Blackened stainless steel

[Gene Hobbs]

Hey guys
I just got a call asking if I could laser on blackened stainless steel. I told them I'm not sure but I would check with the experts online. Thanks in advance.

[Richard Rumancik]

What you have to tell them is "give me a sample and I'll let you know." There are many kinds of stainless steel and several types of blackening processes. Plus you never know what might be on top of the blackening (such as a lacquer.) It also depends on the quality/appearance the customer expects and what kind of contrast is expected. (Do they want the black surface to turn light? Or just show a readable mark?) If it is to apply a part number the quality standards might be less than for, say, a company logo. It's possible Cermark might even adhere, but it would have low contrast. In my opinion the only way to approach something like this is to run a test.

[Frank Corker]

Gene I suspect this is probably as Richard described, I think the only way you are going to find out is if they send you a sample of it. Might be as simple as sprayed black.

[Gene Hobbs]

I hope its that easy. The guys said it is pocket knives.

[Mike Null]

I suspect it is an oxidized finish and, in my limited experience, I don't think the laser will make a suitable mark.

Last week I attempted to do an order of Army issue Gerber combat knives (black oxidized finish) and the laser mark was too faint--not enough contrast. I ended up sandblasting them with names and outfits. I contacted Gerber and they are marking them with a YAG.

[Dan Hintz]

Don't forget, Cermark makes more colors than just black...

[William Richardson]

This is what cold steel says is a hard black baked on protective coat on 1055 carbon steel.

One pass with laser.

[greg lindsey]

Dan, have you ever used any of the other colors for cermark, if so, how does the mark look. Is it really colored engraving.

[Richard Rumancik]

Don't forget, Cermark makes more colors than just black...

OK, I'm stumped - where do I get Cermark colors for metals? I thought both Cermark and Thermark were operating like like Henry Ford.
(I've seen messages on their websites that they were working on color for metals - but that has been there for years.)

[Dan Hintz]

Greg,

I've seen the pearl white (looks pretty good), but I've never used it myself. I haven't seen/used the bronze yet.

[greg lindsey]

Richard, Ferro sells cermark that will engrave in Black, Blue and Bronze, possibly white (no red yet, but I hear they're working on it) I just havent used any yet, other than the regular black. was hoping somelse had used them and was looking for feedback, back some years ago when thay were first introducing cermark, they would send me samples, that not the case anymore.

[Stephen Beckham]

Hey guys
I just got a call asking if I could laser on blackened stainless steel. I told them I'm not sure but I would check with the experts online. Thanks in advance.

Gene - it depends on the brand of knife - I just did 10 Seal Pup (SOG) and they use a powder coating for their blacking. The laser with two passes was able to remove some of the coating, but was also able to bleach it a bit also. The result was a slight dip and slight color variation. Richard gave the key answer for you. I suggest you have them come by and laser a single dot somewhere on the blade where it won't stick out very bad. If you get good results then rock-n-roll....

[Gene Hobbs]

Thanks guys for the advice. We ran it hot and slow. It left a very light mark, just barley could see it but thats exactly what they wanted to my suprise. So I guess everything turned out well.

[Richard Rumancik]

Glad it worked out in the end.

That is why I hestiate when someone asks me "can you mark on ____?" or "can you cut ____?" Well, it depends on what exactly you want, what kind of quality is expected, the purpose of the part/mark, whether you will see the edge (or will it be hidden or buried in adhesive), is it decorative or functional, etc. etc. Usually time can be saved if this is discussed upfront.

Also, when someone tells me they have some kind of promotional product that is made out of ________, I usually say I need a sample that I can test. A lot of the products from Asia are of unknown and inconsistent metallurgy, coatings, paints, etc. so there is usually no way of knowing what you really have, regardless of what the distributor's catalog says. And even for North American products, there are so many alloys, and many processes to achieve the end result that again it is not 100% predictable how it will react in the laser.

[William Richardson]

coldsteel.JPG Just noticed my pic did not post