Engraving a Wall Street II

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Can the clip end of a WC Wallstreet II (aka Sierra) in black titanium and gold be engraved? I have a person that wants two identical pens made with his and his wife's initials on the 'titanium' piece between the gold beads and the rounded top. If so, who's the best choice to have it done? This is an anniversary gift and I need it back by the end of July - is that even possible!?!?

An alternative location would be on the clip itself, if possible.

Thanks,
Lee
 
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I once tried to have some work done on a Ti gold clip with only disastrous results. One custom jewler ruined bits and cutters trying. Another, with a laser welder refused to even try. Answer, no. Don't attempt. If you should get through the plating, you will be exposing non-gold steel underneath and long-term durability could be comprimised. For the record, I ended up having the emblem laser engraved on the wood.
 
Hi Lee, On the Sierra, the surface is black powdercoating. That can be engraved off to reveal the brass underneath (might not be the same on the Wallstreet version). I've engraved these before with satisfactory results but as Franks says, it leaves the unprotected metal underneath exposed and that could be a problem down the road. Engraving the clip isn't an option for a laser engraver without a metal engraving machine (that'd be me!)
Ken
 
Even with a metal engraving machine and a diamond head cutter (that's old school now days folks - and what I was trained on many moons ago) I probably wouldn't suggest trying to engrave the clip of a Ti pen. Plating in most cases like this is exactly what everyone has already mentioned - chips and leaves exposed metal for future problems *unless we are talking about a high quality plating job done over brass or gold - in which case you could still run into problems with chipping of the plating but the underneath metal issues are reduced.* I've engraved on many different things in my life - and I've written books on pens and the biggest problems I ever had came on plated items especially those that weren't designed specifically for what we were doing!

Linda
 
Thanks for the help everyone. I've talked to three engravers/jewelers in Houston, one of which is a hobbyist pen turner and long-time wood worker. No one was willing to say they could do the engraving and promise any kind of acceptable results. I suppose I'll just relay the info to the client and let him decide if he wants the pens - he was REALLY looking to have the pens engraved for their anniversary. I'm not willing to chance it, given what I've find out.

Thanks again,
Lee
 
I've asked Ken about something like this myself, but it would probably be best to do the barrel. Another option might be to do a clear coat on it, but that's way out of my realm of experiences.
Rob
 
Engraving the barrel was obviously discussed with the buyer, but he selected a water clear blank that will be paper thin when finished. Thanks for the input and your email.

Lee
 
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