Anodize Ti, bath method

[oregon]

Here are a couple of pics of my, freshly anodized, minty CRKT S-2.

It has titanium scales and ti clip (the color of the blade is the exact same color the scales used to be before the anodization bath).

The color result was more consistent than the paint-by-electrode method I used previously.

Instead of batteries I used a DC Power Supply bought used today at Tektronix for $15.

I prepared the target by scrubbing with warm soapy water, rinsing in warm water and placing in a vinegar bath (with chop sticks). Rinsed in warm water and placed in warm water/baking soda bath (with chop sticks again, avoiding finger prints). Connected the positive lead to the target and the negative lead to the stainless steel bowl. Let the juice run for a few seconds at a reading of 27 volts. Rinsed in water and dryed.

The color only reveals itself, well, out of the bath, dryed and in the light.

(sorry that the leads aren't properly red and black colored, got them used for $1)

Thank you for looking.

Best,

oregon

 

[STR]

You might want to switch to a glass or plastic bowl and use a scrap piece of titanium on the negative with the scrap piece submerged into the water on the opposite side of the piece you are connecting to the positive so they never touch. Eventually the stainless bowl will corrode on you from the current (even being stainless) running through it and the reaction of it and the liquid. I've seen stainless ball bearings from detent balls rust in a matter of seconds from guys that had a knife they decided to recolor so you may want to make sure to tape that off with the proper tape made for that or it will corrode up and become gritty also.

STR

 

[oregon]

Thank you kindly for your terrific help. I've had more fun with this ano business than I should admit to.

Man o man I wish I had some scrap Titanium. Supposedly I have some coming from someone's project in the future. Note to self, need more patience as I'm running out of knives to practice on.

Best,

oregon

 

[kel_aa]

That is a some good results. I like the looks much better than original look.

 

[oregon]

Thank you.

I agree. I think that the S-2's blade is a tad ugly. The colored handle takes your focus away from the blade. Dang, I just like blue.

Got this in a clearance sale for a song & a dance. Practicing ano on it and it turns out I like the knife much more now. How about that. Blundering about and stumbled on this.

I take STR's throwing down the gauntlet seriously when he challenges you to ano green. And, a good green, not a washed out green. So, I need more experience with the process. When I get some more ti to practice with I want to experiment with different bath mixtures.

I tried a solution of white vinegar and water and wasn't thrilled with the outcome. Want to try a solution of hcl and h2o soon. I've read that the colors are sharper anodizing with that solution. Etching properties of the acid probably contribute to color intensity.

Best,

oregon

 

[TexasNativeDRJH]

Wow that color came out really nice:thumbup: :thumbup: Not a bad deal on the power supply either. Could a fully assembled BM42 be done the same way? Since STR mentions detent balls rusting, I wonder if the ss washers and/or blade could be affected as well.

Have you further anodized your BM42, or are you waiting until you have mastered the green? Not trying to pry, but I'm still fascinated by the DIY anodizing process. As usual, great posts with great pics.

 

[STR]

Idealy the piece of scrap ti you use should be submerged in the solution as deep as the piece you are coloriing. Any steels other than the titanium will corrode in the solution. Even the allgator clip you use to hold the piece should not be submerged in the solution or it can corrode up.

Anodizing with coca cola and the bath like this will even corrode and pit out titanium! If you run it in a higher current and really start it bubbling up you'll see it faster than at a lower current but it happens and you can actually form rust pockets on ti this way let alone stainless and regular metal.

STR

 

[oregon]

Wow that color came out really nice:thumbup: :thumbup: Not a bad deal on the power supply either. Could a fully assembled BM42 be done the same way? Since STR mentions detent balls rusting, I wonder if the ss washers and/or blade could be affected as well.

Have you further anodized your BM42, or are you waiting until you have mastered the green? Not trying to pry, but I'm still fascinated by the DIY anodizing process. As usual, great posts with great pics.

Thank you kindly. I couldn't be happier with the finished S-2.

The power supply weighs about 35 pounds and is the size of a lunch box! Tektronix is the place to shop for used electronic gear. Many things, can't quite figure out what they are, are $1 or less. I need a quick way to ID titanium, any ideas? There are boxes of machined parts w/o description.

I wouldn't have high hopes anodizing a fully assembled 42. Because, the juice runs thru steel first. It is the path of least resistance. This give uneven layers of ano and you will see a rainbow instead of a solid color. And, right at where the stainless is there will be only the slightest ano. The steel boils like crazy as the ti seems to just sit there. Looks funny. That being said, let me have it and we will see.

I like the non-anodized ti finish on a hard user. The ano that I've created is quite easily removed with metal polish. I guess that, like many coatings, it will come off and disappoint. At higher voltages, and therefore thicker layers, this may not be the case. I'll be carrying the S-2 as an experiment in robustness and will report what I find out.

I want green. I won't get it without a more powerful setup (need 100 volts). With what I do have right now, I can experiment with different baths and different voltages from 0-40 and different anode & cathode materials, configurations and techniques. My search for cheap ti continues. In the mean time I could ano the S-2's clip until it dissolves!

Best,

oregon

 

[Django606]

All of your anodization work looks really good Oregon. You don't happen to have a Sebenza, do you..

I think you could really make a Sebenza look very cool with your anodization skills. It might be risky for a $385 knife, but you can always polish the anodization off if you mess up, right?

 

[oregon]

Funny you should mention the Sebenza. I was just telling my lovely wife todaythat if I didn't get some cheap titanium fast I might do something foolish like ano my Sebenza.

I've thought about it, you bet. I figure the value would go out of it like hydrogen out of the Hindenburg with ano. Maybe I'm wrong but Chris Reeve creates such a perfect knife I think any addition I might make would be an issue.

Send me yours and I'll give it a the treatment (yellow, baby blue or dark blue). No worries.

Best,

oregon

 

[Django606]

Mine is micarta

 

[oregon]

Anodizing with coca cola and the bath like this will even corrode and pit out titanium!

STR

I had to quit anodizing with coca cola.

For my first go-round I bot cold cans, from a vending machine, of classic, diet & a generic brand. I did not notice any difference in result using the different refreshing drinks. Well, except that the classic was stickier than the others.

Unfortunately, it was thirsty work so I drank all three. All had caffeine. I never drink stuff with caffeine. I didn't get to sleep until just a bit before dawn that night.

I now use a solution of baking soda (10%-20%) and well water. Haven't been tempted to drink it but it does work OK.

Funny, I figured that I would be better able to see the anodization take place, given that the solution is clear, but I see nothing in the way of color change until the target is rinsed and dried.

Really appreciate your interest and kind suggestions. Thank you.

Best,

oregon

 

[oregon]

Before pictures are available at Google Images, "CRKT S-2."

After pics are above.

During pic:

The positive alligator clip was set into the middle fastener hole in the scale, the hole is shown here occupied by the torx fastener.

Notice the rainbow color around where the positive clip was. Voltage went mostly thru the clip and not the ti here so anodization was thinner. Also, this is one way to get a rainbow/tie die pattern. Another way would be to draw out the target while you changed the voltage at the power supply.

After I put the knife back together I decided that I didn't want this so I attached the alligator to the titanium pocket clip from the S-2. I place the scale on this clip, so that the clip and the scale met far from the rainbow/yellow coloration. This made the ano consistent throughout the scale.

I will try STR's method as soon as I round up some spare titanium.

Best,

oregon

 

[darkestthicket]

nice looking knife, good job.

 

[kel_aa]

From this graph, you need 70-80 volts to get green. But forget green, I want to see some baby pink!

 

[WValtakis]

Just curious what kind of amps people are running for this?

 

[STR]

AMPS?

My unit is a 110v unit that works fine on any 20 amp breaker in the house. I doubt any are different than this. Now if you mean voltage that is a different issue. The voltage determines the color you get. For example you can get three shades of bronze. One with 9volts, one with 12v, and one with 15, at 20v it gets a rich purple and at 27/28v it will produce a rich blue like this knife in the first post. Keep going 35v 40v and it gets kind of teal colored to 50 and it is an olive green with my solution, and keep going to 55v it gets into the goldish brass on up to 60v and then past that at 70v it is a mauve/pinkish color most gals like a lot. 100v will get back to an almost hunter green. I've found different solutions can change some of the colors and even the shades you get. Also, CP titanium (commercially pure like for surgery and implants) will anodize the same colors as the knifemaker grade 6AL-4V stuff but they don't match very well at all and are a shade off of each other. So the type of ti will affect it also.

STR

 

[WValtakis]

Thanks for all the info, but I noticed your machine has adjustable amperage so I was wondering what you had that set at?

 

[pkdmslf]

Verrryyyy Interestiiiiiing! Thanks for the link to Curcuit Specialists Inc., I live fairly close by and may drop in and pick one of those DC Power Supplies. Baking soda and distilled water, Diet Pepsi and white vinegar and water baths? What bath gives the best results?

Some other questions:

1. oregon stated several times that he couldn't see the color change in the bath. How long do you leave the Ti in the bath to get the colors?

2. How would you get different colors on the same piece? Example some of the "FIZZ" patterns I've seen on some Matt Cacchiara modified knives with the different colors.

3. Where can one obtain some Titanium wire and thin Ti cathode material? What happens when you use SS? What other metals can be used as cathodes?

Sorry for so many questions but I think I might want to give this anodizing thing a shot.

 

[sociallyautistic]

That looks nice! I've been thinking about trying this on my Sebenza, but maybe I should by a CRKT like yours and try that out first. It's an excuse to buy another knife!