when doing a forced patina on 1084.

[Kevster]

What is the final grit that is recommended? I'm working on a butcher knife and wanna do a forced patina on it.

[Kevster]

Here's the knife after temper.

[Ray Rogers]

I tend to stick to about 400 grit. A carefully done hand finish can look pretty good at 400. At 400 the steel will still etch aggressively. If you go much beyond that the steel starts to polish and the more polished it gets the more difficult it is to etch.

If you want a nice even grey finish then you need to be careful not to touch the blade with bare fingers before you etch and etch immediately when you are finished sanding. If you're looking for a splotchy finish then you don't need to be quite so careful but still should avoid bare fingers because etched fingerprints really aren't an attractive finish ...

[Kevster]

Thank you sir, this will be easy.

[Crex]

If you want a slow, controlled etch for your patina, use warm white vinegar. Eco friendly and gives a nice gray food safe finish. FeCl requires some closer watching because it's much faster so your mistakes show up much faster.
One thing to be aware of is that if you don't get all your sanding scratches to the same grit (I like 400 as well), the deeper scratches only get deeper and wider when you etch the steel. Make sure you get them all out.

[Wazukie]

When I do my etching I use Ferric acid with a 50/50 ratio to water.. If I am etching something into the blade, like a bear or skull or words, I only sand to a 220 finish. If I am just wanting to turn the steel a grey color, I finish to 320 grit. Almost all mi knives have some kind of etching these days. The one I am finishing up now has bear tracks on one side and a black bear on the other. Fun stuff!