Crazy enough to work?

[cbsmith111]

I've been thinking about trying an acid etch finish on a blade. I've read about people putting things like mustard on the blade to get a splatter type finish. I was wondering if there is a different way to do this. What If I put spots of silicone or something like that in random spots and let it dry adhered to the steel before I put it in the etchant? Any chance of this or something similar providing good results? I hate mustard.

Also, does A2 even etch very well?

[AUBE]

Yup, works fine. There are so many ways to do it...spots, stripes, splashes, vinyl stickers, applying with paint brush, drawing it on, toner transfer, etc. Some "masks" will actually have the reverse effect and cause that area to etch faster instead of not at all. I found this out by accident using a local paint...its a kind of neat effect.

There can be a bit of a learning curve depending on what you are doing...some masks work better than others, some acids work better than others, with electrochemical etching the voltage/amperage plays a huge roll, etc.

Mustard is the easiest method but its definitely not the only method.

If you are interested you can see some examples in our Facebook photo stream https://www.facebook.com/ecos.knives/photos_stream If you have any questions how we did a certain effect, feel free to ask.

And yup, A2 etches ok. Not as clean/fast as 10xx series but not bad.

[cbsmith111]

Thank you very much. I suspected it would work fine. I never really thought of some of those other things. I guess I just assumed that most things wouldn't hold up to the chemicals and wouldn't stay in place. I figured the silicone would be fairly chemical resistant, would create a good seal, and would be easy to remove.

I've been reading some about these finishes and they sound like a lot of fun. I will have to do some experimenting. Thanks for the help.

[cbsmith111]

Would something like ferric chloride harm micarta or cured epoxy? Suppose I threw the whole thing in after the handle was finished?

[clivehamilton77]

Hey Aube - this is probably a very stupid questoin and I've put off asking it for so long which is why i still do not know, but what and how do you get that finish that is on the blade in your picture and also his one:



from that FB link.

[AUBE]

Originally Posted by cbsmith111

Thank you very much. I suspected it would work fine. I never really thought of some of those other things. I guess I just assumed that most things wouldn't hold up to the chemicals and wouldn't stay in place. I figured the silicone would be fairly chemical resistant, would create a good seal, and would be easy to remove.

I've been reading some about these finishes and they sound like a lot of fun. I will have to do some experimenting. Thanks for the help.

Silicone does work well, and holds up to everything I've tried. We typically use paint as a mask just for the fact its so inexpensive and quick to remove. We etche a dozen blades then just put them in paint remover and 15mins later wash them off. With masks like silicone, rubber cement, vinyl stickers, etc you have to sit there and manually remove it after. No biggie on a piece or two, but we try to keep the costs down, thus the paint.

If you are looking for a good "splash" effect, I like the rubber dip used for coating tool handles.. cheap, found at Walmart nd hardware stores, and gets some very nice splash patterns (paint tends to be too thin).

Originally Posted by cbsmith111

Would something like ferric chloride harm micarta or cured epoxy? Suppose I threw the whole thing in after the handle was finished?

I;m not sure if it would hurt it as eating it away/weakening it, but it sure can stain the heck out of it. If you want to try it on a finished piece I'd suggest electrochemical etching with saltwater. You just need a little dc power and it does the same thing as acid, but cleaner. Even an old cell phone charger can work (but slowly).

[NJStricker]

Andy Garrett, who used to post a good bit on this forum a while back, used clear finger nail polish as a resist for mild acid etch. He used acetone to remove the polish afterwards.

[AUBE]

Originally Posted by clivehamilton77

Hey Aube - this is probably a very stupid questoin and I've put off asking it for so long which is why i still do not know, but what and how do you get that finish that is on the blade in your picture and also his one:
from that FB link.

Forge texturing. We forge the blade to shape, then we basically ugly it up with "bad" hammer blows. In that pic we use a small flat faced hammer we have welded some small lumps on the face. Then we heat the steel to forging temps, and quickly do a bunch of light taps along the length. The spots welded to the hammer create small dings, and creates a texture. You can also use a cutter and just carve up the face of a hammer to create some good texturing hammers.

The gray color is just the firescale left in place. Before tempering the blade we apply a light coat of oil then the oil bakes on during tempering. The oil isn't needed but it can add some extra color and will help prevent rust on the firescale.

[AUBE]

Originally Posted by NJStricker

Andy Garrett, who used to post a good bit on this forum a while back, used clear finger nail polish as a resist for mild acid etch. He used acetone to remove the polish afterwards.

Yup thats another that works ok. Although like the paint, some brands/blends work better than others. I'd avoid ones with glitter in them, I think the acid(or electricity) attacks the glitter and helps eat through it down to the bare steel.

Speaking of Andy anyone heard from him of late? The whole "contest" thread got me thinking of him and I was thinking about emailing him to see what hes been up to. But I figure life just distracted him from knives so I didn't want to pester him. Another MIA I wonder about is Jason Cutter, I figure hes busy being a doc by now but I miss his posts.


If you can draw (I can't) spraying a few coats with paint primer works as a canvas. Then scratch through to bare metal and where you scratch ends up etched. I say primer instead of paint because the paint tends to stick together and peel off creating bad lines...the primer scratches through cleanly.

[clivehamilton77]

Thanks Aube. Awesome explanation.

[cbsmith111]

I read a couple of tutorials on using a battery charger and salt water to etch makers marks. How would you go about applying the concept to an entire surface area like for a blade finish. Or am I totally missing something here?

[AUBE]

You're welcome Clive.

cbsmith, It's pretty basic, it just takes some tweaking to get the results you want. In a nuthsell fill a cup with saltwater, connect the positive lead to the piece you want etched, connect the negative lead to a steel rod you have submerged in the water. Submerge the knife into the water. Plug it in. Wait. Clean off the salts when done to prevent rusting.

Thats all there is to the basic idea. The tweaking I mentioned is figuring out how long to leave the piece in (larger pieces need more amperage, if you can't increase the amps then you need to increase the time they are etched), which masks (paint, nail polish, silicone, etc) hold up well for your etching, what type of finish to have on the knives prior to etching (the finer the finish, the smoother the etch), etc.

Of course electricity can kill you so be careful.

I'll be etching a few basic pieces either today or tomorrow, I can take some pics of the process if you are interested.

[cbsmith111]

I am actually very interested for some reason. Thanks a lot. I'm still really new to trying to make knives. At times I get a little discouraged and I have to take a break. During those times it's nice to explore these other skills. It gives me something to do and it develops skills I can still use once I really get the actual knives where I want them. I appreciate you taking the time explain things to me.

[AUBE]

Just a follow up:

I did etching today and took some pics. Now I just need to edit the pics, and write up a description of whats going on. I'm in the midst of finishing up a batch of knives for Christmas shopping season and I;ve only got 2-3 days to finish it (eek!), so the etching tutorial thingy might not be done until the knives are.

[cbsmith111]

I really appreciate the help and info. Take all the time you need. I'll be on the lookout for it.