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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 09-07-2016, 12:24 AM
Rescue341 Rescue341 is offline
 
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Salt water Etching quick questions

Hey all. I made my first knife that wasn't complete rubbish for a girl I know. I'm wanting to etch a design into it and have been reading up on Etching with a battery and salt water my questions are all about using spray paint as a resist

1) are there any issues with using spray paint as a resist

2) my plan is to use alphabet stickers as kind of a reverse stencil. The plan is to make the design with the stickers on the bare blade, then coating it with spray paint, then removing the stickers.do y'all for see any issues with this plan?

3) how thick should I coat the blade with spray paint just enough so I can't see metal or a real thick coat?

4) do I need to wait for the paint to fully cure before dunking it in my salt water electric chair or can I dunk it right after its dry?

Thanks for the help guys
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  #2  
Old 09-07-2016, 12:45 AM
jimmontg jimmontg is offline
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I see some problems for you.

I use a certain nail polish (ARISSA) that when I scratch in my initials it doesn't chip off. Your best bet if you are using an electric etch that you use a stencil. Buy some black electrical tape and get a hold of Ernie at this link.

http://erniesknives.com/default.html

Read his tutorials and listen. How much electric amperage are you using? Please contact Ernie, he answers phone calls. It will save you some grief, believe me. I know from experience. I KNOW from wasting a knife.
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  #3  
Old 09-07-2016, 01:14 AM
Rescue341 Rescue341 is offline
 
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I had looked into getting custom stencils made but I don't think it would be practical for my plans. It would work great for a makers mark or something that would be used over and over again but this is just a one time etch for this project. Ive been playing around the last few days Etching some scrap metal and found the nail polish I had gotten chipped and the wax was so soft if I attempted to add a letter it would push wax into another close by letter. Do you think the making the design with stickers on the bare blade and then coating it with your recommended nail polish then removing the stickers leaving the metal to be etched exposed would work?

Also I have to power sources available a 10amp DC 6/12 volt charger and a standard 12 volt car battery
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  #4  
Old 09-07-2016, 01:38 AM
jimmontg jimmontg is offline
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Just use the 12v battery.

Experiment with different coatings and see which one doesn't chip. If you are using a big letter you can use electrical tape and cut the Initials into it and peel them off. Make sure it is a very tight seal and the saltwater doesn't get under it when electrified.

If you have a steady and artistic hand you can do what an artist friend of mine did and carved a bear into the tape and I etched it in degrees. Like tape on a window about to be sandblasted.
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  #5  
Old 09-07-2016, 08:41 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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A big part of making your process work will be learning exactly when to remove your lettering. This will need to be done at the moment when the resist has set enough that it tears cleanly along the borders of your lettering but not set so much that it pulls up the resist next to the lettering. You will probably need to time this literally with a clock. Take note of the room temperature. Afterwards, let the remaining resist dry thoroughly before using the salt water.....


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  #6  
Old 09-07-2016, 09:00 AM
WNC Goater WNC Goater is offline
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Also 12 volts is a lot. More than needed anyway. I'd experiment with a piece of scrap steel and various times so you can get crisp edges without burning too deep.

Point is, you won't get a second chance, gotta get it right the first time. Only way to know is experiment beforehand.


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  #7  
Old 09-08-2016, 12:31 AM
Rescue341 Rescue341 is offline
 
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Thanks for the answers guys. Talking about power sources brought up some more questions if anyone could help answer. I have to go camp outside of a free dentel clinic Friday for 12 hours and figured I'd experment to past the time I'd like to use my extra 12v car battery just for money and convince shakes my questions are

1) saftey wise is a car battery alright to use connecting the leads in salt water would there be a risk of the battery swelling or explodeing. At the dentel clinic me and my van will be parked away from everyone simply because I don't enjoy cowards but still a boom from a battery might not be fun

2) what kinda of time could I expect to get out of a car battery before needing to recharge

3) would 9v battery's hold a saftey or work time or any other advantages over the car battery

4) it was mentioned that 12 is more current then needed what are the disadvantages of using this current
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  #8  
Old 09-08-2016, 08:34 AM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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Ok how are you planning on doing this? are you going to use a hand pad soaked in salt water and press that on the knife (that's how I do it) OR are you planning on using a bucket of salt water and dunking the whole knife into the salt water in the bucket?? I would think our answers would be different depending on how you do it I originally thought you ment you were doing the first way I described as that is the most common but this "use connecting the leads in salt water " quote in your last post made me think you might be doing it the other way???
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  #9  
Old 09-08-2016, 08:43 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Its not really about the voltage, its the amperage that will cause problems. A car battery has enough amperage to change your freaking life if you short it out which is easy to do when fooling around with a large battery and salt water. Also, the fumes produced by an active wet cell battery in a confined space can be very dangerous to breathe and even explosive so playing with it in a van might not be the best idea you've had this week.

A car battery can produce 600 amps - some more, some less - and that's enough to start a car or stop your heart. A 9v radio battery produces a fraction of 1 amp but not for long enough to do you any good at etching. You need a controlled power supply that can handle maybe two amps and 12 to 24 volts. You can literally weld steel with a car battery so one mis-step and you could cut an irreparable scar across your blade.

A better solution would be to simply etch your blade chemically since you apparently want a big picture and/or a lot of text . Use something slow like white vinegar or very diluted ferric chloride. No electricity involved, just some time ...


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  #10  
Old 09-08-2016, 01:31 PM
Rescue341 Rescue341 is offline
 
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My plan was dunking the entire blade in a plastic tub of salt water with a sacrificial piece of metal. I tried messing around with the q-tip method but I thought with a car battery the dunking method would be safer just because my hands arent near any current after i connect the battery. I wasn't planing on doing anything inside the van I am a firefighter so I am familiar with the dangers of venting hydrogen from experience with vehicle fires.
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  #11  
Old 09-08-2016, 01:33 PM
Rescue341 Rescue341 is offline
 
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How would one etch with vinger? Just leave the blade in a bath for a week? Would the vinger eat the resist?
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  #12  
Old 09-09-2016, 01:00 AM
jimmontg jimmontg is offline
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Just use the Q Tip method if you are doing a one of a kind one time etch. Press down for 30 seconds and don't worry you will not get shocked, leastways I never did. Do not try to overthink this. If you have a 6 volt battery use that instead. I used one for a long time. I was mistaken about the 12 battery, the six is better and what I use is I just run my battery charger through a 6V battery. Test and time then test and time again since this is a one time deal. The positive is on the part, not the the Q Tip. Simple brine is fine, no dipping in a pan of saltwater. You use the negative to etch. This is how you do one letter or a small logo like I use.

Go to Ernie's website and watch How To Etch A Knife. Again do what I just said. Practice on the tang where it won't be seen after testing on scrap. I cannot be plainer than that.
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  #13  
Old 09-09-2016, 06:38 AM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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I agree car battery to dangerous,,,as jim said go to that link he posted watch the video and see that hand pad he made...make one of them instead of using a qtip that's what I do
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  #14  
Old 09-17-2016, 03:31 PM
Rescue341 Rescue341 is offline
 
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Hey all wanted to post a update.so asides from drawing curious people to my van all through the night the car battery worked well. My only complaint was it etched letters at the end deeper then the others. I foolishly forgot to get vinger so I just washed the blade under water hoping it would remove the salt and prevent rust...it didn't so once I got home and the novacaine wore off I dunked it hooked to my car charger and removed the rust

Knowlge ve learned that I can share

Painting over foam letters and removing them to make your design works flawlessly just remove them right after the paint begins to look dry but is still wet

When using a table top 6/12 volt charger if 12 Volta trips the breaker try 6 volts it worked for me

Car batteries work if no other power is available but can etch unevenly

Spray paint is a great resist but be mindful of air bubbles no mater how far from the design they will put

And lastly
If you don't like dealing with people and park away from them to avoid them blacksmithing and Etching will draw them to you like rats to cheeses
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  #15  
Old 09-17-2016, 04:09 PM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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as far as the etching goes the second pic "determination" looks good I am a lil confused on what you were trying to do in the other pic??? also you got lucky all you got was people in the parking lot wanting to know what you were doing....if I tried to do that with a knife that size in a public parking lot I would put my chances at about 85% of going to jail....hey at least in jail your teeth get fixed for free seriously tho be carefull with stuff like that all it takes is one person to make a phone call one cop in a bad mood and forget about it if you have a record then ANY weapon is a immediate trip to jail...no joke I got arrested for having a multi tool that had 2 TINY blades and a pair of pliers,,,,point is be carefull in public especially with something the size as what is in your lap in those pics... I look at MOST knives as a tool but a lot of people don't agree with that these days
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battery, bee, blade, buy, carved, custom, design, electrical, etch, etching, first knife, hand, knife, made, make, making, metal, paint, polish, salt, scratch, spray, steel, stencil, water


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