The Cricut maker used in this project about how to etch a chef’s knife was gifted to me by Cricut.

When it comes to fancy knives, I’m pretty much an expert. I like my knives sharp, well weighted and ready for action. But for this project, I’m going to show you how to turn a cheap (but sharp and good!) chef’s knife into something amazing. It would make the perfect personalised father’s day gift, or gift for any foodie in your life.

But I don’t have a Cricut! Can I still etch a knife?

For this project you don’t have to have one, in fact the first time I saw anything like this, there was NO CRICUT involved. But gee whizz, having a Cricut makes this project so much easier and makes the designs you can do on your knife so much better.

I have a Cricut Maker (gifted) and I use it for so many things! I also have an Explore Air 2, and it is amazing too. If you want to check out some of my other projects, you can see pantry labels here or how to personalise a kids party.

If you want to find out more about my Cricut Maker, you can find out everything you want to know here and they are available to buy from Spotlight, TVSN and craftonline.

Is the knife still food-safe?

Yes! In fact this is a similar technique to commercial etching on stainless steel, like how they get the names of the actual knives onto the blade.

That’s the first one we did! Hubby is into American style pitmaster bbq and has wanted a knife with his name on it for ages. So we gave it a go on his first.

Alright! I’m ready! What do I need?

Materials you are going to need are:

• a knife- stainless steel and for your first attempt get something cheap
• a design- I’ll walk you through that in a minute.
• vinyl
• your standard mat
• a Cricut maker or explore air 2 (or a really steady hand!)
• duct tape
• a 9 volt battery
• leads with alligator clips
• a container
• salt water solution
• cotton tips

How do I make my design?

From experience, less detailed, more chunky designs work best. You have to be able to get the cottontip into all the bits that you want to etch, so fine mandalas aren’t really the thing to do for this.

Lay it all out in Cricut design space (you can see my project here). And cut the vinyl. This doesn’t have to be permanent vinyl, and any scraps will do, so long as it is big enough to cover most of the knife.

Don’t weed like you normally would!

Let this be your warning! You are getting rid of the bits that you are normally trying to keep and instead you are keeping the background. The background is what protects the rest of the knife when you are etching.

Is this dangerous?

Well, you want to make sure that you do it in a well ventilated place and that no-one comes in and messes with your setup, but aside from that, it’s all good.