Using a steel touchmark punch on my knives...how can this be done?

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blandies

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Aug 18, 2011
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I purchased a custom steel punch with a small owl figure a long while back when I initially wanted to start making knives. We all want our signatures on there right?

Well, I will be doing stock removal & sending all of my knives out for heat treatment.
Can anyone think of a way for me to punch my touchmark on my knives? I really do hope there is some sort of way so I didn't spend the $150 for nothing on the custom punch....plus I really want my logo punched into the steel. My grandkids think it's the neatest thing.

Any way I can heat the blade up myself just enough for me to punch the touchmark in & the blade still be able to be sent in for heat treatment?
This is really stumping me....all input taken into consideration. Just want to get my mark on my blades with this punch & I'm not sure when in the knifemaking process or how to do it.
 
Hi, If your steel is annealed you should be able to punch it as it is, the metal doesn't need to be hot, if you can file the steel easily you can punch it.

Try it on a scrap piece first lay the the knife steel on a hard surface, make sure the punch is square to the edge and give it a good hit.

Some makers use a guide to keep the punch straight, depends on how fine the engraving is on your punch you may not be able to locate it in the same place to give it a second hit .

Richard
 
Like Tinbasher was saying, if it's annealed you should be able to stamp it w/o heating the blade to forging temp, etc. I've heard of people using a slightly modified Arbor Press to stabilize the punch, as stamping cold steel will generally require more than one strike to leave the desired imprint; the press keeps pressure on the punch so it can't wiggle around and leave you with a sloppy mark. I think the modified press I saw was sold @ USA Knifemaker, but a generic is available at Harbor Freight for somewhere in the neighborhood of $25-30. Planning on picking one up soon myself, actually.
 
as far as the press you would only need to modify it to fit your die, when you press the steel as far as you can you take a sledge to the top of the ram..

the inevitable possibility's of damaging your press weigh in here..

I'd just smack that sucker with a 3lb sledge on an anvil.. :) make it hurt !!
 
This is great news for me, I was very worried I would not be able to use it. :)

Punching cold does not hurt the punch though after several times? I do want the punch to last & keep it's nice crisp edges, I know blade steel is tough. The logo is pretty small.
The punch is tough steel, was made by blackbird touchmarks (incandescent ironworks).

Another question, is the steel from AlphaKnifeSupply annealed? Because that is where my steel is from. I use 154cm.
I'm guessing when heat treating the blade the touchmark still remains just as visible as when you first punched it? Then how would you sand/finish the knife without damaging the touchmark logo?
 
Anyone reading this with the answers to these above questions please respond. I have looked for Private messaging some folks but it seems this forum does not have that feature.
 
As I said before if the steel can be filed easily then it won't hurt the punch at all, sand your knife to a very fine finish 400 to 600 grit before you send it for heat treating, that way when it comes back you won't have to sand very much to get it clean again.
Here is the guide/ press I made for mine, can only be used on a flat part of the knife though.
MVC-020F.jpg


Richard
 
I don't have any metal files, I use my 2x42 for grinding the knife so I wouldn't know if it files easy. And mine is a handheld punch if it matters, I'm looking online now for a good cheap guide for it.

I guess I was worried since the steel is 154cm which I know is tough, didn't want the touchmark to slowly start changing shapes/its crisp edge on me. Guess I'll email Alpha Knife supply asking if their steel is annealed & go from there, try it out.
Thanks
 
I've never had good success using a hammer and punch.


You can also use a small hydraulic jack in a pres like this for much more control

Hydraulic-Jack-Press.jpg
 
blandies said:
I don't have any metal files, I use my 2x42 for grinding the knife so I wouldn't know if it files easy. And mine is a handheld punch if it matters, I'm looking online now for a good cheap guide for it.

I guess I was worried since the steel is 154cm which I know is tough, didn't want the touchmark to slowly start changing shapes/its crisp edge on me. Guess I'll email Alpha Knife supply asking if their steel is annealed & go from there, try it out.
Thanks
Click to expand...
mine was made as a hand held punch as well, files are only a few dollars, well worth the money.
Richard
 
So the heat treatment won't warp the punched logo at all? Kind of leads into another question I had on if you drill your knifes holes before or after heat treatment but I will look around more for the answer to that here shortly.

I'm still looking online for a nice guide for the punch, unable to find anything yet, still looking.
 
blandies said:
So the heat treatment won't warp the punched logo at all? Kind of leads into another question I had on if you drill your knifes holes before or after heat treatment but I will look around more for the answer to that here shortly.

I'm still looking online for a nice guide for the punch, unable to find anything yet, still looking.
Click to expand...

Holes must be drilled before heat treatment, it will be to hard to drill after.

MM, no files hey, if it drills easily then it will punch ok as well.

Richard
 
You know how on a can of paint, stain or cleaner it always says "test on an inconspicuous area first"? Same thing here. Take your punch and try it out on a scrap piece or on the tang where it will be covered up later and see how it works.

If the touchmark is made of good steel and heat-treated, it will last a very long time if you use it on annealed steel. Even the cheap Harbor Freight-type number/letter sets are good for dozens of impressions without mushrooming or losing detail. (I use them to smack my initials and steel type into my tang before sending them out for HT). So relax on that front :)

I don't think it's really worth the trouble to heat the steel to stamp it.

The big issue is holding the damn thing straight and getting a nice clean, even mark. An arbor press or some kind of shop-made jig will help address that.

Sorry for rambling but I'm thinking this through because I've had so much frustration getting my etching system to work properly and consistently, and I'm thinking of just buying a custom stamp and marking blades before HT. Pro HT services like Peters' and Bos will keep the blades sealed from air during the hardening phase so they don't get a lot of nasty scale, so you can get them right to finished dimensions including polish and marking, and they will come back without distortion. They will just have some color oxide from the tempering. That sands or buffs off easily.

That "temper color" would be hard to clean out of the stamp impression of course... but what the heck that might just make it contrast better. Any thoughts on this?
 
To get the stamp to an even color, scrub clean and dip in FC for about 30 seconds.....then procede with hand sanding. The mark will show as a nice darker etch.
 
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