I have been using sharpies to mark cutting, piercing and engraving lines on my work, but they usually wear off long before I am done doing the work. Can anyone recommend a good, fairly fine point, permanent marking pen that won’t wear off? Thanks…Rob
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I’d be interested as well but mostly I see recommendations to scribe after sharpie like a dykem (sp?) layout in machining.
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I use dykem bluing and a scribe, but a I have more control over a pen shaped object. Maybe I should just make a pen shaped scribe…Rob
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Hi Rob,
Dykem does come in pen form, but since you have a bottle already you could try using a Water Brush Pen. These are available at most craft stores, come in a variety of tip shapes and sizes, are inexpensive and easy enough to fill with an eye dropper or small funnel.
Good luck!
Pam
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What shape is your scribe? My carbide one is a pen shape. I also use 3/32 stainless rod in a thermolock handle
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My scribe is homemade. 1/4" steel rod twisted and then sharpened and hardened. Looks cool but doesn’t feel comfortable to use…Rob
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Do you have any 3/32 stainless stock around? Jam a bit into a file handle or some wood maybe?
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Brennan-AG…Thanks for the suggestion, but I am 75 years old with the arthritis and other disabilities that come from being 75 and making jewelry for over 50 years (think vertigo, neuropathy in both hands and feet and almost total hearing loss). I can barely write with a pen on paper. Sticking a 3/32 " piece of stainless steel into a piece of wood is not what I am looking for. I am just asking if anyone can recommend a pen that I can buy that will put a permanent mark on a piece of silver long enough for me to be able to cut, pierce or engrave it without the mark disappearing before I can finish the job. If this pen doesn’t exist, I will figure it out…Rob
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Totally understand. I’d happily make you and ship you one if you’d like. And hopefully you’ll find the pen you’re looking for.
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Thanks for your kind offer. I will continue my search for a permanent ink pen that I can also write with on small metal surfaces. Scribing through dykem or sharpie leaves marks that have to be polished out. This is especially a problem when I engrave on a polished surface. There are all kinds of transfer strategies to get a design on to metal to be engraved. It is also the main reason why I have been looking at marking fiber lasers. For me, it typically takes more time to transfer an image than it does to engrave my simple images. Making jewelry provides a never ending opportunity to look for solutions to problems. Add the problems created by an aging body and you have an abundance of problems to solve. Thanks again…Rob
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I was hoping to see if anyone has any good ideas for another solution besides Sharpies. Just yesterday, I put a Sharpie mark on some metal to cut on the shears. By the time I got to the shears I had somehow wiped off my mark and said a silent curse.
I have had good luck with marking fluid and a scribe to create a durable mark, but that means putting scratches in your metal. If I flub up my mark and have to do it over then I’ve got scratched metal and have to make another silent curse.
I feel your pain Rob!
Sharpie does make industrial permanent markers which supposedly uses more durable ink. That might be the best that’s out there. At least as far as I know.
Jeff
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It is a problem for sure. Have you tried the China white method? Maybe there’s a film like dykem that is more substantial and holds better. Also, could wearing surgical gloves help? It’s a dilemma!
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How you mark depends on the precision you need, of course.
If you’re milling or turning to a line, a scribed line is necessary. But if the line is only a rough approximation, then a fine-line marker is sufficient.
There are fine-line paint markers, so maybe painting Dykems first then using a white marker for the lines might be a good process. This needs to be tested, as the solvent in the marker might dissolve the Dykems making a really fuzzy line.
Just a thought.
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I have looked at paint markers and have several industrial sharpies. The sharpies last a little longer, but the line is fairly heavy. Thanks for all the suggestions and offers of help. I will keep you posted on what I find. When I was younger and still working, about all I had the time to make were the heavy twisted, fabricated and forged bracelets that my family has made for years. After I retired, and found the time, I started to do finer work and explore new areas, many of which required that I mark on the metal first. This transition was also moved along by the rapidly increasing cost of metal. Gone are the days when I might take a 10 foot coil of 8 gauge wire and quickly cut it into 10" - 12" pieces and make bracelets. They are now made on demand knowing that the bracelet was already sold. Luckily Don and I inherited a large market for our work from our father, so the tradition continues. More when I know it…Rob
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Just a thought, have you tried spraying a little hairspray over your sharpie lines?
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I haven’t. I am not sure what it does.
There are sprays that Artist used to prevent graphite from being smudged after they do sketches. We use them in architecture school. I would consider getting something like that and trying it over your sharpie. It just prevents smudging from the oils in the hand, possibly. Look for a fixative.
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I have no idea if this would work, or be appropriate for the scale you’re working on, but what about applying clear nail polish over your sharpie marks?
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Rob I have a similar problem and I usually just put a piece of cellophane tape (the “magic” kind) over the lines and saw as usual. It doesn’t seem to really hurt anything blade or silver wise. That only works for sawing though, I suppose, and wouldn’t help so much for engraving.
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Lots of great ideas here, thanks. I have engraved over an image printed on a small sticky label. You have to go back and recut the lines…Rob