Silo Mod DNA 75C - Engraving (in progress)
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Looking good! Did you start off with a template or all freestyle?
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Thanks, I'll keep picking at it until I feel it's done. I still have to do the other side as well. Considering an eagle descending toward a standing prairie dog.
I wish I was both talented and brave enough to scribe the art freehand onto the metal before engraving but I use templates to get the basic shape then I fill in from there. I create the line drawings by tracing the outline of images in photoshop, printing them out on InkAid transfer film, then transferring the line art image to the material being engraved. The wolf, tree and moon is a composite image I put together from several traced images I had on hand. I'm slowly getting better as I continue engraving and I find it a very Zen like experience, very peaceful.
Again, thanks for the positive comment. I'm a knuckle dragger compared to the likes of Steve Lindsay and other professional engravers but at least I've gotten to the point where someone can tell what the engraving is supposed to be . . . I think (please don't tell me you thought the wolf was a squirrel!!!)
Lmbo! No I didn't think it was a squirrel. I could tell what it was. I like the guy casting the fly line. I'm also a fly fisherman but not in streams. We don't have many of those good for fishing in central Florida. I most fly fish saltwater and some freshwater. Getting hooked up on a 300 lbs tarpon with an 11 weight or hooking a bull red fish on fly rod is major fun!
I like the idea you have for the other side of the mod. Be sure to post pics when it's finished.
Practice makes perfect so keep at it and it will get easier just like everything else. If you do it enough, your gonna be flying through these engraving. Then you will have people wanting you to engrave their mods and who knows, you may be able to make a couple bucks while doing it!
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That's a great job! You may able to make some money doing that to friends mods.
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Thanks. At some point I may engrave the pocket knives I make and other articles, like these mods, for the purpose of sale. I just don't feel comfortable with the level of my engraving at the moment. Having your encouragement is nice.
With the knives I'm feeling comfortable with my level of proficiency. Here is an example of a knife I made last year. I'm providing it to establish my proficiency in this area. Everything but the fasteners and thumb stud are crafted from raw stock.
I know this isn't a knife maker's forum and I apologize if this offends anyone. I want my engraving to enhance the knife, not distract from the beauty of its form. I'm hoping in another year (or two) I will be able to produce engravings that enhance the item they grace to a far greater degree than what I've done with my Silo mod. If I don't reach the level where I'm comfortable I will just be engraving my own items.
I hope my engraving inspires others to give it a go and, again, I want to thank you for showing interest in the engraving; it really does mean a lot.
No worries. I like it.
How much do you sell your knives for? Do you do any tanto style knives? I am wanting to get a serrated tanto Kershaw. I had one and lost it. I loved that knife.
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How much do you sell your knives for? Do you do any tanto style knives? I am wanting to get a serrated tanto Kershaw. I had one and lost it. I loved that knife.
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First off a disclaimer, I am not a certified Master Blade Smith. I'm someone who loves metal working and through trial, error and a lot of research has arrived at a point where I can produce a product crafted from raw stock for which I am not ashamed to have someone use and say they got it from me.
Since they are completely hand crafted they take me a solid 20 to 22 hours to make (usually 2 long days in my little shop which I admit is exhausting). They go for $350 . . . I don't pretend to compete with Kershaw, Cold Steel, etc. These companies deliver great knives and I have some myself but they are mass produced, not custom built. I only do liner lock, I don't generally make a serrated blade but it can be done. I design the knives in a 2D drafting program and create hardened templates for future use. I love the form of the drop point and it has been my focus. If you are interested, a tanto style knife could be done and the design approved before fabrication begins.
These are built and intended for daily carry but I've found people are putting them on display instead of using them. I admit it is a source of mixed feelings. The blades are 440C hardened to 59/60 RC (I don't work in exotic metals requiring heat treat and tempering beyond the capabilities of my shop, all fasteners are SS, the liner is titanium, scales can be solid stainless, solid stabilized wood or a combination of stabilized wood and SS bolsters (like the knife shown previously). I also do file work on the back spacer. In the next few years I'll be engraving the SS scales and bolsters but the price point will be significantly higher.
This is a labor of love and creative passion, I don't need the income so I don't market the product and consequently only those who know me have these knives. Since you have asked I am giving you this information. I see now my showing you the knife I made could be seen as soliciting but that was not my intent.
Thank you for asking. You've made my day through your interest.
I appreciate you sharing this info with me. I though about getting into knife making the same as your doing but I have too many hobbies as it is (DIY juice and DIY regulated lipos and regulated and unregulated mods plus some other hobbies such as woodturning, wood working and making my box enclosures out of wood for my mods) so that's all I need is another hobby to sink even more money into..lol.
I think the knives you make look to be quality products and you would never be able to compete with a multi-million dollar company putting out knives in production and some people just don't know about hand crafted items nowadays. I would stick with those prices and if they don't sell, the person doesn't want a work of art just as the people that you said have your knives and are putting them on display instead of an everyday carrying knife.
I'm 34 and I e seen people at craft fairs and such ask me how much a bowl I have turned is and I tell them (depending on the piece (I turn artistic bowls) between $200-$400 and they say ok and set the piece down and go about their business. I have people tell me they would give me $20-$40 for it and when I decline their offer they tell me they can get the same bowl at Walmart or Target for $15. I simply tell them that those were made in production and probably by a robot and mine are turned on a machine but that's all that the lathe is doing is spinning the wood but the cutting is done by hand not to mention the layout of the bowl, chainsawing it out of a log, knowledge to see what the finished bowl will look like before even cutting the log with said chainsaw, oiled and buffed by hand with care, love for the art and professionalism and that's worth more than $40 ever would be. I simply give them my card and tell them if they ever change their mind and want a piece that is 1 off and never to be duplicated to give me a call and we will do business. People just don't understand handcrafted products and the time and expertise it takes to finish with the piece you have or are buying.
Good luck in your venture on the knives and the engraving on the mods and knives. It was a pleasure speaking with you and wish you the best. If you do any other engraving, add them to here. I would love to see them!
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That's lovely! I'm really enjoying your enthusiasm and it's great to do something to make the mod your own 
I would never dare do that but come to think, I could totally get my husband to do it, if I ever get the right mod He went to art school before becoming an engineer, he once made me a wood container for my ecig supplies that was beautiful (he used the old burning wood technique to engrave it) unfortunately a client's parent stole it (along with my checkbook) when I was dumb and left my purse behind while using the restroom
It's definitely not a squirrel, I would have been screaming by now... Once in college a squirrel got accidentally trapped in my doorm room (not coincidentally, as I left the window up and the screen crooked so I could smoke out of my window, LOL) as the squirrel entered it knocked the screen back in place, and we had a few rounds of holy terror from the both of us (I consider them rats with fluffy tails, Heh) and I was *dying* to just let it exit into the dorm but would have felt dreadful, eventually I was able to get it out from whence it came.
It did make me wonder about an apocalypse, if a squirrel can defeat me for some time, I really wonder about my survival skills.
Anna
I would never dare do that but come to think, I could totally get my husband to do it, if I ever get the right mod
He went to art school before becoming an engineer, he once made me a wood container for my ecig supplies that was beautiful (he used the old burning wood technique to engrave it) unfortunately a client's parent stole it (along with my checkbook) when I was dumb and left my purse behind while using the restroom It's definitely not a squirrel, I would have been screaming by now... Once in college a squirrel got accidentally trapped in my doorm room (not coincidentally, as I left the window up and the screen crooked so I could smoke out of my window, LOL) as the squirrel entered it knocked the screen back in place, and we had a few rounds of holy terror from the both of us (I consider them rats with fluffy tails, Heh) and I was *dying* to just let it exit into the dorm but would have felt dreadful, eventually I was able to get it out from whence it came.
It did make me wonder about an apocalypse, if a squirrel can defeat me for some time, I really wonder about my survival skills.
Anna
That's lovely! I'm really enjoying your enthusiasm and it's great to do something to make the mod your own
I would never dare do that but come to think, I could totally get my husband to do it, if I ever get the right mod
It's definitely not a squirrel, I would have been screaming by now... Once in college a squirrel got accidentally trapped in my doorm room (not coincidentally, as I left the window up and the screen crooked so I could smoke out of my window, LOL) as the squirrel entered it knocked the screen back in place, and we had a few rounds of holy terror from the both of us (I consider them rats with fluffy tails, Heh) and I was *dying* to just let it exit into the dorm but would have felt dreadful, eventually I was able to get it out from whence it came.
It did make me wonder about an apocalypse, if a squirrel can defeat me for some time, I really wonder about my survival skills.
Anna
Thank you Anna! I'm glad you like it. It is fun to look at and know I put it there, flick by flick.
The technique is Bulino. I push the graver point into the metal then lift and flick. The aluminum is very soft which made it a challenging new experience. Masters of this art can make the images look photo realistic imparting subtle shading to their work. Obviously I have room to grow.
At any rate the images are surprisingly durable and slightly rough to the touch. Tiny pieces of metal are removed during this flicking process which imparts the durability.
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