Dan Manns Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 Good morning gentlemen. I have searched the site for an answer to my question without luck. I am sure it is in here among the other 638k forum posts - I just haven't stumbled on it yet. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am looking for a vendor who can make vinyl decals so I can electro-etch my logo on my knives and blacksmith projects. I have a logo designed and available in .jpg & .png formats - now I just need someone who can print and cut for a reasonable price. I have run into 3 issues in looking locally for someone to do it: #1: Print shops are unable to print a logo in the small size that I would like (as small as 1"x1/2") #2: Affordability. I have been unable to find a vendor that can print a small batch of logos for a reasonable price. Because the logos are so small, one sheet of them would last me a while. The best price I've gotten is $150 for a sheet. I'm getting crushed by setup fees on this small run. #3: I've had a friend print out logos on his vinyl printer that he has at home but the quality hasn't been the best. The decals aren't "sticky" enough and can come off during the etching which, of course can ruin the work that I've spent a lot of time working on. If anyone has a recommendation for a vendor who does this kind of work and can point me to them - I would greatly appreciate it. Lastly, let me just say "thank you" to the community, especially the moderators and administrators of iforgeiron. I am getting better at making shiny metal things and I am thoroughly enjoying the process (even the painful failures that happen from time to time. Like working on a San Mai blade for 5 hours only to have it split like a banana peel. I can provide pics). But I know I wouldn't be where I am today without the help of others including many here on the site. Heck - I wouldn't even have been able to build a forge without the expertise and design for the burners which I found here on the site. I am attaching a copy of the logo I am looking for. "MFF" stands for Manns Family Forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 Do you know anyone with a Cricut machine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 Morning Dan: I can't help with a printer to do that kind of work cheap, I've known a couple printers in years past and they couldn't do bargains on one offs. A single sheet of small negative space stencils on adhesive backed plastic is going to be expensive one off. I think $150 for a year or so worth is pretty reasonable. However coming up with something better is a worthy challenge. Have you considered making a positive of your trademark/logo from a material that will hold your electrolyte and etching directly? Perhaps make a more permanent stencil, spray on adhesives are common and clean up with turpentine, alcohol etc. You could pick up appropriate mask plastics from the rems bin at a local hobby shop and cut your own with an Exacto knife. Lastly and farther out there is a CNC EDM printer. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 I had a similar application and ended up getting a custom stencil made for my touchmark. There are several providers that can make something up for you from your electronic files. The screens are reusable for multiple etchings. Look up Marking Methods, Inc and Blue Lightning. San Mai trick is to have the cladding be less than 1/2 the thickness of the center HC steel when first welding up if using something like LC steel or Wrought with significant differences in thermal expansion during the hardening process. Using that technique you need to be sure to forge in your bevels. You can also bevel back the cladding a little on both the spine and the edge at the boundary of the profile. Joined NYSDB yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Manns Posted July 8, 2021 Author Share Posted July 8, 2021 Thank you fellas for the responses! JHCC - i do not know anyone with a Cricut machine. (TBH I had to google it to see what it is exactly!) Frosty - I like the idea of a mask plastic stencil. A piece of mylar, some spray adhesive and a sharp exacto may just do the trick! I I will definitely look into that! A CNC EDM would be amazing. a little out of my price range right now Latticino - thank you for the referrals and for the San Mai advice! I am definitely going to give it another shot. I may have lost the battle but the war's not over. I should have mentioned that my inner core was Magna-cut. It's some new knife steel available from Niagara Specialty Metals (i happen to have the good fortune of living close to NSM). The Magna cut has .6% chromium and though not at the 2% mark for "stainless" much of the Chromium in the steel is considered "in solution" as pure chromium and not tied up in Chromium carbides. So it behaves a lot like a normal stainless even though by standards it is not. I knew it was a long shot! And Yes I joined the Niagara chapter of NYSDB. Unfortunately during COVID they weren't meeting (but then again who was?) and now that they've resumed, most of their meetings are on Sunday mornings and I happen to work every Sunday. Lately they've been meeting at the shop of one, Andy Chambers - a very talented local smith. I am considering taking a day off on one of their meeting dates just to attend a meeting and meet Andy and see his shop. Thanks All! Once again the community doesn't fail to come through for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 Might keep an eye open for used CNC laser cutter/engraver, etc. I think "Glow Forge" is on the market. I'll bet folks who spent a couple thousand on one then find out it's not the money making machine the ads say will be looking wanting to get rid of it make room for the next fad that catches their eye. Less than a year after 3D printers started being marketed to the general public I started seeing them at yard/garage sales for 1/2 price and when they didn't sell they'd drop to a couple hundred bucks 10% and under. Heck maybe 3D print stencils and whatever else strikes your fancy. Have you noticed some of the truly terrific knife hardware cast from 3D printed waxes? I'm Thinking Theo Naz comes to mind for posting pics. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 I can't remember if Theo was printing in wax to be cast in bronze or doing direct 3D printing in metal. I'll have to go back to check. (A few minutes later:) Okay, here we go; he said the fittings were "printed in plastic then lost-wax style cast in bronze": And here's another: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Manns Posted July 8, 2021 Author Share Posted July 8, 2021 That is the most creative use for a 3D printer that i have ever seen! It's genius! I know someone who has a couple 3D plastic printer. That makes the "lost wax" method a possibility. I've never cast bronze before but hey - I'll just add it to the list of fun things to get to when out in the shop! thanks fellas! You've got my creative juices flowing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 I've heard good things about Magna cut from Nick Rossi, but am not sure if he was forging it or using stock removal. For the amount of effort you need to put into making a San Mai billet, I would recommend going with stock that is a little more conventional, at least for the first trial. I have done wrought/1075, wrought/1084, wrought/1095 and mild/1084, and mild/5160. I have experienced the core peel effect only once, but unfortunately don't remember which combination I was using, or whether I quenched more than once (pretty sure it was one of the times I used mild as the casing). I've not been to Andy's shop, but did hang out with him at one of the Ashokan gatherings. He knows his stuff and has a pretty amazing shop from all reports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Dan, Your post brought a couple of things to mind. First off, it's been my experience that technicians at printing shops possess and absolutely incredible ability to misunderstand "the point" of whatever is being printed. Simple stuff like sending a link to download your image file, might result in a massive full color printout of the link file path! I thought I was the only one until I saw an episode of "Parks and Recreation" where they made a joke about exactly that same thing! Cake decorators sometimes do similar stuff where they'll write instructions instead of inscriptions so you end up with "Happy Birthday Leave a space Mararet". A slightly different option would be to look into laser engraving. I used a shop out here many years ago and was surprised by how affordable it was. Maybe you could make a volume deal with someone in that line of work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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