Sculpted W.I. guards--which color?

[Fred.Rowe]

This is one feature I really like about wrought iron. The ability to take different colors and tones.

The blue one is copper/acid etched then heat blued at 550fh for 12 min.


The purple one is copper/acid etched then heat blued at 625 for 10 min.

[bryce]

Cool, I like that blue one alot
maybe its time for me to start learning about bluing and etching

[indian george]

COOOOL!!! Nice job I really like the one in the middle.

[jim moyer]

Very nice.

[Hengelo_77]

Nice.
Will the colour stay or will it wear off?

[Fred.Rowe]

Originally Posted by Hengelo_77

Nice.
Will the colour stay or will it wear off?

Heat induced coloring is fairly tough. You have to sand it off. Just about like a gun finish. The blues and purples are more resistant than the straw colors.

Fred

[Bruce Bump]

Fred those are nice! How do you do the copper etch again?

[Fred.Rowe]

Originally Posted by Bruce Bump

Fred those are nice! How do you do the copper etch again?

Bruce,

I use a diluted Ferric Chloride x H2O [50x50] with finely ground copper added.

It doesn't seem to matter how much you add but you have to add new each time you use the process.
I grind about 1/2" from a 3/4" wide by 1/4" thick copper flat and add that to a pint mixture.
I have been leaving the guards in this mixture for 10 or 12 minutes. I remove them, clean and give them a light once over with 4x0000 wool, then put them in the ht oven.

I am still expermenting, but I am encouraged by the results, so far.

Fred

[Bruce Bump]

Thanks for sharing Fred, I'll give it a try. One more thing, I hear that WI needs hours of soak time to get the layers to show. What up?

[John H Davis]

Fred, what does the copper do to the mix, if you are heating it after the dip?

[Fred.Rowe]

Originally Posted by Bruce Bump

Thanks for sharing Fred, I'll give it a try. One more thing, I hear that WI needs hours of soak time to get the layers to show. What up?

I get a pattern that looks rite to me, after 15 minutes in the etchant. I want the pattern in the face of the guard with the edge showing smooth.

The color on the edge is uninterupted when I do this with the face of the guard showing the pattern.

I may try a longer soak and see what the results are. I would also like to try some other metals besides the copper to see what happens.

Experimenting in the knfe shop makes one feel like a "mad scientist" at times.

I think this trait resides in most makers. Fred

[Fred.Rowe]

Originally Posted by John H Davis

Fred, what does the copper do to the mix, if you are heating it after the dip?

Hi John,

The copper adheres to the surface, of the guard, while in the etchant.

When you follow this up with a heat activated coloring the copper shows

thru where it has platted the surface of the guard. The copper is not

affected at the temperatures used in the heat treating.


Fred

[Dan Gray]

Cool,, Thanks Fred

I'll add this to the knife making site, I hope more info comes from this thread