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I Forge Iron

Touchmarks as contact info


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So, I see a lot of cool touchmarks, and recognize some of them. The idea is to mark your work. I get that. But outside of this small community, they do not do much to help the buyers find you to buy more.

Are people incorporating contact info into the piece, or do you find that it really does not matter, so just pick a cool looking touchmark?

www.MyName.com is pretty long for a touchmark.

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I've been having the hardest time coming up with a touchmark to ID my work. While I don't make much, I would love to have some unique stamp to identify my work.

The two trains of thought I have:

One small stamp that will look good on small items. It doesn't have contact info, but does have a unique shape that is easily recognizable.

One large stamp or plate that you could affix to larger pieces that has all of your information. Something like a brass plate that you could rivet to the underside of a gate...


Just starting into the knife-making gig, I'm thinking a small proofmark is vital. But what does it look like.....

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There are different etching processes that can allow for that lengthy of a mark to be used, even on smaller items.

There is also a registry database of touch marks on Anvilfire.com

There is a fair argument for the use of written words instead of symbols for the ease of searching

Phil

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The Style and execution of a piece is your signature, your touchmark confirms and identifies the work as being yours if it becomes a dispute or query for any reason, present or future.

For that purpose it should be unique.

As for advertising, a makers name (or business name) is more likely to promote you and your business, and you can have one or more touchmarks. Your type of work may also dictate the amount of space to devote to your 'marks

Registers have been tried, but it will be down to Historians to identify pieces in a couple of hundred years from now, (Think about ecclesiastical commisions here)

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We always try to stamp all our work with our stamp which is our web address, I figure that where ever our equipment and tools goes in the world people can contact us, something which may not be able to be done with a post code (zip code) or phone no.

Phil

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We always try to stamp all our work with our stamp which is our web address, I figure that where ever our equipment and tools goes in the world people can contact us, something which may not be able to be done with a post code (zip code) or phone no.

Phil


I am planning on getting a stamp with my web address but I am concerned about putting it on some things. Most of the forgings I am making are being purchased by machine shops who in some cases are doing a secondary operation (welding machining), they are made to the final customers drawing. Often though the machine shop is just marking up my product and selling to the final customer. If I stamp with my web address I am concerned that my customer will be upset and feel that I am trying to cut them out. Do you put your stamp on items like this and if so has this upset customers?
Do you stamp things like hooks and other lifting equipment? Traceability seems important on things like this so you can say this hook is not mine my stamp is not on it in case of failure however a stamp seems like a potential stress riser location.
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for what its worth, i reckon a web address on an art piece would look pretty rubbish, but not so on tools and industrial work.. also i agree with john - the quality and style of your work is the advert and also the word of mouth from the (happy!) customer - and the mark is just proof of an original. i would think that the mark has to be as considered as all the other design that goes into the work, and a web address could look a bit out of place in some contexts....

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Depends, when we have made seats and other park furniture we will normally stamp in a out of the way place, more to assist the police with identification when this stuff get stolen (which happens).
If we are forging gear blanks or other stuff that has to be machined we will definitely stamp the piece, as the stamp normally is machined out, but at least the guy machining it knows where it comes from and he knows what sort of quality he can expect and he can rely on our sizes being accurate, therefore he does not normally have to check his jobs to ensure they will clean up before he chucks it up into the machine.
With tools if we are making them to sell to a customer who is going to on sell them we will not normally stamp the work, some of our customers have supplied us with a stamp of their own to use. However if we are selling direct to the end user we always make sure we will drive the stamp in good and clear.
Lifting gear will normally be stamped with SWL and test No. by the testing house who has tested and certifyed it so our stamp does not really add any more real stress points, but we kept stress points in mind when we developed our stamp, we had one customer who supplied us with a stamp that had a horizontal diamond on it, where we were required to stamp his stuff ((spring steel security anchors heat treated pretty hard) even after I said that it would cause a stress point he was not convinced until all his anchors started snapping right at the ends of the diamond impression, his problem after I had advised him of his error. We got paid to remake all the anchors and stamp them with a revised stamp that had the diamond ground off.
My guys are proud to stamp stuff that they have made and made well as it can allow them to identify it years later still in good condition and they can say, Hey I made that X years ago. Pride of workmanship can be a good motivator.

Phil

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A young guy we had serve his apprenticeship with us he made his own "touchmark", his initials were WM (William Maguire) so he made a stamp we called billys double bums. Really just one syalised M inverted against another M the right way up. Hi stamp was small and easily stamped, he used to stamp all of his jobs with our company stamp and also his personal stamp. Pride of workmanship.

Phil

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Thanks for the reply Phil. I do have to get around to getting an NFAP.CA stamp made up. I have a JN stamp that I stamp things like tongs that take a little more work but I have not been stamping things that only take a few minutes to make. I also have the JN on a lot of the Cast blacksmith tools that I sell.

post-8901-044262000 1282412612_thumb.jpg

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