I've never used muriatic acid, but ferric chloride works great on CS's AUS-8. You can get anything from a light gray to jet black finish, depending upon how long you soak it. The time required to reach certain colors depends upon the strength of the solution. Ready made stuff (like Radio Shack) works, but I buy my ferric chlo. in powder form from ebay and mix my own solution to suit my needs. Once you reach the color you want, scrub it well with a stiff brush with paste made of baking soda and water, then rinse and scrub again with hot tap water and dish soap. After that, make sure it's thoroughly dry and give it a thin film of oil (I like mineral).