Rosewood Engrave setting

I have a friend who asked me to engrave her steak knife handles. They are made of rosewood and I have never engraved/cut/scored rosewood before. She doesn’t have any extras and I don’t have rosewood. If someone has engraved rosewood before and is willing to share their settings I would be forever grateful. Thank you in advance!

You want to be very careful, because if that is Caribbean Rosewood…

1 Like

Presuming it is not the toxic kind (and you really really want to be sure on that one) settings that are not proofgrade are always going to be in the Beyond the Manual section - go to that section and search and you’ll find (among others) Advice for cutting through .44” rosewood with a GF Basic

Welcome to the community - there is SO MUCH information here!

3 Likes

ALSO… you might have to create a jig, and practice on some thick wood or draftboard so that you understand how to set up and align the engraving for them correctly. (If you have never done it before, it’s not a good idea to make someone’s case knives your first test case. Practice on something else that is a similar thickness to the handles first.) :slightly_smiling_face:

2 Likes

Everything said above.

Assuming it is safe to work with, don’t assume settings from others will give good be prepared to tweak them for the particular product you have - for example it might have a finish on it that impacts the engrave.

You should expect to try one, and perhaps go over it again, i.e. do not move the material until you are absolutely certain it’s right.

3 Likes

Thanks for the info, I will certainly look into this before I try!

1 Like

All rosewood is a strong irritant. I would not laser it at all.

As I had occasion to research it for some cooking utensils years ago, almost all “rosewood” used in steak knives of common manufacture is Indian Rosewood. I have also seen it used as decorative planting in Miami, and presumably elsewhere.

https://www.wood-database.com/east-indian-rosewood/

2 Likes

This topic was automatically closed 32 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.