When I began working at my regular job, I started bringing lunches to work, and it wasn’t long before I realized it might be nice to have a set of flatware specifically for my lunchbox. The set of flatware that I got just so happened to be identical to another set at home, which caused my work set to be confused with the other set.
To prevent the two sets from being confused, I thought about writing my name on my work set with a marker, but I knew that would quickly wear off, therefore I thought I should just scratch something into my set of flatware to make it unique.
As I was about to scuff up my utensils with a nail, I remembered that I had an engraver, and then I decided to engrave my initials with basic lettering to get the job done quickly, but then an image flashed through my mind. I recalled seeing the classic American fighter plane of World War II, the P-51 Mustang. I distinctly remembered how the sun gleamed off the spotless chrome wings and fuselage, which were accented by personalized nose art and carefully written nicknames. It always amazed me to think that they would spend countless hours cleaning and polishing these aircraft even though they were intended to go into battle and exchange fire with the enemy.
With this in mind, I was determined to engrave my work utensils using my best penmanship, even if these utensils will only be used at work and will likely be scuffed up. This was further reinforced by the phrase I often heard my parents and grandparents state: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
Using my rudimentary engraver, I managed to write my initials on my flatware with some flourishes that I like to think would make my forefathers proud, or at least proud that I tried my best. I’m quite satisfied with the result, even if it’s not perfect; I now enjoy observing my decorative initials every time I pick up my knife and fork.
If this quick project resulted in nothing else, I at least gained some experience in engraving; I have even engraved the elemental symbol on an ingot I made recently in my Elemental Exploration series.
Have you intricately personalized a tool?
Onward American 