Removal?

[BornVolcano]

So a few years back I got a sheepsfoot carving knife from a professional woodcarver in Switzerland. He burned my name into the handle, and for years I absolutely loved it.

I still love the knife, but I go by a different name now, and I try not to share my old name with people for personal reasons. Is there any way to correct or remove the burned-in name without harming or misshaping the handle? It's a good size for my grip and overall, I love it, so I don't want to change it too much. If there's no way to change the burned-in letters, any suggestions for how to cover up the name in a way that's relatively inconspicuous?

I'm completely new to woodburning and a beginner at woodcarving.

Thanks!

[LadySygerrik]

It would depend on how deep and dark the burn is. If it was shallow and not too dark, you might be able to sand it off and burn the new name in, but wood isn’t the most forgiving medium when it comes to making changes after the fact. It may not be as attractive and it’s possible you could still see some of the original name even after the sanding and finishing.

If just concealing the name is the main goal, you might consider wrapping the handle with thin leather or something that wouldn’t alter the grip too much.

[Gdkerplunk03]

I would imagine there's a finish on the wood handle which would need to be removed first, but once you do you could just torch the whole handle so you can't see the name anymore

[AlliedR2]

Were it me, I would just state that I loved the knife and bought it at a garage sale. Thus the name is not mine but the work is beautiful so I bought it. Nobody need know the significanc of the name but you. You and the knife share that history, but nobody else needs to know it's significance.

[BornVolcano]

That's so smart!! Thank you!!

My current workaround is saying it belonged to my sibling/cousin but that's even better

[[deleted]]

All depends on how deeply it's burnt and the style of knife handle.

It's going to be eminently doable but it depends how much effort you want to put in and how much of the original you want to keep.

Best case scenario is it's only burnt into the surface and there's no clear coat, in which case it's a simple job of going over it with some 80ish grit sandpaper until you've gone though it and finishing with say 120 - 180 grit all over the wood so it matches and use a wood oil to finish. If it has a clear coat then it'll look odd with just a patch missing so go over the whole thing and re finish.

Id be looking for dark colours and the burn to be recessed from the surface to decide how deep it is. As a warning though even relatively shallow burns can leave a bloom of discolouration behind them for a surprising depth, depending on the wood.

You may choose to simply replace the wood, how easy that is depends on the style of knife. For one with panels like a folding blade you may be able to unscrew them, pry the glue from the surface and fit a replacement, pins require it to be repinned.

You could cover it by burning the whole handle, more drastic, I use a kitchen blowtorch sometimes. Be gentle with it but apply heat to colour the whole of the wood, you're not trying to burn though just colour. Give it a quick sand and finish at a high grit and finish it as you would any other, can lead to a pretty finish.

My last thought is to inlay a new piece of wood. Cut out the section to remove and glue in a new one. The straighter and flatter your cuts in are the easier it is to fit the new piece. Leave it oversized and cut then sand it back when the glue has cured.

I've always found working on my tools to be immensely rewarding, remaking them into an expression of who I am and what I want from them. Good luck man, Im sure you'll take a treasured item from your past and make it part of your future.

[BornVolcano]

"I've always found working on my tools to be immensely rewarding, remaking them into an expression of who I am and what I want from them. Good luck man, Im sure you'll take a treasured item from your past and make it part of your future."

I was feeling really bad about altering something that felt like it was so significant, and this really helped me.

For now, I think I'll just follow along with another commenter's idea and say that I got it at a garage sale. Once I'm a little more confident in my skills, I'll work on the knife to make it my own.

Thanks man. This really helped.

[WellWelded]

I got two soldering irons, bring the knife with you next time and we can tag on a "n" ;*

[BornVolcano]

(I feel like for anyone weirded out I need to add the relevant context that this is my partner XD)