After finding out about this channel, and watching a few of his videos, I happily found out that there is a cheaper alternative to Cermark (which is about 100 euro where I am based for 300ml). The alternative is DM-90 Dry Film Molybdenum Disulphide Lubricant. And the really good news is, that it’s only about 12 euro for 500ml. So I decided to try it out.

Sadly I didn’t have a lot of flat steel worthy of engraving in the workshop, but a HDD cover worked for the first test. Here’s what I did:

Clean surface with paint thinner

Apply a coat of DM-90

Wait until it dries a bit (surface is matte)

Apply a second coat

Wait again

Laser etch

Clean with paint thinner

I tried 40, 50, 100 and 200mm/s at 35% power (about 18mA on a 40W tube). The results, in my opinion were remarkable. After cleaning it up and calming down, the next thing I did was take a screw driver and try to damage the etching. Surprisingly it barely had any effect as you can see:

We were in business now, so I started looking for the next thing to engrave. My eyes fell on my workshop buddy’s Swiss Army Knife. He decided on the Iron Cross.

Next I did my caliper. Of course, the oily caliper I forgot to clean with paint thinner… So the spray didn’t bond as well to the surface in some areas…

Next, are some awesome knives from a friend who is a knife ‘enthusiast’. You can check out his channel here. So stay tuned for those.