Logo Placement Left or Right Side Your Thoughts

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Marko Tsourkan

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It is customary for US makers to place the maker's mark on the left side of the knife.

How big of a deal would it be if one places it on the right side, akin to Japanese makers?

The reason being, I like it there better on the right side (for a right-hand use), but I want to make another point here.

I am making knives that are copies of Japanese knives in some way, handles copies of a Japanese wa, and sheaths are copies of a Japanese saya. It's a gyuto, with a wa handle and a saya, thought made in the US from Western steels. :)

Wouldn't be appropriate to put a maker's mark on the right on knives that are derived from Japanese knives (for right hand use), and on the left for knives derived from European knives?

Does make sense?

M
 
All right then, right side it is with exception of a few that I marked on a left size.
 
To me it makes a difference. When I hang my knives up on a mag, I place the left side against the magnet so the edge faces right. I like to see the kanji or makers mark when I hang up my blades.
 
Left for lefty knives, right for righties. That's what I do.
 
Right side, thereby making the few knives already marked on the left rare and unique . . . :cool2:
 
Anyone else notice a correlation between maker's mark placement and what side of the road residents of a country drive on?:confusedsign:
 
Right side, thereby making the few knives already marked on the left rare and unique . . . :cool2:

I marked 4 knives on the left and 2 knives on the right side. 225mm is on the left side.
 
I think right side looks better if you want to have one. I also think none at all is kind of badass!
 
I was taught that the left side (back) is for the makers mark and the right side (front) is reserved for dedication or personalization.
 
Marko, you might recall that I wrestled with this myself and yielded to the left side as that was the consensus from the members here. I still like the right side better personally though, maybe it's all those Japanese knives I've seen and like Rick I like the right side showing on my knives when on a mag block. Maybe Spike has the answer here? :)
 
I like the right side for a couple reasons. If you have a knife with a flat backside and convex right side, the logo won't take as much abuse. Also, if you make traditional single-bevels, they won't match if you mark the left side.

The biggest reason is because I like to see my Kanji/logo/MM on my blades when I put them down. It's part of the aesthetic. When the knife gets set on the board, edge facing away, the right side is up. It's just from my time at the sushi bar, I was so proud of my knives, and your station has to look picture-perfect all the time, and I liked that my Tojiro's hideous English side faced down.

So it goes that for lefty knives, it'd be on the other side.
 
Yes it is a struggle, but I am leaning toward the right side, mostly because of the aesthetics.

I asked Devin about this. He told me the old-school makers consider left side a presentation side, so when you hold a knife in your right hand, one can see the logo. However, from the 70's on, logos started appearing on either of the sides.


M
 
To me it makes a difference. When I hang my knives up on a mag, I place the left side against the magnet so the edge faces right. I like to see the kanji or makers mark when I hang up my blades.

+1

I plan to store/display my knives this way someday (as I plan to own one of yours Marko), and the fact that they are not all marked on the same side of the blade already bothers me and my (self-diagnosed) OCD.

I was not aware that there was a Japanese/American custom, but assuming this is true, your reasoning for going right is sound.

Go right. It looks better, will match more of my knives (!), and is what you yourself prefer.
 
...Kanji/logo/MM on my blades when I put them down...
I don't care either way, really but if you want people to know I'm using your knife, you will put the logo on the right side since I'm right handed and I always place my knife at rest pointing left on the board, edge away and people usually stand in front of me when I'm cooking for a group. :)
 
Maybe just what I am used to, or many of the reasons talked about above, but I really like logos on the right in the traditional japanese tradition. Left side logos just don't seem right. Many of the single bevels I own have the main stuff on the right and some smaller kanji on the back which also works.
 
Takeda puts his on the left, FWIW.
 
To be honest I positioned mine on the right hand side because I liked the way the big Catcheside looked with the C at the heel. Then I noticed I always put my knife down with the logo up , so that sealed the deal. Someone on British blades said I had it the wrong way because if your right handed you can't see the logo when you have the knife in hand. But I really don't think it matters either way. I would just do which ever looks right with the size and shape of the logo.
 
It doesn't really matter a lot to me, but if given a preference I would say go with Right side. If you need to justify it, so be it - but you are the artist/craftsman of the product and it is ultimately up to you.
 
To me I prefer my logo on the right side. As others have said, I always place the knife horizontally on my board with the edge up...
 
As I happen to be righthanded, I lay down on its right side. It's to me the most natural position, and with Jknives at least, the edge won't touch the board or table. I therefore would prefer the logo to remain visible, at the left side.
 
As I happen to be righthanded, I lay down on its right side. It's to me the most natural position, and with Jknives at least, the edge won't touch the board or table. I therefore would prefer the logo to remain visible, at the left side.
I'm confused. When you are done cutting something, you flip the edge toward you and then lay the knife down? Then, when you pick it up, you flip it back the other way to cut?
 
Slowtyper do you then set the spine of the blade on the cutting board? your phrase "edge up" is confusing to me. are you meaning edge out?
 
I'm confused. When you are done cutting something, you flip the edge toward you and then lay the knife down? Then, when you pick it up, you flip it back the other way to cut?
Sorry
for the confusion. Just the highest part of the blade, near the spine, will touch the board, when I lay down the knife. The distance between edge and board will remain at least a few milimeters because of the convexity of the right side.
 
Sorry
for the confusion. Just the highest part of the blade, near the spine, will touch the board, when I lay down the knife. The distance between edge and board will remain at least a few milimeters because of the convexity of the right side.
I see. If I understand correctly, you are referring only to single-bevel knives?
 

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