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The honest char

The dark edge a laser leaves is not a flaw. It is the finish.

A laser leaves a faint dark line at the edge of every cut, a small char where the beam did its work. Some shops sand and seal it away chasing a perfectly clean line.

We mostly keep it, on purpose. The char is evidence of how the thing was made, and framed well it reads as a chosen finish rather than a defect. Warm wood and a dark mark sit well together.

When a clean edge is the whole point, say a card holder against pale leather or a crisp acrylic sign, we sand and seal. The rule isn't dogma: show the making, unless hiding it serves the piece better.