Maker’s Mark Question

If you were a Dr., would you put it in your maker’s mark? Hypothetical question

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Kevin Zito

Kevin Zito

KNIFE MAKER
If you were a Dr., would you put it on your maker’s mark... totally hypothetical ... I’m just curious.
 
Smallshop said:
that title is worthless on a belt grinder....mastersmith? That means something....
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What if the dr was in engineering or something else that could very easily influence the product??? Just being devils advocate?
I’ll also say that I agree 100% that MS is the absolute highest mark that a blade can receive. This is meant in no way to be a comparison.
 
I suppose it depends on whether or not your professional reputation in your primary field is a selling point to customers. If a person is held in high regard and known as "Dr. Smith" then it only makes sense to identify yourself as that very same person.

If Dr. Ben Carson made knives, he absolutely should identify himself. I'd hate to have a knife by him marked as "B Carson" and when I tell people that Dr. Ben Carson made it, they're like "naaaaahhhhh!! Bull S**t!"
 
I am going to come out on the other side of the discussion for the simple reason that many makers marks are symbols or designs without having the makers actual name and anyone serious in knife colecting woulld have authentication with the knife or at least there would be a wel known correlation between the makers mark and his name
 
I do see John's point though...I just think that since I don't put Mr. Hauser on my knife that a title unrelated to the craft would seem possibly a bit pretentious...whereas a bladesmith title is something earned in the process of becoming a knifemaker and definitely means guys in the field have vetted your work/quality....and would be a boon to the maker to have on a blade.

If ben carson starts selling knives...I would probably want one...let's face it...knife making isn't brain surgery...He could you know...lol
 
I would say that 99.99% of the people that would ever physically hold one of my knives with Kevin Zito written on it would say hmm I wonder if that’s Dr. Zito ... so I’m knowing I probably need to put it ... but I don’t want it to look pretentious.... like Ed always says it’s the give and take
 
Damn it Jim.....I'm a knifemaker, not a doctor. --I had to say that.
I think you all know where that came from, on that note I'd say do what ever you'd like with your mark but think about it...
Zito is not a common name and your more than likely the only knifemaker with it. if you were a surgeon or veterinarian making surgical knives it would fit, maybe not so much if your an optometrist or gynecologist. :rolleyes:
Personally I think your last name with some border under it or around it would look great.
keep it simple I say, I'd leave the doc out.
 
OK, so I looked at your name, and here's what I would do if my name was Zito....assuming that's your real name ;)
I would take the lower leg of the Z and bring it below and across the bottom of the letters ITO.
then I'd have a stamp made and call it day. :D
 
bladegrinder said:
OK, so I looked at your name, and here's what I would do if my name was Zito....assuming that's your real name ;)
I would take the lower leg of the Z and bring it below and across the bottom of the letters ITO.
then I'd have a stamp made and call it day. :D
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You make very good points sir
 
bladegrinder said:
OK, so I looked at your name, and here's what I would do if my name was Zito....assuming that's your real name ;)
I would take the lower leg of the Z and bring it below and across the bottom of the letters ITO.
then I'd have a stamp made and call it day. :D
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Sumpin' like this? (quick freehand..needs work...lol)
DSC01485.JPG
 
Personally while I realy like the idea that smallshop has shown, I would go with a printed font which seems to me to infer a more carefull approach.
 
The keys that many miss, especially those who use "logos" as markings on their blade is this..... the "mark" on a blade is essentially a business card..... you want to use something that allows others who might want one of your blades to find you, with as little effort as possible. I'm fortunate in that there are no other knifemkaers out there with the last name "CAFFREY" (at least that I know of), and I am sure there are no other Knifemakers out there with the last name "CAFFREY", AND who hold the "MS" rating. So for me, all a person must do is head to google and type in "Caffrey MS" and I will pop up. In some cases, if a Knifemaker's credentials lend "value added", and is well known within the custom knife world, then I'd say add it (as I do with the "MS".

Where I really roll my eyes, is when I see folks post up obscure logos, asking other forum members' opinions. Although they might be "cool" in the individual's mind(s), they are simply shooting themselves in the foot...... I've had countless people walk through my shop door, with a knife that had some obscure logo on it, (or worse.... a first and last initial) asking me to help them find out who made it, so they could order another. In 99% of the situations it's a dead end. I don't mean to be critical of those who choose to use a logo on their blades, but if your looking to sell knives, remember this...... a knifemaking career is not built on selling a single knife, to a single individual. It is built on selling multiple knives, to multiple individuals, and if they can't EASILY find you, or know who built the knife, they can't order/buy another from you, and will move on to someone they can find. ;)
 
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EdCaffreyMS said:
The keys that many miss, especially those who use "logos" as markings on their blade is this..... the "mark" on a blade is essentially a business card..... you want to use something that allows others who might want one of your blades to find you, with as little effort as possible. I'm fortunate in that there are no other knifemkaers out there with the last name "CAFFREY" (at least that I know of), and I am sure there are no other Knifemakers out there with the last name "CAFFREY", AND who hold the "MS" rating. So for me, all a person must do is head to google and type in "Caffrey MS" and I will pop up. In some cases, if a Knifemaker's credentials lend "value added", and is well known within the custom knife world, then I'd say add it (as I do with the "MS".

Where I really roll my eyes, is when I see folks post up obscure logos, asking other forum members' opinions. Although they might be "cool" in the individual's mind(s), they are simply shooting themselves in the foot...... I've had countless people walk through my shop door, with a knife that had some obscure logo on it, asking me to help them find out who made it, so they could order another. In 99% of the situations it's a dead end. I don't mean to be critical of those who choose to use a logo on their blades, but if your looking to sell knives, remember this...... a knifemaking career is not built on selling a single knife, to a single individual. It is built on selling multiple knives, to multiple individuals, and if they can't EASILY find you, or know who built the knife, they can't order/buy another from you, and will move on to someone they can find. ;)
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Over two years ago I was thrashing through the whole makers mark issue...I had come up with "Zayin knives" a hebrew word for "sword or sharp knife". Ed made the same points as above along with the point that some folk/collectors want to see a name of the maker not the name of a company(a perception of quality thing mostly)...no matter how clever. Then the whole searching for the maker by the logo thing...I thought about it and felt that Ed was making good sense...So I changed my company name to "Hauser Knife"...after checking if I had legal issues with a custom maker who uses "Hauser custom knives". I don't as mine are limited production knives not custom...etc,etc.

It was good advise and a good move for me. I do see many cool and clever logos for blades that are not a person's name. I still think the slam dunk is your name in an artistic fashion....

Kevin....freehand on that logo means...free hand on the CAD program...drawing on screen with no parameters...EXCEPT the ellipse...I used the ellipse tool for that...lol. I freehand on the computer so I can nudge the lines/curves around later yet I still get a more natural feel at the start. this is how I did my logo also.
 
Kevin if you are looking to create a way to mark your knives then just keep it simple. Ed is dead on with his advice. You have a name unlike Smith, Miller, White, Black. The name Zito will stand out and only has 4 letters. It is made for simple.

You need to decide if you are going to stamp or are you going to etch. Positives and negatives for each. I prefer stamping. Others prefer to etch. You need to make that choice.

Getting a stamp to look good requires a little practice. An arbor press helped me a lot to get a good even stamping on my blades.. I got started right here for the stamp and the press. https://www.steelstampsinc.com/custom-knife-blacksmith-stamps

You will need to pick a font for the stamp. Think easy when it comes to this. As in easy to stamp into metal. Your stamp moves the metal to make the imprint into the steel. A simple stamp will make that an easier task. I like the looks of Verdana (Zito) Times New Roman (Zito). You will have hundreds of fonts to choose from. I also like the name to be in all cap letters. Like this: ZITO

With an etching - you can get a little bit more elaborate, but, again with Zito you do not have to do so. I cannot really help you with this area as I have never done it. Others will be able to get you on the right path.
 
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