How to Engrave on Stainless Steel Flatware

Personalize your flatware by engraving it with your initials.

Engraving is a way to personalize flatware.There are examples of elaborately engraved sterling silver and gold flatware in museums. Typically, people have their initials engraved on their flatware. With the cost of silver and gold on the rise, many folks prefer to have their stainless steel flatware engraved.

Things You'll Need

• Graver
• Acetone

Instructions

1. Sketch the design you want to have engraved on your stainless steel flatware. Many people have their initials engraved on their flateware in handwritten script or calligraphy. Measure the flatware to ensure that your design fits on it and will look appropriate.

2. Clean the stainless steel flatware with soap and water and dry it.

3. Draw the pattern you want to engrave on the stainless steel flatware with a permanent marker. If you are confident in your lettering, you can skip this step and mark only a box where you want the lettering to begin and end. The box should also reflect the height of the engraving.

4. Secure the stainless steel flatware with an engraving block, shellac stick or vise.

5. Use a graver to cut your engraved design. Slide the graver across the stainless steel flatware pursuant to your design. Do not dig deep with the graver. Roll the graver on its side as you cut to get different width and shaped lines. Most engravers cut curves and circles counterclockwise.

6. Clean the stainless steel flatware with acetone to remove the permanent marker. Then rinse the stainless steel flatware with soap and water to remove the acetone residue.

Tips & Warnings

• Engraving is easy to do but difficult to do well. Practice engraving with scrap metal or old flatware before you engrave your stainless steel flatware.

References

• "The Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition"; Tim McCreight; 2005
• "Metalsmithing"; Robert Ebendorf, Michael Jerry, and Thomas Markusen; 1973
• "Jewelry: Fundamentals of Metalsmithing"; Tim McCreight; 1997
• "Jewelry Concepts and Technology"; Oppi Untracht; 1982
• "The Complete Book of Jewelry Making"; Carles Codina; 2006

Resources

• Engraving Forum
• Engraving School
• The Ganoksin Project