So living in N. Ireland it impossible to get these stencils. But I contacted your supplier and within a very short time they where in my mail box. Thanks for that. I haven't had the courage to use them yet but will soon. To be fair to you, this is the most most helpful video I have seen yet. I stamp most of my knives but have some that I made before I got stamps. So my buddy wants 1 of my old knives but with a logo. So I have to etch the logo. Thanks for sharing this, very helpful to me.
That logo is bad ass bro. Just got in to knife making. I am really considering getting a stencil made. Just have to come up with a design. Thanks for your videos. They are very helpful!!!
Many people who do this for a living will have an adjustable power supply and use vinyl stencils. They also use a special electrolyte which is more conductive and not as corrosive as sodium chloride (often copper nitrate solution).
Thank you for leaving links to all the equipment and and things you use! As a new knife maker I'm always trying to find the best places for steel and supplies. Great vids buddy!!
Awesome work! Beautiful makers mark! I like the silver look also. If you want it black, after you have etched it, switch the positive and negative cables and etch again and it will blacken it, it works for my stencil etchings.... Have a good one!!!
Thank you! I will definitely have to try that out. The only reason I haven't is because someone told me not to. Never knew why though, but I will find out:D Btw I checked out your channel and your knives look great! keep up the good work!
thanks for this. love the finish and logo. i'm inspired mate. i want to be getting my mark on knives from day 1... i'm half way through making my 1st knife!!!!
Great video, thanl you! I'd also like to give some advice to you. Your lamp reflects a lot on the table, you can change this real quick and easily by just putting some sandwich paper or pan liner over it secured with a rubberband or tape. Again: Great video!
Personally I appreciate you taking your time. It's like people are in too much of a hurry to watch a whole video or too lazy to fast forward. Good work.
Good vid. Check out your local sign/banner shop. They can cut out adhesive vinyl stencils for you. It shouldn't cost more than $30 for 11x17 sheet full of 1/2" logos....These stencils he and a lot of others are using seem funky.
Hi, have you experimented with salt in white vinegar (spirit vinegar, acetic acid) rather then salt in plain water? The process is much quicker, about half the time, so your templates probably won't suffer as much damage and will probably last longer. The etching depth using white vinegar is quite deep very quickly and the profile remains sharp. Just a thought for more research. All the best, Gordon.
I'd like to do this on a Gerber knife I got a while back, but the blade has a black finish on it. Would this method still work, or does the finish block the flow of electricity?
Is it possible to keep the black finish and put a logo on the knife? I know it probably is a dumb question but I'm new to this. By the way I love how you explain everything in your vids
Very nice work. I think the most important takeaway is, after dipping into salt water, dab it on a napkin, so that excess liquid won't spill outside the logo. I have seen people doing similar things, but with too much liquid; which spoils the logo, because it spreads outside the edges of the logo. Thanks for the video.
Hi! think I will get in touch and have a stencil made for my knives, your method is less messy than ferric chloride and safer, thanks for passing this along mick
Hey bro I always love watching your videos and wanted to begin knife making as a hobby, can you please give me an idea of what tools I should splurge on and what I can get away with not buying?any advice is greatly appreciated and good luck on your future projects!!👍
Thank you very much! Your grinder will be number 1! Also need a drill press. Everything else is really just a bonus. Grinders these days are very versatile!
he have you ever tryed submerging the metal in saltwater with one side clipped to the metal and the other clipped to a nail or something in the water?.. would that work?
Great video, beautiful blade man. I'm just getting into knife crafting and have just worked out a logo for myself, can i use a car battery to etch? Also I heard mixing salt and vinegar works well. Would you recommend? Also, totally agree that the silver etch looks great (better imo) Keep up the good work mate!
Very instructional! The logo is very cool, but doesn't seem that it was too complicated for Ernie to recreate as a stencil...or does it not matter? Can any design be done? I was thinking my custom grinding mask as in my profile pic.
I am aware that Ernie has turned some designs down before due to his machine not being able to make a certain stencil. perhaps it was too complicated but it wouldn't hurt to make it and try it out. If it needs any editing im sure ernie would let you know what needed to be done:)
Robert, I also wanted to say that your current line of of knives is awesome...but, and I'm only saying this out of respect for your craftmanship...are you pricing them too low? I've read charge between $10-15 per hour labour, double the material cost, and add an amount for shop upkeep. I've also read to just charge a $20 hourly rate and quadruple that to $80 so that covers everything, materials, tools, upkeep etc? What's your thoughts on this? Keep up the great work, Griff.
I appreciate that very much! You're not the first person to tell me this, but from a markets standpoint I have to keep them low to keep people buying. Still being new to the game many people will be first time buyers and Globally I will not have many reviews. That being said only a certain amount of people know the quality I can produce. Building a reputation with people and potential customers is important and can take some time to achieve. I started out thinking I could sell a knife for much more than I could now and I indeed did sell them from time to time. Once I dropped my prices, many more sales started to pick up. Right now Im just focusing on getting my product into other peoples hands. Once that happens to the extent I want, then I can demand a higher price.
Really cool video about etching a logo. The silver logo looks great. Here's my question: If I etch my initials into my knife, and then want to add a vinegar patina, do I need to cover the etching? Or won't it matter? Regardless, you do great work on your knives.
+Peter Huggins no it shouldn't matter, the etch should be deep enough to stand out unless you wanted to keep it the silver color. Then I would fill the etch with some nail polish. It works great for anything you don't want etched! Thanks for your compliments and for watching my videos!
Thanks for the helpful video! What kind of sander is that and how much was it? I am looking for a better sander/grinder for my knife making. Any info helps!
Just a note... You should use dish detergent to wash the stencil afterwards. Hand soaps have oils and moisturizers in them that will break the plastic of the stencil down faster.
If I were planning on electro etching my mark on a knife, but I also wanted an acid stone wash finish on the entire blade, what should my order of operations be?
Joe Carrick I have tried stonewashing after the etch and if you do a good, deep etch, then It will show up nicely. Stonewashing will almost erase a mark that wasn't etched very deep though.
im just not getting the deep dark etch of most videos here cant figure out y the only thig i can think of is im using a different saLT it isnt bubbling much at all so im guessing thats it since im doing everything else the same so iodized salt as opposed to other salts must make the difference
Great info, and I really appreciate all of your videos. You have definitely helped me out a lot. I will say however that I have never had a worse customer service experience in my life than when I tried working with Ernie... We went back and forth a few times just trying to get a design together before he told me he was unwilling to help me (even just a simple line of text, he flat out refused to provide)... I even called him to find out if there was a miscommunication or if I had come off wrong in the email. He was rude, and I have figured out how to do this without him getting a penny from me. Thanks again for your videos brother, God bless you too!
what kinda battery charger is that? i have a small one and a big one.. and i wanna try the big one i have but I'm afraid it'll blow me across the room... what kinda amps and volts you using?
+TheEvilways101 the more amps you have, the more it tears up your stencils form what I've gathered. keep your amperage as low as you can get. really you could even do this with 9 volt batteries. the battery charger I have is a 12 volt.
First and foremost, GREAT VIDEO!! It was very informative and helpful. I’ve been looking for a detailed and informative “Etching Video” for sometime now and you have finally answered my prayers. 2nd, where were you able to purchase your “CENTURY Battery Charger?” I’m interested in purchasing one. Again, Thanks for the great vid and Keep em coming please!!🍀⚒🕉⚒🍀 #4-LeafCloverBlacksmithing
Brett Jones hey! Thank you very much! I believe that charger was from walmart long ago. Any battery charger will work though! Heck you can even use a 9volt battery if you wanted. Just takes longer. Take care and God bless
Wow that was a neat and very informative video. Thank you for sharing and can you send me the website where to get those stencils?? Ive never seen that process. Thanks Manny
Thank you and enjoyed your video very much. I am making parachord bracelets and add a dog tag with military branch emblems I buy and glue them on with appropiate ribbons I am gonna try to stencil them in future might save me money. Thanks again Manny
Great job, great tutorial. You could switch out your DC for AC after the deep etch and clean up then put black inside at the bottom, now that'd be badass! Looks great already, I'm just more into the raw combat, half oxide a few scratches and an 80 grit finished grind in some differentially heat treated D2 with black denim saw tooth micarta... ;)
