Etching Damascus for high contrast?

C

Cubane

Well-Known Member
I have a piece of damascus made from 1075 and 15N20 that I just etched (5 mins in FeCL). All the damascus I have done so far has not been would I would call very contrasting at all more just showing some relief. I see pics of damascus which show much more contrast than I have been able to achieve and I am wondering if there is something I am doing wrong. When the steel comes up out of the FeCL it is very black and I am wondering if I have been removing this incorrectly

My current process is:

1. Clean it throughly with Acetone, then Methylated Spirits then hot soapy water and finally just hot water.
2. Without letting it dry I put it straight into the etchant, leave for 5 mins
3. Remove it and put it into the water containing baking soda, scrub it with steel wool at this point under the water which removes all the black layer.
4. Rinse it off with hot water and then oil it straight away.

That is pretty much it. Should I just be neutralizing in the baking soda water mix and leaving the black on? I recall reading a few other methods including before neutralizing running under hot water to set the black oxides on there. Also I had heard of sanding again after etching but that doesn't seem like it would make any of the layers darker although I can see how it could make the tops of the layers more reflective.

Anyone got any pointers to increasing the contrast? Especially with this steel mix. I have some damasteel to try out as well but that is a completely different process from what I understand.

Alistair
 
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Get some leather and stick it to a bit of wood. Slap some Autosol or other polishing compound on the leather then give the blade a polish. It'll shine up the high spots, leaving the bottom bits alone.
 
I question if you are diluting the feric-3 to1 to get better etching? Boil the blade or run under very hot water and then 1200 grit sandpaper with a hard backing to polish the highs and leave the black in the bottom of the etching.
 
mike miller said:
I question if you are diluting the feric-3 to1 to get better etching? Boil the blade or run under very hot water and then 1200 grit sandpaper with a hard backing to polish the highs and leave the black in the bottom of the etching.
Click to expand...

So your process is etch then just running it under very hot water. Leaving all the black stuff on there and then sandpapering (with the backing) the black off to reveal the high spots? No neutralizing? The FeCL I am using is straight out of the bottle I didn't dilute it at all. From what I understood the stuff you by from Radio Shack etc was already diluted. Do you just let it dry after the hot water or oil it at all to stop it rusting before sandpapering?

Alistair
 
Cubane ,
After etching to desired state , try rinsing with hot water & neutralizing with Windex with ammonia then dry thoroughly with hairdryer (on Hi ) . Do not wipe or rub but let it hang for 3-4 hrs for the black oxide to become fixed to the steel. Next , spray down with WD-40 to stop any further action , then wipe down gently with clean cloth or 0000 steelwool. This should give a much darker color & contrast than the way you have been doing it. I use ferric chloride & white vigegar , 1/2 & 1/2 , for etching. Hope this helps.

Joe
 
Sounds as though I can leave the black oxides on there to increase the contrast. I will give it a go.
 
The meathod I use now seems just too simple. I hand sand to 600 the Damascus which I buy and are of different make ups of metaland often can be mosaic. For blades I hang in a bottle of 1/3 ferric chloride and 2/3 water for 13 minutes. Bolsters I lay in a rectangular plastic dish for the same length of time. Meteorite requiers an extra 4 to 5 minutes. I wash the pieces off with a soft brush and water. I then leave the parts to soak in water with lots of baking soda mixed in. The blades are set on there edge. The baking soda water mix has to totally cover the blade. After a minimum of 1/2 hour I remove the pieces, soft brush them off in water and then buff them clean with green chrome buffing compound. Frank
 
I spray after etching with windex and then wash it and oil it I dont need to do anything . I use 1 part fe cl and 3 parts h2o .
 
Etch with ferric chloride:water 1;3 ratio. Depending on the type of damascus/steel I go anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. Take the blade out of the etchant after about 5 minutes and wash it off with just cold water and check your etch. If you like it, stop. If not repeat the etch until you are satisfied. When you are done with the etch, throughly wash the blade with cold water then place in boiling water with baking soda (Usually about 3-4 tablespoonfuls) for about 15 minutes. Take it out and oil the blade and let it set for 24 hours. Wipe off the blade and then using 1200 grit with a sanding block, lightly sand the hi spots. re oil and you are done.
 
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