Seems every thread in this sub forum is on etching... I like the idea of a stamp. I even designed and ordered one. I tried stamping s few pieces of scrap 1084 while cherry red... not a scratch... Maybe I need a good heavy anvil and hammer and really slam the stamp in there...? Is anyone stamping their blades or is it just too difficult so most go the etching route? Thanks, Steve
@Elch Jager I think you answered your own question in that you’d want a very sturdy surface under your work like an anvil and a Heavy Hammer to really drive the stamp in. I am curious/wondering are you trying to stamp pre or post heat-treat? If post, are you trying to drive the stamp through the scale build up?
I was trying to stamp during heat treat... Heat to non magnetic, then stamp, then reheat and quench... I have not bought an anvil yet as I am just at this craft for a year and slowly adding gear as I need it and make space in my shop for it. I may look into some of these diy etching ideas as well.
Sorry to be so late responding,I was away and just started catching up. Not sure if you've ever had a chance to visit Dan Cormeau's website ( https://dcknives.blogspot.com/) . He was a knifemaker from Leduc who passed away not that long ago - great guy - knowledgeable about a lot of stuff and always willing to help out if you had questions or were stuck. His website is a treasure of information for us and as far as I know, still available. That may change when domain fees are due though. In any event, Dan has a great post on making an etcher from an old transformer. I used it to make one and he was kind enough to help me through the process. It was tough finding someone to print my mark stencil out for etching so I ended up building a small UV exposure unit too. There's lots of plans out there and it was pretty straightforward. There's a guy called Kevin Kent who owns a string of knife stores (Knifewear) specializing in Japanese knives (Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa and Edmonton although I'm not sure if the Edmonton one is still open). He went to Japan and did a couple of really interesting Youtube videos with Vist Kjar of a few of the knifemakers that he sells in his stores. The first one (Springhammer: A Documentary About Japanese Bladesmiths and Knife Making ( )) shows one of them stamping their mark (at the36.25 minute) although I did see some etching in the second video. The second one is Springhammer 2: How Japanese Kitchen Knives Are Made ( ). Really well done and not that long (48 min & 28 min). He followed them up with a book (The Knifenerd Guide to Japanese Knives) that I would highly recommend if you're at all interested in Japanese knives. Anyway, good luck and Merry Christmas Dave
That was interesting - I've never seen a posted link actually open the source video. Is that something new? I must have been away longer than I thought.
So my son pointed out that the Japanese knifemaker was actually engraving his knife and not stamping it. I hadn't picked up on that.
