Responsible customizing...

[Toejammer]

Couldn't find anything on this topic, so I figured I'd ask.

I know guys like Muskratman and Orvet put they're "mark" on the custom knives they do, but what about the rest of us hobby customizers ? I don't presume to think my work needs my initials for posterity sake, but what if my work hits the open market ? If I croak tomorrow, my stepson would inherit my collection. It's possible that he might gift a few of my re-handles, and that they might wind up on the market somehow. Lord knows, the boy won't know the difference between a factory job, and one of my hack jobs !

I'm working on my 10th rebuild here,....should I adopt a makers mark of some sort ?

[muskrat man]

it's very easy to get a stamp made or to use individual letter stamps and inside the liner where it can be seen easily stamp it "rebuild" or "altered". I personally think this would be a wiser practice for hobbyists than initials or other some such that may not get it's point across to the future buyer/seller

[glennbad]

Agreed. Not that my work would ever get confused with factory, but the mods that we do might confuse people who are not as well versed with patterns and handle material choices for different manufacturers.

Glenn

[orvet]

When I put my initials on the inside liner of a knife, I include the year the work was done.
This years it looks like this: DRV '12

The fact that the initials are on the inside of the knife shows that this was more than just the owner’s initials.
The average knife owner won't be able to get a knife apart and back together, so the location of the initials shows that it was the person who worked on the knife. The addition of the year would in the minds of most people indicate an event, such as the rebuild or customizing.

If the initials are put on with an engraver and done freehand (the method I use) they are much less likely to be mistaken for factory markings. Stamped letters however, might be mistaken for factory markings. I am sure most of us who have take knives apart have encountered stamped letters and even words inside of knives on liners, and springs. Etched marks inside a factory knife, while not unknown, are less common.

The electro chemical etch on the blade (of my name or logo) is nice for knives that I do not have to take apart. I can still mark them as customized without dissembling the knife, though usually I use both markings on a knife if I have taken it apart, (depending on blade size, owner requests, etc). The visible etch on the blade is nice for the owner who wants to advertise the fact that this knife is customized and it helps people recognize my work.



IMO, I don’t thinks it makes a lot of difference how anyone marks the repaired or customized knives just as long as they DO mark them somehow to indicate that they are not as they left factory.

As far as repairs only go- if the person is using the same part from another knife with the same brand & model number, I don’t care if they do mark it or not, (if they do a reasonably good job of the repair).
In other words if they are changing nothing about the knife except to repair it with the same type part with the same markings, then I don’t think it is an ethical violation to leave the knife unmarked.



That is my 2 cents.

[Toejammer]

I like the idea of the initials / date. That at least gives the buyer reason to pause, and maybe ask questions about a knife.

[1967redrider]

Currently I have Muskrat Man working on 2 of my knives and let him know that I would be in favor of him marking them with his stamp. I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus one day he might be famous! Well, he and some others on there are already knife making legends in my mind. Several of you guys are gifted in knife making/repairs, wish I had your talent.

[Elvis]

I think the only time is shouldn't be marked is when a true restoration is done using original parts that are correct to the knife and time it was made.