A couple years ago, a friend of my wife came through town with his kids, and we got to show them our shop (shameless plug – Platypus Papers). Of special interest was the Epilog Laser, which can do many nifty things!
After they went to a fair later in their visit, both children had acquired knives, and asked if I could mark them. Could I mark them?! Of course I could mark them!
After some discussion, the appropriate words were chosen (no graphics this time), and things were positioned.
His daughter wanted the word “FALCON” engraved on the handle of her knife (as the blade was uncoated and she didn’t want me to put CerMark on it):
The son, however, had an unusual blade with a black coating on it. I could mark it directly (without CerMark), and he wanted “BRISINGR” etched on the blade itself, in a font from Eragon. Here’s what he got:
Did I mention it was an unusual blade?
All in all, it was a fun day of laser work. Both children left quite happy with their customized knives, and I had an excuse to play with the laser.
I’ve since made several wooden signs, bent acrylic wedding menus, and laser-etched mason jars (and mugs). Every day I see new uses for the laser, and the hardest thing is trying to decide what to do next. I even used the laser on the NES Controller Mod (MK II) to etch the light bar. In short, the laser is one of the coolest tools I’ve used, and caters to my obsession with precision.