Thread: Lettering/Maker's stamp question

Hi All,

For my next question I would like to try your patience by asking what is your preference regarding the condition of the maker's stamp.

Let's say you have a mirror finish on a blade - do you prefer it to be clean and shiny like the blade, or to be dark so you can clearly see the lettering.

And let's say the stamp is clean is there a way to darken the lettering?

Here are some pictures to help

IMO if the blade has a mirror finish,the stamp should match it in brightness.However,during the restore process,removing too much material can make the stamp faint and unreadable and that's not good either.So,I guess my opinion is that if you have a nice deep stamp,buff away,but if there is a danger of making it too faint,you may have to leave that area alone a bit to save some of the stamp.

I prefer seeing stamps as dark as possible. If I had the proper paints I'd make em black myself. But that's just my warped point of view.

I would say it depends on the razor. Some look right with that patina/painted look while others work polished up well. It seems to me that the deeper printed ones look better with the polished look though as the depth of the stamp helps create the shadows that show it off.

I like my stamps contrasting so I can clearly see the stamp (I believe that’s how it would have left the factory). I guess with use and handling by the consumer, the black in the stamp would fade with time.

The trick is not to allow polish to fall into the recesses during the restore. But then you could always dip the blade in ink or some other form of coloring and wipe or slice away the excess when dry…. Of course, this works best if the recesses still have a rough texture.