Laser engraved makers mark

John Wilson

John Wilson

Well-Known Member
I tried something new for my makers mark. A customer wanted some extra personalization on a knife and I didn’t have time to get a stencil made. My solution was to have it laser engraved. While I was at it I decided to do the makers mark as well. I drew this one up quickly right before heading to the engraver.

Tha mark is about twice as big as I had intended. That’s my fault for being in a rush and not proofing it on paper for scale. The customer didn’t mind but i’ll still reduce the size going forward.
 

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It doesn't look bad but I can see wanting to go to smaller side. Love the knife! What does the HMK stand for John??
 
I've drooled over the laser engraving in the past, but the price of the required laser is a tad on the expensive side. That does look really good. Great job.
 
Thanks guys. Yes, it is on the WAY TOO LARGE side. Again, that's my fault because I didn't proof it for size and the guy doing the laser engraving simply pulled up my file and hit "print." Once the laser starts firing it's too late.

I found a local guy who runs a laser engraver business. He charges me $6 per print, which is very reasonable but the guy isn't used to dealing with knives and like most people doesn't appreciate the care we put into not scratching them. Most people assume steel is hard so you can't scratch it... Oh if only that were true.

I am contemplating a laser machine for the shop. There's no possible way to justify a professional machine like this guy runs, but there are the Chinese 40W models popping up everywhere for about $400. That's still a good chunk of change, but I am weighing out the value it could bring to my knives such as instant customization. Truth be told, laser is also appealing because my makers mark etching is not 100% consistent.

The negatives are that the laser is not actually etching the steel. Yes, there are lasers which will but they cost as much as a new truck. The way these lower powered lasers do this is by coating the blade and then the laser effectively powder coats the print onto the blade. The coating that the laser did not cure washes away. It's etching in reverse, basically. The laser mark is on top of the steel, and while it is surprisingly durable it is by its very nature not as permanent as etching or stamping the steel.
 
C Craft said:
It doesn't look bad but I can see wanting to go to smaller side. Love the knife! What does the HMK stand for John??
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HMK is "Hand Made Knives" it correlates to my facebook page which is J Wilson Handmade Knives. I went with HMK over HK for no other reason that I liked it better and thought it looked more interesting.
 
Hmm. that knife looked a lot better on my phone. I need to clean that sucker a little better, or wear my glasses when I do!
 
John Wilson said:
HMK is "Hand Made Knives" it correlates to my facebook page which is J Wilson Handmade Knives. I went with HMK over HK for no other reason that I liked it better and thought it looked more interesting.
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Got you!!!

John Wilson said:
Thanks guys. Yes, it is on the WAY TOO LARGE side. Again, that's my fault because I didn't proof it for size and the guy doing the laser engraving simply pulled up my file and hit "print." Once the laser starts firing it's too late.
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It may be a tad on the large side but, I wouldn't go as far as to call it morbidly obese!! o_O:p

John, I have always said the harshest critic of a knifemaker is usually the maker himself! That usually makes for a great knife, like this one!!
 
I think the size looks good on a bigger blade like that.

I've had my knives laser engraved for the last year or so. Around 60 or 70 knives.

The place I have them done has one of the bigger lasers, so it does etch them. I think they said about .003" deep. I've tried sanding it off and it takes forever. Even when it looks like it's gone, you can etch the blade in ferric and it shows up again.

I think being able to laser anything on a blade is a huge advantage. I've sold a lot of knives that are being given as gifts and customers like having the option of engraving names or initials on them. And I like being able to number each knife.

I have the engraving done before I put handles on in case anything messes up. If I have to resand the blade, it's a lot easier without handles.
 
GeneK said:
I think the size looks good on a bigger blade like that.

I've had my knives laser engraved for the last year or so. Around 60 or 70 knives.

The place I have them done has one of the bigger lasers, so it does etch them. I think they said about .003" deep. I've tried sanding it off and it takes forever. Even when it looks like it's gone, you can etch the blade in ferric and it shows up again.

I think being able to laser anything on a blade is a huge advantage. I've sold a lot of knives that are being given as gifts and customers like having the option of engraving names or initials on them. And I like being able to number each knife.

I have the engraving done before I put handles on in case anything messes up. If I have to resand the blade, it's a lot easier without handles.
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Excellent points all around. Engraving them before the handle goes on is absolutely the way to go.

What I keep kicking around in my mind is the ability to engrave just about anything from sheaths to kydex to whatever. The customization opportunities really appeal to me. Like you, I get a lot of requests to customize and way too many times I have to say no because I didn't have a good way to accomplish what they wanted, specifically people who want engraving on the handle, spine, etc.

I'm basically where I was on heat treating until recently. I was sending everything out and financially it made sense. (It still does.) But there's no denying the value of being about to do it in house. Since I started doing my own heat treat I can actually control my pace and workflow to suit my needs rather than building my workflow around batches and guesstimating how many of which kind of blades I wanted to pre-make.
 
I hear you on keeping things in house. I would love to have a laser but the one they have is around $30, 000.

I am lucky in that they run their business in a building at their farm. She does most of the work in the evening, so I can drop off or pick up knives sometimes as late as 10:00 or after. And they are only 8 miles from the house.
 
I like it a lot. Looks very sharp and clean. I am also not satisfied with my abilities to apply my mark via electro etch.
 
John, those $400 lasers won't do steel. I've been pondering getting one of those for a while. They will do wood, leather, paper, etc. I was thinking about making custom wood boxes for knives with one. I even think they may be just hot enough to heat anodize logos or patterns on titanium too. But for steel, your going to have to add a zero to that price.
 
Self Made Knives said:
John, those $400 lasers won't do steel. I've been pondering getting one of those for a while. They will do wood, leather, paper, etc. I was thinking about making custom wood boxes for knives with one. I even think they may be just hot enough to heat anodize logos or patterns on titanium too. But for steel, your going to have to add a zero to that price.
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Anthony, you are correct that they won't etch steel. This knife is not etched. The mark sits on top of the steel. You coat the area with Cermark and the laser melts the Cermark coating, leaving behind what is basically an anodized-on mark. The coating not burned by the laser remains uncured and washes right off.

If you've ever done screenprinting, it's the same concept as the emulsion where the light only cures the emulsion it hits. The masked off part washes away, leaving the print area. It is the same concept in reverse.
 
Here's a vido of a guy comparing Cermark to a low-buck alternative. But he's using one of the chinese 40w models to do exactly what I'm talking about. It also shows the process from beginning to end in case my explanation in the last post wasn't clear.

 
That’s the 64,000 dollar question. I took 600 grit paper and went over a blade that I had laser marked because the blade got some blemishes on it. I was able to remove the stray marks without damaging the laser mark. I was very gentle just in case, but figured the scratches were more important. If the mark came off I’d just etch it again.

I believe I could remove the laser mark with some 320 grit if I really wanted to, but normal usage of the knife isn’t going to hurt it at all.
 
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