Acid etching/ forced patina advice

[atomqueen]

Hey all, ive been searching online for specific details about how to approach acid etching and forcing a patina.
My question is this
Do I need to finish the blade to a certain grit in order to achieve a darker patina?
I am wanting to completely blacken a blade for aesthetics and am planning on using ferric chloride to do so. Any help or advice is appreciated, thanks all.

 

[Bdtry]

Darkness depends on how strong your ferric is, the steel, how clean it is etc.

I did this one a while back, factory satin finished blade, s35vn, 50% diluted ferric, and I think it was either 5 or 15 minutes total soak? The stronger your acid the faster it goes so check every couple minutes.

I just followed this video but didn't do the stone wash step.

 

[atomqueen]

Darkness depends on how strong your ferric is, the steel, how clean it is etc.

I did this one a while back, factory satin finished blade, s35vn, 50% diluted ferric, and I think it was either 5 or 15 minutes total soak? The stronger your acid the faster it goes so check every couple minutes.

I just followed this video but didn't do the stone wash step.

Awesome thank you, this is really helpful. Have a good one!

 

[Slice-and-dice]

Or you could try the poor man’s trick of 1-cleaning the blade with soap, 2-brushing on mustard (any kind, even the ‘free’ stuff from packets at a fast food joint. 3-let it sit for 30 mins, rinse and repeat,- it’ll get quite dark! You can even brush in a design or pattern if you like.

 

[Taz]

Just remember to protect areas where you don't want the acid to hit! Thumb stud threads, pivot/washer/bearing areas, lock areas, etc. The overall finish on the knife shouldn't play in too much, but it may still show thru the acid etching process if it's fairly coarse.

Gator Piss has some other variants out now for etching stainless damascus (Max), getting a darker black color (Heavy), etc.

 

[donnord]

Will etching cover minor scratches or do they need to be sanded or buffed away?

 

[Bray D]

AUS 8 sanded to 320 grit

50 / 50 Ferric Chloride and distilled water soaked for 5 minutes. Note how the logo etch reappeared! I thought I sanded it off for sure.