Good place to buy metal stamp for marking knife blades?

I'm going to start making knives and I need to find a place that makes a top quality metal stamp for stamping my makers mark on the blade. I'll be using CPM 154 for my blades. I still need to design my logo but I wanted to go ahead and start shopping around for the best place to make the stamp.

I've seen some that fit into an arbor press and can be hit with a hammer to make the mark and I've seen some that came with their own small press. I want something that makes a nice clear, easily read stamp and is top quality that will hold up to use and last a long time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I'd love to hear your experience with the stamps you all use. I'm open to all suggestions.

Thanks.
 
Have you considered using electro-chemical etching as opposed to stamping? I'm not trying to discourage you from stamping, but you may find it easier. If you build your own etcher, the price of the etcher and stencils will be comparable to the price of purchasing a custom stamp.
 
In my opinion, the best stamps are made by Henry Evers Corp (Everstamp). I have also dealt with the folks at Buckeye, and had good success with their products.
 
Thanks guys. The Everstamp and Harper are the two I had looked at but didn't know anything about them. I like how the Everstamp presses look. It looks like their setup would have tighter tolerances with their press than using an arbor press.

murphda2, I have looked into etching but it seemed like a little more room for error. I'm not opposed to it though, I just figured the stamp would be quicker and simpler. I'm sure both have their pros and cons but if anyone feels that I should look into one over the other I would love to hear everyone's opinion on why you'd choose one over the other.
 
If you get a stamp you're gonna need to build a press for it. I tried stamping by hand when I first got mine and I just couldn't get a good even stamp. The press I made always makes a nice even impression and I believe pressing will give longer life to the stamp than hammering it in. Like everything, stamps and etchers both have pros and cons.
 
I was always under the impression that a stamp had more room for error.

At any rate, you could probably get some stencils from Ernie Grospitch, build your own etcher, and mix up a little saline solution and still come in under $100 if you're careful.

I don't know what stamps average, but I'd imagine by the time you build your press and have a custom stamp made, it will be at LEAST as much as an etcher. At least with an etcher you have versatility. Need a new mark that's bigger, smaller, or different altogether? Just pay a few dollars for a new stencil. Want it dark? Make it dark. Want just the etch, do just the etch. Want to mark steel that's already hardened? Not a problem. Want to mark anything but the face of a blade/flat spots? Go for it.

Not that I'm trying to sway YOUR decision. I'm just telling you why I made mine... :)
 
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If you get a stamp you're gonna need to build a press for it. I tried stamping by hand when I first got mine and I just couldn't get a good even stamp. The press I made always makes a nice even impression and I believe pressing will give longer life to the stamp than hammering it in. Like everything, stamps and etchers both have pros and cons.

Would you happen to have any pics you could post to give me an idea of what kind of press you're using? At first I liked the idea of the Everstamp type presses but the more I think about it, I like the idea of the arbor presses that Harper uses since it would give me more movement to place the mark where ever I wanted to on odd shaped blades. Plus I could hold the handle down with the stamp tight against the blade so it wouldn't move.

Do you use a press like that and then hammer it or do you use something like a hydraulic press?

I have a 1/2 ton arbor press that I use for setting rivets in kydex and I also have a 12 ton A frame press that I could use to make a jig for the stamp if that would be better than hammering it in the arbor press.

What would you recommend?
 
I was always under the impression that a stamp had more room for error.

At any rate, you could probably get some stencils from Ernie Grospitch, build your own etcher, and mix up a little saline solution and still come in under $100 if you're careful.

I don't know what stamps average, but I'd imagine by the time you build your press and have a custom stamp made, it will be at LEAST as much as an etcher. At least with an etcher you have versatility. Need a new mark that's bigger, smaller, or different altogether? Just pay a few dollars for a new stencil. Want it dark? Make it dark. Want just the etch, do just the etch. Want to mark steel that's already hardened? Not a problem. Want to mark anything but the face of a blade/flat spots? Go for it.

Not that I'm trying to sway YOUR decision. I'm just telling you why I made mine... :)

Don't worry about trying to sway me one way or the others cause that's exactly what I'm here for. I'm open to anything and I want something that looks professional and gives me a nice mark on the blade. The thing that worried me about etching is I've seen some that people have done with home made units that, in my opinion didn't turn out so well. Like blotchy looking etching as if the acid ran up under the stencil and it didn't turn out with nice defined lines. In some cases it looked like it burnt too deep into the metal and others it seemed like it just left a burnt mess. I want a mark that's clear with sharp defined edges, nothing smudged looking.

I'm sure it takes practice no matter which way I go but I was thinking the stamp looked easier but remember I've done neither so I have no first hand experience either way.
 
Don't worry about trying to sway me one way or the others cause that's exactly what I'm here for. I'm open to anything and I want something that looks professional and gives me a nice mark on the blade. The thing that worried me about etching is I've seen some that people have done with home made units that, in my opinion didn't turn out so well. Like blotchy looking etching as if the acid ran up under the stencil and it didn't turn out with nice defined lines. In some cases it looked like it burnt too deep into the metal and others it seemed like it just left a burnt mess. I want a mark that's clear with sharp defined edges, nothing smudged looking.

I'm sure it takes practice no matter which way I go but I was thinking the stamp looked easier but remember I've done neither so I have no first hand experience either way.

Part of the success in electro-etching comes from starting with quality stencils. Most of the rest of it comes from technique, which really isn't all that difficult IMO. If I can do it, anyone can.

As long as you have your stecil fixed in place well, and completely against the blade, you shouldn't have problems with bleeding. The hardest part is not over heating things IMO. This comes with a little bit of practice, and may vary based on the voltage settings on your etcher.
 
Personally, I prefer to stamp blades when they are hot...I do this on my third thermal cycle just prior to hardening. I've compiled some of my experiences in this article on my website: http://www.caffreyknives.net/Makersmarkarticle.html

There are instances where stamping a blade causes more issues than it solves.....for me that is on 1/8" and thinner. For those applications I use stencils and an electro-etcher.
 
Here are some pics of my press. I made it from channel iron, all thread bolts, and a 12 ton jack. The little box on top holds the stamp ridgid. The piece of steel on bottom is a piece of polished untempered A-2. I allow this piece to "float" so the blade and stamp can level each other out. If you don't do this you wont get a good even stamp. I polished the piece of A-2 to keep from picking up dents and scratches on the back side of the blade. As far as pressing or hammering, I just watch the stamp until I see the letters have been pressed into the steel and stop there. Experiment with a bar of steel for the first few times and you'll get the feel of it. One thing to look out for is the thinner the blade stock the easier it is to bend/warp the blade as you press it. If you have any more questions don't be afraid to ask.
 

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Thanks for the info guys and thanks Darrin for posting pics of your press. Now I feel like I'm leaning toward etching. I had seen some videos before of people etching and the stencil they were using were open and the etcher was a mess of wires and batteries cobbled together and the results were anything but professional so that kind of turned me off from etching.

Now I've seen some vids that looked much better. The stencils were solid, the etcher was nice and the results looked awesome.

I hope I'm making sense talking about the stencils. The ones I saw before that were open looked like stencils you would use to spray paint with. The ones I saw yesterday were solid as in the outside of the design and letters were blue and the inside was clear and it was a solid piece of plastic.

So now I'm thinking I could have a more clear name and detailed logo using an etcher. If I go with the etcher, what machine would you guys recommend? Here are the three I was looking at. Does anyone have any experience with these models?

http://www.usaknifemaker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53&products_id=2877

http://www.usaknifemaker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53&products_id=2174

http://www.etching-metal.com/knifemaker.htm

And here is the place I was told makes really nice stencils.

http://www.erniesknives.com/default.html

The material I'll be using is CPM 154 and the thickness is about 3/16" if that makes a difference.
 
I use and Etch-O-Matic and it’s served its purpose quite well for several years.

As for stencils, you’re right on the mark. You can’t do better than Ernie Grospiitch. He’ll make you a great set of quality stencils for a fair price and you can’t beat his customer service.

Jim
 
I use and Etch-O-Matic and it’s served its purpose quite well for several years.

As for stencils, you’re right on the mark. You can’t do better than Ernie Grospiitch. He’ll make you a great set of quality stencils for a fair price and you can’t beat his customer service.

Jim

Hi Jim, which kit do you have, the starter or industrial? I was thinking about the super Etch-O-Matic industrial kit. It looks like a good bang for the buck compared to the other 2 etchers I listed. Does it etch deep enough? Does it mark clear, crisp lines?

I guess I'm just wanting to know does it do as well as it says it does on the website. If so it looks like a good deal and I might even spend the extra $40 bucks and get the Mark 650 stencil maker as well. Figured that might come in handy if I wanted to do something different and didn't have time to order stencils.

I'd still like to hear from anyone who uses any of the kits I have listed and tell me your experiences with them and if they are worth the money or not.
 
I have the basic Etch-O-Matic. It does a fine job and etches deep enough when putting my logo on each of my blades.

I didn't want to be bothered with making stencils, I'd rather spend my time making knives. Like I said, Ernie Grospitch is your man if you want stencils. I just sent him an example of my logo and he made me a set of stencils (different sizes to my specifications) that are far superior than anything I could have produced. His price was far cheaper than if I were to buy a stencil maker. And he uses quality materials.

My recommendation - get a basic Etch-O-Matic and order a set of stencils from Ernie. That's my two cents.

Jim
 
I have the same dilemma I never used a hetching machine or stamped metal ,I did stamp leather, I dont forge metal so the hetching must be the best option, I need more info if buy or make it and how to use it
 
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