The two dominant ways to put text into a wooden object are laser etching and charcoal burn engraving. Both are used across the personalised-wood industry. Both look fine on day one. They diverge sharply over years.
How laser etching works
A CO2 or fiber laser vaporises a very thin surface layer of the wood, leaving a discolored mark. The mark is shallow — typically 0.05mm to 0.15mm — and the discoloration is a surface-level char plus some vaporisation. The process is fast: a name and date engraving takes about 20-30 seconds.
The result on day one is beautifully crisp. The letters have hard edges, the depth is consistent, and the visual contrast between the burn and the surrounding wood is high. This is why laser etching is standard for mass-produced personalised wooden gifts — it scales cheaply and looks impressive out of the box.
What happens over time
Laser etching fades. The very shallow discoloration is subject to two forms of wear: (1) light exposure gradually bleaches the char, and (2) any handling or oil-based finish penetrates the char and lightens it. Within 3-5 years, laser-etched text on a well-handled piece will lose most of its contrast and become faint.
For a functional object — a laser-etched cutting board — this doesn't matter much. For a keepsake meant to last decades, it does.
How burn engraving works
A controlled-heat engraving tool physically burns the wood along the path of each character. Depth is 0.3mm to 0.5mm — significantly deeper than laser. The result isn't a surface discoloration; it's a physical carved-and-charred groove. The tool moves slowly along each character path, and each letter takes several seconds by itself. A full name-and-date engraving takes 6-9 minutes.
Because the mark is a physical depth in the wood rather than a surface layer, it doesn't fade from light exposure. It gets darker if anything — the exposed charred surface deepens as it oxidises. Fifty years from now, a burn-engraved piece will still read as clearly as day one.
Why we chose the slower way
The whole premise of our workshop is that these objects should be around when you're not. If the engraving fades in ten years, the piece stops being about the couple and starts being about the couple's initials. That's not what a keepsake is supposed to do.
Charcoal burn engraving is a slower, more expensive process, and we do it on every piece we ship. It's also why our lead time is 5-7 days rather than 2. Some things you can't automate without losing the point.