Electro etching

[Traok]

I read in an eralier post that a gentleman was looking for information on the stencils used for etching. There were 2 replies

1) Said to do a search on the forums - I have done this and found no results - Correction pulls up a Texas knifemaker news thing

2) A gentleman pointed him in the direction of a video that showed how to make a etching machine etc.. ( Not sure I am brave enough to play with electricity with my limited electrical experience

So does anyone else have any input on who what where to get or develop stencils. I did an internet search and found a guy that makes them.Ernie Grospitch out of Florida. But am unclear if this is my only avenue. As it would be better if I did not have to rely on a 2nd party to mark my knives .

Again I am just trying to get the info to make an informed half way edcucated decision on buying an electro etch and stencils or a custom stamp The stamp I am sure is quickly becoming the way of the past.

Again thank you for taking the time to read this and all advice offerings

Traok

[Ray Rogers]

You can build your own etcher or buy one. You can have your stencils made professionally or make your own.

I'll take the approach that you don't want to build an etcher based on your earlier statements. That being the case, I can well imagine that you also don't want to build the tools necessary to make your own stencils.

That leaves us with buying an etcher and having your stencils made professionally. The least expensive etcher I know of is the Etch-O-Matic for about $75, available from most of the major knife supply places. Many of us here use it, it's very simple and durable.

The easiest way to get your stencils made professionally and not have to rely on anyone else would be to have them done by Marking Methods or some similar outfit. If they do the artwork and produce the stencils the cost will be about $100 (less if you do the artwork) and you'll get quite a few stencils. That's what I did and I'm still using those stencils 14 years later so you'll get your money's worth. This type of stencil is much more durable than the ones you can make yourself ....

[Bob Hartman]

I had Ernie cut my stencils. He fits as many as he can on a sheet about 3-1/2" X 8". That was a couple of years ago, and I'm still using them. Very nice quality.
The Etcher I made from plans found right here on the forums. The instructions are very detailed, and the construction couldn't be easier.

[DOC BLUES]

Hi Bob Who is Ernie? Peter.

[Bob Hartman]

Originally Posted by DOC BLUES

Hi Bob Who is Ernie? Peter.

Hi Peter,
Traok's post, 4th paragraph. He mentions finding Ernie Grospitch on a web search. I ordered two sheets of stencils which look like they will last a long, long time. Each sheet had 14 stencils cut out on them. If you take care of the individual stencil once you cut it form the sheet it will last several knives, but don't push it. A bad mark is a mess to deal with.
I don't know if you remeber the knives that I took to Arkansas, but they were etched with Ernie's stencils.
Here is his site: http://www.erniesknives.com/
Bob

[AlanR]

I just ordered and recieved a sheet of stencils from Ernie. I spoke with him on the phone, super nice guy, and he said he had just completed a test to see how many etchings per stencil you could get. He felt comfortable with around 24 etchings but I'm sure this would vary some for each maker. My sheet had 10 etchings of 1/4" tall lettering that is about 9 letters wide. I think I'll order another sheet with 3/16" tall lettering or may even go slightly smaller.

Note: I've yet to etch with these but he's been mentioned on The Knife Network many times in the past with positive comments. I hope to etch a sample piece tomorrow.

-AlanR

[pipecrafter]

If you want to make your own stencils:

McMaster-Carr carries stencil material, as well as borosilicate glass which you'll need if you ever want to expose your own stencils. I made a cheap-o stencil exposer using the Mc-C stencil material, and a 4x6 piece of borosilicate glass. I printed my design onto some transparecy I got from the office supply store, and exposed it to the sun for 45 seconds. It was basically a sandwich of G-10, stencil material, transparency with design, and glass on top. I clamped it all together with pony clamps.

To develop the stencil you don't really need much more than clean water. Submerge the stencil, let it soak for 10 minutes, then gently rub with your fingers or a soft sponge (at least that's what I do, and it works fine). Once you've got it developed, set it in the sun for a few more minutes to do it's final curing.

You could use a full spectrum florescent light, or a UV light from a pet store to build a box so you don't have to depend on the sun, but I went the cheap route and did it myself.

[DiamondG Knives]

Anyone care to share what print/design software they use to draw up their logo?

Its been ages (really) since i had my stenciles made up. I need to do it again, but for the life of me I cant remember how I did it (is this "oldtimers"?)

My Logo is a capital G inside of en elongated diamond for Diamond G knives.

Im "kind of" computer savy just need a point in the right direstion.

Anyine got a good explination on how they do theirs?

Thanks and God Bless
Mike

[DaveRuhlig]

I recommend Ernie Grospitch also. He's a member of the Florida Knifemakers Association, makes some great stencils (and knives) and is a hell of a nice guy. Here's his site if anyone is interested http://www.erniesknives.com/.
-Dave

[john smith]

Has there been or is there a section on this network that shows members LOGOS or MARKS! alot of of newbies would like to design our mark, but it would be a shame to accidently come up with the same design as someone else. Mike has a simple logo Diamond G that would be easy to copy if you did'nt know, and me John smith how many smith's are in the knife making world.

[moa_shooter]

Originally Posted by pipecrafter

If you want to make your own stencils:

McMaster-Carr carries stencil material, as well as borosilicate glass which you'll need if you ever want to expose your own stencils. ...

Why is the borosilicate glass so important?

[pipecrafter]

Borosilicate glass is largely UV transparent - which is the spectrum of light responsible for curing the stencil. Other glass can block the UV, making your exposure times very long.

For designing my logo, I actually used Gimp - a free alternative to Photoshop.

[Ray Rogers]

Kevin,

I don't know about borosilicate glass particularly. My glass was cut from a larger sheet at my local hardware store. It is only 1/8" thick and very, very clear (which I think is the important part). Get two sheets of glass that are thin and crystal clear and measure roughly 3 x 5"

The bulb you need should be rated at 5200 K if I recall correctly. Anyway, that means the bulb should put out light that is the same color as ordinary daylight and, BTW, that is not the same as 'white' light. You may have to go to one of the bigger hardware stores to find exactly that bulb but they aren't expensive. It doesn't matter much what shape the bulb has, i.e. regular looking buld, sun lamp type, or those weird ones that have 2 or 3 loops of glass where a bulb should be. They all work as long as they are daylight color light . You'll need a socket to mount the bulb in and some wire and a plug.

Then, you need a box to put everything in and the box should be opaque. Mine is a dark blue plastic food storage box from the hardware store, $3. My box had some vent holes so I plugged them with epoxy. The box only needs to be large enough for everything to fit inside, bigger is OK but not too much bigger.

The rest is assembly. Mount the socket on the side of the box or maybe the bottom depending on the style of the bulb. You want the glass plates at the opening of the box so you can put your stencil there easily, the bulb will be on the other side of the glass and a couple of inches (maximum) from the glass. For me, my opening is the entire top of the box so my glass sheets are at the top near the opening and the bulb is mounted below the glass with the socket stuck in the side of the box.

I used two half inch wooden dowels to support the glass sheets. Drill some holes in the box, insert dowels, epoxy, you're done. Used some heavy blue tape to make a tape hinge for the glass sheets then taped the sheets to the dowels. Now the glass won't move, the glass sandwich opens like a book, and the stencil can go between the sheets of glass.

I finished it off by gluing some foam rubber in the box top so that when I put the lid on the box the foam presses *gently* on the glass holding it closed and motionless.

That's all there is to it, nothing too critical, nothing too precise is required.

To use it, I turn out the room lights, turn on a yellow bug light as far away as I can get it and still see anything, insert the stencil film so that it lays on top of the stencil positive which I made on my printer and then taped to the glass inside the glass sandwich. Close the glass sanwich, close the box, leave the room lights OFF, turn on the light in the box, wait two minutes (or whatever you determine works best with your rig) turn off the box light, remove the exposed stencil material and get it into the developer. Four minutes later (or whatever works for you) you're done and you can turn the room lights back on. Yes, you can turn them on sooner but I'm chicken and don't like to mess with something that works .........

[moa_shooter]

Thanks, that helps alot.

Cheers.