Question: Hard stuff

gcleaker said:

Hi all I'm just wondering has anyone tried to engrave on a Kershaw flip knife. I've started to cut on one and I'm spending more time sharpening my tools then I do cutting I'm going to a 55 degree face on my 120 was 17 degree heal. Any ideas?:beatup:

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Archie Woodworth said:

I too over the years, have engraved a number of Kershaw knives and while the scales are hard they seem to cut well with M42 and Carbalt. IMHO the M42 is a better choice as the Carbolt breaks/fractures much easier. The graver blanks are available from Steve at:
http://www.airgraver.com/graver-blanks.htm
Just finished engraving twenty CRKT knives and the CRKT scales seem to be much harder than the Kershaw knives that I have engraved in the past. I Rockwell tested the CRKT scales (Vox Amicus model 5446) and they came in at 49 plus on the C scale. Have yet to Rockwell test the Kershaw or Spyderco but know they will test significantly less, from my experience engraving them. Recently, I engraved a Spyderco Dragonfly and it was actually a pleasure to engrave....soooo smooth...there is also a big difference in price too between the two knives $35.00 vs $100.00.

Additionally, as Im sure you probably already know, it is paramount to ensure that the knife scale is secured well; because any movement of the piece will also contribute to broken graver tips. I find, whenever possible, it is a good idea to disassemble the knives. With this last job, in that I had a number of knives to engrave, I made a reusable fixture by first applying Thermoset to a block of wood and once melted I put down a layer of thin plastic (from a grocery bag to act as a release) and then pressed the knife scale into it. Once cooled, I pried out the knife scale ... the result was a perfect fit pocket for the scales to be snapped into; which securely held the knife scales. I added the screws just to make sure it stayed put while I engraved on them. In the video below, note the gray plastic plus screw to lock down the scale.
Below is a quick video of the CRKT engraving....(select HD and full screen, if possible)
https://www.facebook.com/100011353012132/videos/398961547158942/

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monk said:

i never used one, but grs sells an adjustable "contour" vice. i think it will fit most folding knife profiles. it secures the folder without damage. i think this would be great for working on several knives at a time without t-loc or hot melt.

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