Stamping initials?

[pdubya]

Working on my first knife from an old saw blade. Bought a set of 1/8" stamps to put initials on it. Banged the heck out of it on saw blade and hardly made any mark. I guess you need to heat up with a torch or something? And what is the best way to do this without bending blade if you do soften it?

[Jeremy]

The stamps won't work on hardened steel.  The blade steel needs to be softer than the steel in the stamp.  You either need to anneal the steel or stamp when the steel is hot.  

If you're stamping a thin saw blade, you're going to bend the blade some.  Even on thicker blades you'll still deform it.  You simply straighten the blade after stamping.

[pdubya]

This was my first one and I did not anneal or heat treat or anything and it is about finished. At least that means it was pretty hard steel. I will just skip initials on this one.

Thanks