simple techniques to etch a blade?

SHOKR

SHOKR

Well-Known Member
Hey

Ive been thinking about ttying to etch a blade for a while now, i like how some look, also (thought) it might protect from rust, but i apparently was wrong about that :)

I want to try a SIMPLE etch(ie stuff can be easily aquired, simple to follow steps and not so on the hazardous side) i know of vinegar, mustard, and ferric chloride(cant find source for that yet and will probably get it raw and mix anyway) but dont know the how.
can someone let me know the techniques/steps and other things to consider as well (photo of said etch would be great). Anything simple would do, i wouldnt mind lemonade gone bad etch even :D

Also so far i work with leaf springs, O1 and will start with D2 soon(which im guessing vinegar and mustard wont affect very much)

Thanks
 
Good Morning Shokr!
At least it is here.
My etch of choice has always been simple, non-toxic & inexpensive Heinz white apple vinegar. Works great for carbon steel Damascus blades & salad..
Do not rub your fingers on it before placing the steel in the etch. especially if you have been eating Falafel or fried chicken in my case. I ate so much Falafel in my starving college days I can't stand the smell of it anymore!:biggrin: I also now call it Feel Awful!

I sand with 1000 grit with rubber gloves on to clean the steel and then I drop the steel into warm white apple vinegar.

I look every few hours and flip it over and sometimes leave it in a day or two if it's cold in wintertime. Just keep checking and when I get the desired effect I wash it with hot water and baking soda to stop the reaction. Then I sand again with 1000 & 2000 grit to clean the highlights.

Many others will tell you to use ferric chloride and other stronger acids and my take on this is to be very careful.
A friend left the lid off of his acid etchant bottle and closed his shop for a few days to return and find most of his steels Carbon & Stainless completely ruined by being etched up on only one side.

If you leave D2 and other steels with even more Chromium in vinegar long enough you can complete etch it to any darkness desired.
Have fun!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Lol i was going to say you woukd love Egupt till you said you cant stand it anymore!

I will start with vinegar then and see hoe it goes

Couple of followcup questions tho, if i etch at lower grit the steel will etch deaper but will be more prone to rust right?
Also you say etch on one side, dont i just suspend it in a container? (jar, bottle, plastic pipe, etc.) so vinegar will reach all places

Thanks a lot Laurence
 
thanks

well, since i wont actually be using this for cooking, according to this article if i triple the amount of baking powder i will be set!
 
SHOKR said:
Lol i was going to say you woukd love Egupt till you said you cant stand it anymore!

I will start with vinegar then and see hoe it goes

Couple of followcup questions tho, if i etch at lower grit the steel will etch deaper but will be more prone to rust right?
Also you say etch on one side, dont i just suspend it in a container? (jar, bottle, plastic pipe, etc.) so vinegar will reach all places

Thanks a lot Laurence
Click to expand...

Anytime you make more surface area with a enchant there is more places for moisture & dirt to collect & more chance of rust developing. Yes you can suspend by wire in a warm bath of vinegar. I forget to mention that I warm the vinegar in a microwave and then put the Damascus in. Thanks Andrew.

The Baking soda may work a bit better because it has the bubbling action to get into all of the crevices.

I would like to go to the city of Alexandria someday. I have read about many interesting facts of history to see there and know there is more to Egypt than Kufus tomb at Giza.

I do think I will wait for a while after the last little riot on the US embassy.:biggrin: I know Alexandria was started by the Greeks but I'm 6"4 tall and have lighter colored hair & skin and may have problems blending in with the crowd so to speak.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
LOL thats tall!

Well there are lots of foreigners here and theu move around 'normally', but yeah the safest bet would be to wait till things cool down. Dont hold your breath tho :) even i dont believe the crazy things that are happening now! Seriously, you cant make that cr*p up!

Thanks for the tip about heating vinegar. I will try to get the soda, and its probably not so hard to get, but i already had the baking powder

I am thinking about giving it a try on an unfinished blade to get a feel for it

Thanks for all the help :)
 
I have messed around with etching at different finishing grits between 400 - 3000. Depends on what you want your knife to look like. If you are working with a hamon I would say go to a higher grit. If you are just etching because of the color and texture differences I would say stay to the lower end 600 to 800 grit ( give a less shiny grey finish that I kind of like sometimes) ;)
 
so THATS why the etching container and liquid better be clean!

20121218_162744.jpg


this was a blade that i messed up in so many ways decided to try two things, convex grind and etching, and more than anythong wantedcthe rtching to go bad to seevthe effect

so i put it in the vinegar i used to remove rust from when i bought used files for knife making and such.
also i suspended the blade using the insides of a cord, seems it melted or reacted somehow

and now i know things better be CLEAN!! :)
 
Last edited:
SHOKR said:
and now i know thinks bettercbe CLEAN!! :)
Click to expand...

Yep. I usually scrub my blades with simple green (or any degreaser), then scrub with regular dish soap and rinse very thoroughly (wear rubber gloves if you can). I then drop the knife, still wet, into my etching tube and suspend it with stainless wire.
 
Muchas gracias senor Jatcher!

I dont know what are degreasers to begin with lol soap? Acetone?

Next time i'll go with acetone or alchohol, windex (or equivalent), dish soap, then etcher. (based on Josh Dabney's advice)

The stainless wire is actually very good tip, just hope i can fond it and in reasonable quantities (some traders dont deal on personal level)
 
Shokr,
Any strong grease cutting soap/detergent should work, then Acetone, Its nasty stuff!

I wear rubber gloves from the detergent wash on to prevent any skin oils from going on to the blade,

Not bad for a first try. The impurities can be cool too if you figure out your own way to put them there the way you want?

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Thanks Laurence

Yeah thats the plan, as long as i can control it, be it stickers, nail polish or something :)
 
Is it a patina all over the blade that you seek or an etch like a makers mark? I use 01 and have had some success with simple methods.

The smokey stripes on this one was done with salad cream.

41145B97-84B7-49DF-8769-3EBDD1FD9C4F-80686-0000189DF38095DB.jpg


The makers mark on this one was nail-varnish,salt-water and a 9v battery.

2D94BE90-02C5-44BA-896D-B0BBCD88A1ED-91061-00001BC7B7A9EEFD-1.jpg
 
dazcon:232408 said:
Is it a patina all over the blade that you seek or an etch like a makers mark? I use 01 and have had some success with simple methods.

The smokey stripes on this one was done with salad cream.

41145B97-84B7-49DF-8769-3EBDD1FD9C4F-80686-0000189DF38095DB.jpg


The makers mark on this one was nail-varnish,salt-water and a 9v battery.

2D94BE90-02C5-44BA-896D-B0BBCD88A1ED-91061-00001BC7B7A9EEFD-1.jpg
Click to expand...

Thats really cool work!
I am talking about entire blade etch, but i am also interested in etching my name on knives, but was advised to wait till i get a good etcher (and car battery charger, but havent checked that out yet)

How do you do it with just those? The process or WIP would be nice

Thanks!
 
I've messed around with vinegar and ferric chloride for my own carbon steel knives. Sometimes vinegar leaves nasty yellow stains on the blade and in those situations, I prefer ferric. A 3:1 ratio of ferric to distilled water usually works. Just stick your blade in the solution, wait a few minutes, and wash and scrub with steel wool.
 
Thanks

But i dont have access to feric chloride now tho, and i thought vinegar would be more 'controlable' for a start :)
 
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