Thank You
Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 5:37 pm
Thanks guys for the kind words - I’m not sure how long I'll be able to continue to engrave - my back is the issue, setting at the bench - so time will tell - I am very pleased to know that I have done something in life that will be around as long as this old Mother Earth can take the pressure we humans put on her - When you cut something into steel or silver it's normally put in a special place for safety -
Not counting family or our work with the foster children the high light of my life was when I was accepted into the Knife Makers Guild - that was my 15 minutes of fame - pretty small club - I dropped out for personal reason's.
Guns & Knives have been a huge part of my family's life as long as I can remember. I started engraving as a young man who loved it but couldn't afford it. So I had no other choice but to learn how to do it. We didn't have the internet or you tube then - I didn't know any engravers who I could go to, so I ordered a book "The Art of Engraving by Russell Meeks, from Brownell's - Trust me - this isn't the way to learn to engrave - took me 2 or 3 years of 7 days a week - I'm bull headed, I stuck with it & now I'm pleased with my work - are there better engravers out there? - You bet! Berry Hand in Utah comes in at the top of my list I guess but there are others - Some won't touch anything for less than a thousand dollars - most high quality engravers
Price their work at 100 to 200$ an hour - are they worth it - yes they are when you see the work they turn out but for most of us - their work is out of reach - at least it is for me - I saw a double rifle the other day that the engraver had over 2,000 hours in it & it was about half done. 150 bucks an hour 4,000 hours - you do the math.
I should answer a question here since I’m just rambling on. I get ton's of e-mails asking for quotes - I had a request last week for a quote for installing Elephant Ivory on a custom hand made large Folding Hunter, built by a well known maker - Customer was going to supply the Ivory - they also wanted file work and my best deep-relief engraving - After I sent the quote I got a very negative reply as for the amount of my quote. Maybe I should explain why this quote was so much higher that what a charge for a Folding Hunter Rough Rider which I pay around 10 bucks for wholesale - We are all humans - things can happen or go wrong - here we had a client sending me a piece of Ivory that he paid $400.00 for - While working this Ivory, if it should crack or I screw up I would replace it at my expense - The client didn't know for sure what the bolsters material the maker used on this knife (Maker is dead) he said it didn't appear to be German Silver - So take a chisel to it & the chisel just bounces off of it but leaves a big nasty scratch in a very expensive knife - I'm on the hook to replace the knife - pay for the knife of try to fix the damage I caused - If I screw up a Rough Rider - hasn't happen yet but if I did I could toss it in the dumpster & grab another one from stock.
So if you have ask for a quote in the past thinking it was much more than you thought it was going to be - a lot of time it just that I have to add in the liability factor - That’s why most engravers who have been around for awhile won't just hand engrave someone's name on a gun - it's just not worth the risk or liability - this is best left to someone who can clamp the gun down & punch you name into a computer & hit a button & a laser cuts your name on the gun.
So now maybe you know why I charge more for working on hi end knives, customer knives & expensive scales - I simple can't task the risk of beating the hell out of a customers expensive knife & charge 30 bucks which is what some folks expect.
I do thank all of the guys here on the forum who have bought from me or who has sent me work to engrave. I'll be here as long as I able - Right now I have to get back to work - Tom
Not counting family or our work with the foster children the high light of my life was when I was accepted into the Knife Makers Guild - that was my 15 minutes of fame - pretty small club - I dropped out for personal reason's.
Guns & Knives have been a huge part of my family's life as long as I can remember. I started engraving as a young man who loved it but couldn't afford it. So I had no other choice but to learn how to do it. We didn't have the internet or you tube then - I didn't know any engravers who I could go to, so I ordered a book "The Art of Engraving by Russell Meeks, from Brownell's - Trust me - this isn't the way to learn to engrave - took me 2 or 3 years of 7 days a week - I'm bull headed, I stuck with it & now I'm pleased with my work - are there better engravers out there? - You bet! Berry Hand in Utah comes in at the top of my list I guess but there are others - Some won't touch anything for less than a thousand dollars - most high quality engravers
Price their work at 100 to 200$ an hour - are they worth it - yes they are when you see the work they turn out but for most of us - their work is out of reach - at least it is for me - I saw a double rifle the other day that the engraver had over 2,000 hours in it & it was about half done. 150 bucks an hour 4,000 hours - you do the math.
I should answer a question here since I’m just rambling on. I get ton's of e-mails asking for quotes - I had a request last week for a quote for installing Elephant Ivory on a custom hand made large Folding Hunter, built by a well known maker - Customer was going to supply the Ivory - they also wanted file work and my best deep-relief engraving - After I sent the quote I got a very negative reply as for the amount of my quote. Maybe I should explain why this quote was so much higher that what a charge for a Folding Hunter Rough Rider which I pay around 10 bucks for wholesale - We are all humans - things can happen or go wrong - here we had a client sending me a piece of Ivory that he paid $400.00 for - While working this Ivory, if it should crack or I screw up I would replace it at my expense - The client didn't know for sure what the bolsters material the maker used on this knife (Maker is dead) he said it didn't appear to be German Silver - So take a chisel to it & the chisel just bounces off of it but leaves a big nasty scratch in a very expensive knife - I'm on the hook to replace the knife - pay for the knife of try to fix the damage I caused - If I screw up a Rough Rider - hasn't happen yet but if I did I could toss it in the dumpster & grab another one from stock.
So if you have ask for a quote in the past thinking it was much more than you thought it was going to be - a lot of time it just that I have to add in the liability factor - That’s why most engravers who have been around for awhile won't just hand engrave someone's name on a gun - it's just not worth the risk or liability - this is best left to someone who can clamp the gun down & punch you name into a computer & hit a button & a laser cuts your name on the gun.
So now maybe you know why I charge more for working on hi end knives, customer knives & expensive scales - I simple can't task the risk of beating the hell out of a customers expensive knife & charge 30 bucks which is what some folks expect.
I do thank all of the guys here on the forum who have bought from me or who has sent me work to engrave. I'll be here as long as I able - Right now I have to get back to work - Tom