Makers mark on steel!

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KNIFE MAKER
So I started out trying to engrave A2 tool steel on my cnc machine...no dice. Tried it on heat treated next...maybe the steel won't be as gummy. Yeah...dope...lol

Meanwhile them tiny endmills are expensive...$11-20...coated with unicorn poo makes 'em better ...supposedly...definitely more expensive. And they are quickly adding up in my little 'research' project....

So I build an etcher...finished it yesterday....first etch....meh. BUT the realization...!!

THIS WILL TAKE TECHNIQUE!!! (meaning training someone...or not)

So ted will be the only guy grinding blades and marking blades? no...no way.

So back to the CNC this morning....after the ah-HAH moment... where I realized that just MAYBE I could use a carbide dremel tool to engrave? Yep...they cost $5.83...maybe less if I shop them out...and the results are beautiful! (well...I think so...)

I actually think I'm too deep which is a nice feeling...the endmills never got deep enough before they snapped like pretzel sticks during a super bowl game....

DSC01389.JPG
 
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My wife and I just realized that we need to change the spacing on the cursive a bit...sometimes looking at a pic on a monitor shows you things you didn't notice.
 
It will be very interesting to see how you ultimately solve this issue. I'm looking at several production folders I have with coated blades, and the makers mark is most definitely a screen print. From an automation perspective that makes a lot of sense. I have had several Japanese production kitchen knives where the kanji "etched" on the blade were also screen print. I found that out by polishing the scratches off the blades and having the kanji disappear without a trace. While that sounds bad from a maker's perspective, how many end users are reconditioning blades? I suspect in normal use those marks would last as long as the blades did.
 
I have 50 knives I need to get heat treated before my LN runs out...lol.

I'm gonna see how many knives I can get marked with my used dremel tool today...lol!

I'm trying not just to automate but to also hold the line between quality and production...with quality always winning out. so the engraving takes more time than etching but will be more consistent...IF...yes big if...if the tool holds up!!

More to come later...hopefully without whimpers..lol
 
Well...here's what I ended up with. The photo is terrible....the carbide burr cuts so clean that the letters actually refract and make it even harder to take a photo. I am very happy with the look...after moving letters a bit.DSC01399.JPG
 
We finally made "Hauser KNIFE" 10% bigger and shorter and "A2" 35% smaller...,.now I'm going to run some...Once again the pic is terrible...this looks as good as any stamping I've seen...with none of the stress.

I'm hoping Heat Treat will make the letters a nice flat gray? I'll post a pic after Heat treat.

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I aggree that this looks way more production like and professional than an etched mark. It really stands out with that depth and clarity. I kinda like the smaller mark on that little knife though.
 
Yesterday I engraved 20 blades! AND still using the same $6 cutter.

Perhaps I could etch more in a day, but I like this look so much I'm willing to 'eat' the time of engraving over etching.

Von Gruff...the mark is real close in size...only 10% difference...but I zoomed in way more on the second pic...and my pics are terrible.lol.

I'll try to do a more zoomed out side by side pic when I can.
 
Ted, Those look good - show the dremel tool you're using. Is that pre-HT? OR, are you getting that good engraving post-HT?

I've used my cnc (just a small desktop 3040 cnc) for engraving, but always used a "Vee" point something like:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/112027412947? I don't really like those, I've found better in past with 4 sides more like this, but at less price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/122840472312?

With those tool bits they only last a few blades, and sometimes less. I normally engrave on the order of .003", and it MUST be on pre-HT blade.

Ted, do you have any problems with blade not being exactly level? Where one part of the engraving space might be .001" or .002" lower (or higher) than other parts? I use an autoleveling program to account for that.
 
KenH said:
Ted, Those look good - show the dremel tool you're using. Is that pre-HT? OR, are you getting that good engraving post-HT?

I've used my cnc (just a small desktop 3040 cnc) for engraving, but always used a "Vee" point something like:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/112027412947? I don't really like those, I've found better in past with 4 sides more like this, but at less price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/122840472312?

With those tool bits they only last a few blades, and sometimes less. I normally engrave on the order of .003", and it MUST be on pre-HT blade.

Ted, do you have any problems with blade not being exactly level? Where one part of the engraving space might be .001" or .002" lower (or higher) than other parts? I use an autoleveling program to account for that.
Click to expand...
Here's the tool I used...at 20 and not much difference in burr...

https://www.mcmaster.com/#42955a29/=1aj1slk

I'm using flat ground stock so it well within .001. When I switch from A2 to AEB-L I might have to watch the planarity more...right now it is fine.

I'm engraving .005 deep(total depth) at .001 deep per pass.

this is done pre-hard. the cutters say can be used on hard steel also. i like the dust i see now so probably will never try it on a hard blade....i'll bet i broke $100 or so on endmills before trying this.....
 
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Thanks for the link Ted - I've got a couple of those burrs added to an order I've saved for next order. I've been cutting .003" in one pass, and doing the cutting on the bevel where it's at a taper, using the autolevel to compensate for the bevel helps a good bit. BTW, what cnc are you using? A "real" CNC? OR, one of those desktops similar to what I'm using?
 
A real one...Fadal 3016 box way machine.

Ken...maybe try doing that in three passes...super slow feedrate...2-3 inches per minute...Yeah I know its painful...BUT...no stencil and tape and...and...

The machine can take the load easily(even a desktop)...it's the tip of the tool you're trying to preserve. Use lot's of oil or coolant
 
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