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What to engrave on a knife: ideas that fit the blade

What to engrave on a knife for a husband, dad, son or groomsman, with the limits two knife sellers publish: 10 to 18 characters on a blade or handle.

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A knife takes one short line: a name, a date, or two or three words. The two sellers read for this guide allow between 10 and 18 characters on a blade or a handle, and 8 on a bolster. So choose a line of ten characters or so and decide which part of the knife it goes on.

A knife is a present that gets used, and often one that gets handed on. The best engravings on one say who it was from and when. In the ideas below, the number after each is its length in characters with spaces counted, and a slash marks the start of a second line.

How much fits, and where

These are the limits two sellers publish on their order pages. Other knives will differ, so read the form for the knife you are buying.

Knife and placeLimitWhose
110 Folding Hunter, each side of the bladeTwo lines, 14 characters eachBuck Knives
110 Folding Hunter, each bolsterTwo lines, 8 characters eachBuck Knives
119 Special, each side of the bladeTwo lines, 14 characters eachBuck Knives
Spartan Swiss Army knife, “shield side” of the handle10 charactersSwiss Knife Shop
Spartan Swiss Army knife, back of the handle18 charactersSwiss Knife Shop
Spartan Swiss Army knife, each side of the main blade10 charactersSwiss Knife Shop
8 inch chef’s knife, blade16 charactersSwiss Knife Shop
8 inch chef’s knife, handle10 charactersSwiss Knife Shop

What follows from the table:

  • Aim for 10 characters or fewer. Ten fits every place in the table except a bolster, which takes 8. Fourteen fits the two Buck blades, the chef’s knife blade and the back of the pocket knife’s handle, but not the pocket knife’s blade.
  • You may have two places. Swiss Knife Shop says that “Many knives can be engraved on the handle and/or the blade”. A name can go on one and a date on the other.
  • Not every blade can be engraved. Buck’s order page carries the message “The selected blade is not engravable”, so some blade options rule engraving out. Check before you plan the wording.
  • Lettering styles are few. Swiss Knife Shop offers block, Roman and script. It can engrave accented letters, but not other writing systems, and it does not do monograms with a large middle letter.
  • An engraved knife is yours for good. Swiss Knife Shop says “correctly engraved items are not returnable”, though it replaces any it engraves wrongly.

Facts first

  • Initials or a name. “W.E.B.” (6) or “Will Baker” (10).
  • A date. For 19 July 2026: “19.07.2026” (10), “19 July 2026” (12) or “XIX.VII.MMXXVI” (14). Write the month as a word if the knife is going abroad, since Britain and America order the numbers differently.
  • A place. Coordinates are latitude and then longitude, each with its letter. The summit of Ben Nevis is at 56.7969° N, 5.0035° W. On a blade with two lines of 14 that engraves as “56.7969 N / 5.0035 W” (9 / 8). Check your own numbers on a map before ordering: the first must be 90 or less.
  • Who it is from. “From Grandad” (12) turns a tool into something kept.

For a husband or boyfriend

  • “Stay sharp” (10)
  • “Come home safe” (14)
  • “My adventurer” (13)
  • “To the hilt” (11)
  • “Love, Emma” (10)
  • “For every trip” (14)
  • “Handle with care” (16)

For a dad or grandad

  • “Dad’s knife” (11)
  • “Ask first” (9)
  • “Pass it on” (10)
  • “From your boys” (14)
  • “Taught me to carve” (18)
  • “Grandad’s whittler” (18)

For a son or daughter

  • “Use it well” (11)
  • “Earned it” (9)
  • “Be prepared” (11)
  • “Respect the edge” (16)
  • “Your first knife / 2026” (16 / 4)
  • “Safe travels, son” (17)
  • “Until you’re home” (17)

Before a knife goes to a child or a teenager, check the law where the person lives. As one example, the UK government’s page on knives says it is illegal to “sell most knives or any weapons to anyone under the age of 18” and to “carry most knives or any weapons in public without a ‘good reason’”. It gives an exception to both rules for folding pocket knives that “have a cutting edge no longer than 3 inches” and “are not lock knives”. That is all this guide reports of the law. It is not legal advice: read the page itself, which tells readers who want advice to contact their local police or get legal advice.

For a groomsman or a best man

  • “Best man 2026” (13)
  • “Thanks, Tom” (11)
  • “Groomsman / 05.09.2026” (9 / 10)
  • “Cut the cake, not me” (20)

For a set of knives, engrave each man’s own name or initials, and put the date on the other side if the knife has one.

For a hunter, an angler or a camper

  • “Good hunting” (12)
  • “Tight lines” (11)
  • “Fish fear me” (12)
  • “Camp cook” (9)
  • “Dawn patrol” (11)
  • “Made for the hills” (18)

For a cook

The chef’s knife in the table above takes 16 characters on the blade and 10 on the handle, which is room for a name on one and a date or a joke on the other.

  • “Chef Maria” (10)
  • “Nonna’s kitchen” (15)
  • “Head chef, our house” (20)
  • “Chop chop” (9)
  • “Mind your fingers” (17)

Funny

  • “Not a screwdriver” (17)
  • “Not for opening tins” (20)
  • “Pointy end out” (14)
  • “This side up” (12)
  • “Stolen from Mike” (16)
  • “Sharpest in the drawer” (22)

Old words and verses

EngravingLengthWhat it says
“Prov. 27:17”11“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend”
“Hebrews 4:12”12“sharper than any twoedged sword”
“Psalm 121:8”11“The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in”
“Isaiah 41:10”12“Fear thou not; for I am with thee”
“Psalm 23:4”10“I will fear no evil: for thou art with me”
“Semper paratus”14Latin: always ready
“Acta non verba”14Latin: deeds, not words

The verses are from the King James Bible and were checked against it. Proverbs 27:17 is the natural one for a knife given between friends or from father to son.

Lines from films, songs and recent books are not yours to engrave, and the famous ones are too long for 14 characters in any case.

A wedding cake knife and server

A cake set is two pieces, so split the message: names on the knife, the date on the server.

  • “Anna & James” (12)
  • “5 September 2026” (16)
  • “Mr & Mrs Hall” (13)
  • “The first cut” (13)
  • “Happily ever after” (18)
  • “Cut. Serve. Repeat.” (19)

Measure the flat of each blade and ask the engraver for the limit; cake knives vary too much for one number.

A picture on the knife or its box

Some sellers engrave artwork. Leatherman’s custom shop lets buyers “upload your own artwork”, and suggests a mountain scene or a tent for a camper and a fish for an angler. Swiss Knife Shop adds logos and images only on orders of 25 pieces or more.

Where a seller takes a file, a single solid shape works at this size. The free library has a deer, a fish, a fishing rod, a mountain, a pine tree, a compass, an anchor and a campfire.

If you have a laser yourself, the box is a better canvas than the knife. A steel blade is bare metal, which hobby diode and CO2 lasers do not mark without a marking spray; laser engraving metal explains what does. A wooden presentation box takes lettering, a border from the scroll engraving set, or a photo turned into dots with Plotcaster; see laser engraving wood.

Questions

Blade or handle? It depends on the knife. In the table above the two Buck knives take more on the blade, and the pocket knife takes most on the back of its handle. On a folding knife, a handle engraving can be read while the knife is closed. Ask the engraver which place will wear better on yours.

Will engraving harm the blade? Ask the maker. Buck sells engraving on its own knives and marks which blades cannot take it, so the maker is the one who knows.

How long can the message be? On the order pages read for this guide, 10 to 18 characters in one place, or two lines of 14 on the blade of the two Buck knives.

What do I engrave for someone joining the forces? Their name, the date, and one plain line such as “Until you’re home”. Check their unit’s rules before sending any knife.

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