Cleaning disaster, help!

Will Power

Will Power

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Jan 18, 2007
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Couple of days ago I got a Mcusta basic series with ebony scales and Damascus blade. I also have the white handled vg10 version and I am VERY pleased with both knives. BUT....I decided to clean the blade of the new Damascus with some metal polish (I don't know why just fidgeting..)Is it normal that the maker's name Mcusta and Seki Japan etched on the blade would more or less VANISH after a hand buffing with metal polish? Should you not clean Damascus? Can't think of other knives whose etchings have vanished after a quick rub over. Something wrong with the steel?? Depressed about this as the knife is otherwise v.attractive. Seems to have lost authenticity :mad:
 
Is it truly etched (i.e. slightly eaten into the steel)? I have a Dozier that had the Dozier logo etched on the copper rivet, and after cleaning and polishing a number of times the black is almost gone - but it is still visible because the etch goes down into the metal. Maybe the Mcusta's was just painted on?
 
The makers mark may have just been "resisted" on, meaning they put etch resist on the blade and you polished away the contrast. Perhaps it was just lightly etched and you removed too much...got a pic?
 
I can't advise you enough against metal polish on knives that don't have satin or mirror finishes. It destroys finishes and marks. On my Brian Goode Civilian, I have an O1 blade that he etched with ferric chloride (he used it to etch his maker's mark too). When I polished it very lightly and very quickly with White Lightning Metal Polish, the finish ended up ten times lighter, my hamon disappeared, and his maker's mark had vanished.

There is, of course, a happy ending- I went to Radio Shack, bought a 16 oz bottle of ferric chloride (it's actually pretty cheap), mixed it up about 1:3 with water, and re-did the etching with 10-second soaks at a time. The finish came out just like new, and my hamon was as visible as ever! On parts that you can't dip in the solution (like the handle so you don't damage the scales), mask off the scale and rub the ferric on with a cloth. I then neutralized the acid with ammonia and baking soda.

Once my finish was perfect, I put some undiluted ferric in the cap of the bottle and dipped a toothpick into it, then dragged the toothpick carefully over each depression in the maker's mark. Viola! Good as new.

This only works if your etched lettering is actually eaten into the steel. Ferric chloride is commonly sold as PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Etchant. It's only about $4 for a 16 oz bottle at Radio Shack, and at a 1:3 dilution that's 48 ounces of solution.
 
Dang! That's not a real cleaning disaster. I was hoping to hear something good... like you destroyed an ivory handle or ruined an old blade or something. :p

On the Mcusta knives that I've seen, the words are really lightly etched onto the blade (the etching hasn't eaten into the steel at all). It's normal for them to rub off if you polish it. I've had the maker's mark or logo wear off of a couple of different brands of knives when the etch was like that (just on the surface of the blade).

I polished the blade of a Mcusta Take once with some Flitz. It removed most of the lettering, but I actually thought the blade looked much better without it. The stainless damascus also looks good with more of a shiny finish.

Damascus blades that are made of carbon steels are usually darker. Using a metal polish on them would probably ruin the etching, as the individual layers of steel would lose their contrast and become indistinct. It still wouldn't be a cleaning disaster though; you'd just have to re-etch and refinish the blade like Dan described.
 
Gentlemen, you are all correct. I hang my head in shame but maybe others can learn from it....Partly it is true this damascus looks better with a shiny finish,and muskrat-man is defo right when he prefers stamp. Maybe not a cleaning disaster along the lines of wrecking costly mammoth scales with superglue....but annoying.Knife is otherwise very OK.
 
IMHO, makers should etch deeply enough that this isnt an issue. it shouldnt just be a surface application. Half the point is to permanently mark the blade as yours. I etch mine as deep as possible. No amount of polishing could ever take it off.
 
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