few different sizes on hand, change fonts, etch designs, dates, names, c......s and things like that, at least that's the goal.

Here we have a video showcasing the technical portion of my brain on standby for etching knowledge.....
 
You aint right my friend, I guess that's what we like about you. :eek::rolleyes::D
lessismore said:
Some things in forum life are inevitable, the first of which is that after I tell you that I have a "Personalizer Plus" Etcher on the way, there will be a post about making a homemade one at a tenth of the price. I'm aware of this, and simply chose to buy one and use my swear words on knifemaking, not etcher machine making:D

Those posts are more than welcome as with any other information about etching you want to talk about.

I also have a stencil maker coming from Martronics. One of the biggest things I always heard about etching was the cost of stencils, which are mainly custom made. That always steered me away from the process. With the ability to make my own stencils though, I can have a few different sizes on hand, change fonts, etch designs, dates, names, c......s and things like that, at least that's the goal.

Here we have a video showcasing the technical portion of my brain on standby for etching knowledge.....
Click to expand...
 
I'm going to try to fill the etch with some Birchwood Casey bluing see if that gives better contrast.
 
Last edited:
mitch4ging said:
Agreed!
I'm just struggling to make it crisp, get rid of the blurry stuff.
Click to expand...
Well I'm a complete etchnoob but we'll see what we can do. I've always heard the stencil has more to do with it than the machine.

This video from Simple Little Life is pretty good.
 
That is much more flexible, and I like how he can get such small print, i.e. date.
 
That was the one that caught my eye as well. You guys have good taste.
 
Absolutely no clue what I'm lookin at here, but the Mark 440 Stencil Maker is here.

20191029_210810-01.jpeg

Everything was packed extremely well and very nicely organized. I like to see that attention to detail.
 
Maybe you're getting the stencils too hot. If you have it turned up too high or hold it on too long it will heat up and soften the adhesive on the stencils. This can cause the edges to lift creating fuzzy edges

On my homemade machine, if I take it slow, and allow time too cool it comes out crisp and clean. I do it a few seconds at a time with a pause to cool. I also dip the pad in the etchent often too
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top