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Laser engraving for wood, plastic, leather, etc. in cutlery is something that is also coming to this industry.
It is something as innovative as the use of the 3D printer.
Like any innovation at the beginning it makes some makers “turn up their noses” but in reality they are new possibilities to create designs and textures on the handle of the knife with a minimum expense but different skills necessary.
Today with little money you can take a laser engraver for soft materials such as plastic, micarta, kydex, hardwood, bamboo, rubber, leather, cut paper or other flammable plastic (such as phone covers, mouse, pencils, name paper, wallets, plastic comb), painted metal, ivory, PCBA, etc.
My advice is to take a little confidence with this technology and understand if it is something for you, taking a laser engraver with at least 3000mW with about 150 euros of expenditure to make laser engravings on soft materials and understand if it is something that can interest you in your personal experience as a maker, be careful, however, these types of cheap lasers do NOT affect metals, they are NOT to engrave steel with these types of laser engravers.
Attention!! With “cheap” ones, you can’t engrave metal, such as your logo, acrylic materials, and any other retardant material.
Clearly to perform laser engravings you need skills if you want to create original and interesting textures to be proposed on the knife but on this you can get help from specialists.
If you want something more professional there are 40W / 50 W engravers where you can already start making creative experiences even more interesting but the price reaches € 350 / € 500 for versions Made in China.
These are low cost products and consider that if you have a problem the assistance is nothing, so my advice is to orient yourself on more expensive products certainly but that offer you a quality and a level of adequate assistance.
As you can imagine there are also engravers for metal / cutter with laser technology much more professional and it is there that you can make experiences such as engraving the logo or drawings on the blade .
They are laser engravers who use companies to make real work of metal engraving and precision cutting productions, used today to create textures and embossings widely used in the automotive sector.
The application of laser in marking on metals is typically used to mark products with their characteristics or affix traceability codes.
These are common applications in the electrical and electronics industry, mechanical engineering and tool making, sheet metal processing, medical technology, promotional materials manufacturing, jewelry and the automotive industry.
For example this product of the xTool D1 Pro: Higher Accuracy Diode DIY Laser Engraving & Cutting Machine that costs around 1500 € and has a 20W laser
or the TS3 10W Enclosed Diode Laser Engraver from 650 € from 10W.
These are products with affordable costs and that give you the possibility to customize your knife with the logo, writings, engravings, drawings, etc.
Many manufacturers of knives and industrial cutlery use this technology to apply logos on stainless steel products!
If it is something that interests you you can ask if they are available to make engravings for knives.
Applications of laser engraving technology in cutlery
The potential applications of laser technology in cutlery are different but the ones I care about are those accessible to any maker who still has personal skills to use such a tool that even if simple to use requires a minimum of knowledge.
The applications I mainly address are:
Clearly, the more you have a laser with a certain level of power, the more you can also make high-definition metal engravings.
Very important is always to work safely when using lasers, boxing and using visual protection systems, etc.
Attention that all operations with the laser must be done with the shielding of the mounted box and protective glasses.
Conclusions
Personally I am experimenting with laser engraving on different materials and in the coming weeks I will try to insert some images.
They are tools that can expand the creative possibilities in the construction of knives that in addition to materials and colors allow you to create further possibilities.
Clearly, like any tool, it needs skills or to acquire them but it is an investment of time and money that can give a lot of satisfaction if you like creativity and cutlery.
Are You Experience?!
Andrea
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