416 stainless rings

[john pilk]

a friend and i got a chunk of 416 stainless and made some rings to engrave. i,m still in the practice / experiment stage. i was highly inspired by chris malouf,s rings. i can,t wait to see the 629 he,s working on. one is relieved slightly and mat backgrounded. another has a lined background. but no shading yet and the other is with initials that i did for my bud . need some good info on blackening background that won,t come off. john pilk

 

[unclejim1955]

This works well for blackening and then lightly sand the surface to bring the shine back. That leaves just the background blackened and it holds up very well.
http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/black.htm#stainless

 

[Christopher Malouf]

Hi John, thank-you for the kind support. I'm just plugging along trying to make tomorrow's work better than yesterday's really not having any idea (or a clue) that it is inspirational at all. Having ventured into engraving at such a late age means there's a lot of time to make up for and if I can do it then anyone at any age can do it too.

One thing everyone should do is not have a fear of stainless steel alloys. Not everything that passes through the vise will be as sweet as annealed 416. In many cases, engraving is subordinate to customer satisfaction in providing a safe, reliable and durable product. By learning to cut the harder materials you will carve out a nice niche for yourself. Harder alloys take a little bit more time but with the right combination of sharpening, a vibration free work environment and finesse, you can almost completely eliminate tool breakage. For the next rings, order the stock in a 1/4 hard or even a 1/2 hard temper and engrave them.

Keep up the great work and it's awesome to see the initiative you have taken ... if you can't find it, then make it!! .... also, the Caswell stuff takes nicely to 400 series due to its' higher iron content.

Chris

 

[Sam]

You make some excellent points, Chris. I remember back in the day that many knife engravers avoided 300 series stainless steel. While I didn't love the stuff, I was able to cut it with some graver point mods and got the job done. As you pointed out, we can't expect everything to be as pleasant as 416.

My experience with stainless steel jewelry has been a most unpleasant one. I've worked a lot of jewelry shows in many countries and tested a lot of stainless jewelry samples from those shows. The pieces I tested were gorgeous and beautifully machined but next to impossible to engrave. I wish more manufacturers would use 416.

 

[monk]

very good looking work. i think chris malouf is an inspiration to a lot of people. his work, as well as the information he has shared here attests to that.

 

[john pilk]

thanks for the comments

i wish the pics were better . i like the 416 for this purpose. we cut about a milimeter border on the sides and then leave as is or cut the dubber, rope border around . the detail is fabulous in this stuff such as the knife material. ron nott had told me years ago to use a little wintergreen oil to cut the stanless alloys. i do and it works . i always high polish my heels when i cut this stuff . with the oil it gives a good bright cut . and doesn,t gall the heel at all. the degrees of polish here and there are important for proper contrast. i may check with an educated metalurgist soon to see about wether or not this alloy will or will not turn one green. thanks again for the comments john

 

[Christopher Malouf]

John, it really does my heart good that you mention Ron. The year after he passed was a very difficult one as we spoke several times a week. His number is still in my phone. I don't think anyone has ever taken as much time to talk and teach folks about engraving Colts and knives ..... tough shoes to fill ..... . . .

 

[JCB]

won't 416 rust?

 

[willy]

won't 416 rust?

it will rust a little.

 

[john pilk]

will it rust?

ask the knife experts that machine their inter frame knives out of 416 and have them engraved and gold inlayed and sell for more than you make in a year. does it rust?