Need advice: Custom Cake Carving Set

I'm taking a chance by posting this on a public forum, but with any luck my friend won't see it.....

My best friend is getting married October 2016 and while out shopping with her this past weekend she mentioned that the wedding cake carving set is "kind of a big deal". I've never known the cake knife set to be a big deal but hey - I've never been married.

So a light bulb went off at that moment....Wedding gift!

But a few questions first....

Since it's going to be custom - should it be etched with their names and wedding date? and if so how should their names be....Mr. & Mrs. ____ ? Or separate names? And then where should they be? on the knife or the cake thingy, spatula

Is damascus steel ok for such a gift? I really like the looks of damascus. But I'm wondering if a simple stainless would be better? If I do this I want something that will wow.

What would be a good size knife for wedding cake cutting?

Thanks folks!

 

easy to etch but damascus style is too much. They probly won't know what to do with them then rust.... I think if she is taking his name then booya all good. hyphenated they you're on your own LOL.

 

She is taking his name.

I didn't realize Damascus would rust.

 

I was thinking Damascus or a mirror finish stainless.

I guess less maintenance the better. But I don't expect them to abuse them or put them away wet or store in a moist environment where rust might form.

 

I know of some wedding cake knives that were made of nickel silver.
Made with a mirror polish, once used and cleaned back up, they stay gorgeous forever.
Plus they can be engraved at any trophy shop.

 

All the sets I've seen have just the first names and the wedding date engraved.

If you want to go high end, sterling silver is the way to go. It may not mean much to him, but I guarantee it will to her.

http://www.silversuperstore.com/wedding-cake-sets-sterling-silver.html

 

look up damasteel or HHH i think del is doing some mixes now also stainless steel damascus it you want style and SS
mine is HHH high carbon and we use it often and its takig a nice patina (brights are still briter then the darks tho slightly less contrast now )
i realy need to get a meat for made to match and a nakiri (want a full set of nearly matching knives)

 

ohhh wait a second now....a wedding cake carving set, plus a complete set of knives.....hmmmm

 

Another option is crystal. Like the monkey said when it peed in the cash register "This could run into money!" http://www.waterford.com/wedding-cake-server

A "real" knife makes a lot more sense, but depending how deeply your friend has drunk of the frou-frou wedding koolaid, she might prefer crystal or sterling. (My wedding cake knife sat unused in a drawer for 30+ years collecting dust before I got rid of it. But I wanted to elope.)

 

She hasn't drank the wedding kool aid by the gallon yet, but she's having fun with it.

I've been thinking about a gift since she told me. I would like to give them something you can't simply buy from a store. She would prefer cash above anything, but I know she would appreciate a gift that will hold it's meaning, and will be useful.

That's why I'm thinking custom set. Maybe incorporating their wedding colors.