Can you tell me how to put my name on my knife blade?

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I have seen names on the nice handmade knives Ive been looking at.Can I use a dremil tool?Ive got a stamp for leather but not one for metal.squib

 

[Twice boom]

.I had a stamp made with my name on it.
Others put their names on the knife by doing the acid etch method ,etc. Wick if reading will be able to tell you the exact formula.
TB

 

[Scharms]

I've seen this kit in use, pricey but nice... http://www.etching-metal.com/index.htm

 

[squib load]

Thanksguys,I used a dremill and put my name in the deer antler handle.squib

 

[Twice boom]

That'll work. :thumbsup:
Twice.

 

[watervole]

I've seen this kit in use, pricey but nice... http://www.etching-metal.com/index.htm[/quote]

I have one of those and I think it's a pain in the a**

So I now use a much simplified version: a 9V battery, couple of bits of wire, a crocodile clip, some salted water and a cotton bud. Much, much cheaper, easier to control and just as quick, if not quicker.

I make the stencils too, they are also a pain, but I can't think how to make them easier or cheaper!

 

[shmrck1]

Well if Wick don't answer,maybe Longhunter will
check in.I have a knife from both and it appears
to me,it is done by the same process.But what the
he.. do I know.There are a number of knife
craftsman here with the answer and I hope they all check in.

 

[LRB]

It is a nitric acid etch. Not too hard to do, but getting the acid and the ground is not worth the cost unless it will get used for more than one or two knives. The acid price is reasonable but the hazmat fee makes it expensive. Although, one bottle of acid lasts me a few years. I would guess a few hundred knives. The ground is fairly cheap. Comes as dry ingredients to be mixed. In the eighties, I made a jig to hold my blades and used a draftsmans lettering tool on a guide. Makes perfect letters for the acid to cut. Now days, I just freehand all my markings. Photo is not clear enough, but the letters are perfect on this one and were done with my jig. This one is from 1985.

 

[LaBonte]

Sulphuric aka battery acid works good for etching steel and can be bought at most auto parts stores.
Daavid Boye's book on custom knifemaking has an entire chapter on etching and how-to http://boyeknives.com/book.cfm

 

[hoochiepapa]

Grand looking knife, Wick!!

 

[mazo kid]

Many years ago I put my name on the barrel of a rifle I built. I just used the method explained in the back of the DGW catalog. Nothing fancy, but it worked!

 

[LRB]

I only scim read Boye's treatise, but it seems to be geared more for art work than a simple name etch. When just etching a name/mark I put down a couple of square inches of ground, draw/write the mark, surround the letters/mark with a modeling clay dam, then fill it with acid. Boye is submerging the entire blade. Not necessary nor desired for a small area. I am using an etch especially formulated for carbon steel, and if the steel has a high chrome content, this etch is great when mixed one part with one part muriatic, and two parts distilled water.

 

[CWC]

I have seen sketches of original trade knifes with various markings on the blades. Would they have been acid etched? I had assumed they were stamped.

 

[LRB]

Originals were stamped. I prefer acid. With acid there is no stressing of the steel to have to deal with, and the end result is much the same in appearance.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Check on line for "acid ink" we used it a lot at the shop before I retired to mark dies. It is a blck ink/acid combination that will leave a permenant mark.It is used in various colors on a lot of production knives to mark patterns and scenes. :hmm:

 

[tryinhard]

Can you give us the process you use the battery, bits of wire, etc? Sounds like something I'd like to try.

 

[fatboy]

I have seen others doing this,seems to work you may need to practice a little
Do a Google search there is some diff ways to do it

Firstly you will need the following items.

1.PP9 9 volt battery.
2.Battery connector.
3.2 Crocodile clips.
4.Cotton buds
5.Table salt
6.Water
7.Plastic bottle top.
8.Nail varnish
9.Needle

Method.

1.Clean metal surface, degrease, and leave to dry
2.Put a thin coat of nail varnish onto the metal surface and let it dry.
3.Place some salt and water into the plastic lid.
4.Connect the Positive (Red) battery lead to the metal with the crocodile clip.
5.Connect the Negative (Black) lead to the cotton bud with the crocodile clip.
6.Gently scratch the pattern onto the metal surface using a needle.
7.Dip the cotton bud into the salt water, then gently wipe the scratched surface with the wet cotton bud.

Note: The crocodile clip on the cotton bud must touch the wet bud. The cotton bud will start to go black as metal is removed. Stop every now and then and remove the blackened salt water so that you can see what you are doing.


Try it out on a piece of scrap first, it's really quite effective.