Looking for advice on "undoing" SAK alox engraving

[jlw]

Hi,

Subject sums it up. I bought a used Cadet Alox with a name engraved in engraving area. I didn't think it would bother me, and it doesn't bother me enough that I don't use it, but I've decided to try to remove it if it's not too much trouble. The only thing I could think of trying was sanding the area down with a Dremel until the engraving doesn't show. But I'm not sure if this is a good idea and I don't know the best way to protect the rest of the knife from Dremel-damage even if the idea is reasonable.

Is there someone smarter than me, or at least more engraving-removing-savvy, that could suggest something?

Thanks,
James

[yablanowitz]

That's the only way I know. I'd cover the whole scale with a strip of duct tape, then carefully cut out the area covering the engraving. I don't know that I'd use a Dremel unless it was variable speed and I could dial it back for control.

[Ramonade]

If I was in your position and since it's aluminium, I would create a "sanding jig".
You would need something hard of just a little under the same width of the engraving, and go through the length of it back and forth for a while to level it up to the point that you just have a flat plane.

Standard sandpaper would work, a dremel too but the rotation of the tool would be too uncertain for such a small job and soft material IMHO.

[jlw]

Thanks to both of you for the suggestions. I ended up taping it off, leaving the engraving area exposed, and using a Dremel. It turned out far from perfect, but the objective of obliterating the engraved name without damaging the scale was achieved. Happy New Year!

James

[Ramonade]

Well that would work too, and pretty fast!
Happy new year as well !