Copper Wash Finish, Finally Got it

Pittknife

Pittknife

Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
901
Hey Guys,

I'm finishing up my first custom and decided to try the copper wash finish Gavko created. Michal was really nice to help me through the process as my first attempt was a complete failure. This turned out great and the finish is pretty durable.

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Interesting.

I've played around with copper finishes, but was never able to get anything like this.
 
Great job, looks cool! I like the stonewash ya gave it :thumbup: . Gavko didn't quite invent that though, I'm pretty sure others have been doin a copper washes for a while know. I think a lot of knifemakers have done it by accident by using the same ferrice chloride tank to etch some copper in and then when they went to etch a blade, they'd notice a copper coating on it. After all, it is an etchent meant for etching unwanted copper from ciruit boards ;) No disrespect to Mike at all, he's a cool guy, just thought I'd mention that though :) Or are you referring to a specific "finish" that he made popular by doin something extra to the copper wash, like the stonewash look?

Thanks for sharing :)

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
coldsteelburns said:
Great job, looks cool! I like the stonewash ya gave it :thumbup: . Gavko didn't quite invent that though, I'm pretty sure others have been doin a copper washes for a while know. I think a lot of knifemakers have done it by accident by using the same ferrice chloride tank to etch some copper in and then when they went to etch a blade, they'd notice a copper coating on it. After all, it is an etchent meant for etching unwanted copper from ciruit boards ;) No disrespect to Mike at all, he's a cool guy, just thought I'd mention that though :) Or are you referring to a specific "finish" that he made popular by doin something extra to the copper wash, like the stonewash look?

Thanks for sharing :)

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
Click to expand...


Mike made it work. His process is different then the other ones. If you just use FC with copper dissolved in it, the copper will not bond with the blade and can easily be wiped off.

Mike has a YouTube video on how to do it. Here is a summary:
Bring the blade to around 600 grit.
Clean blade.
Beadblast with a heavy grit (I used 70 grit aluminum oxide), this is the critical step.
Dunk the blade in the solution while constantly moving it for 10 seconds.
Dunk blade in clean water.
Repeat this process until you get the amount of copper layer you want.

Next is stonewash. I have my own mix of media.

This finish is pretty durable, that is 20 minutes in stonewash and no became off.

Thanks for all the compliments, and especially thanks to Gavko for sharing.
 
Pittknife said:
The blade is not copper, it's bonded with copper. The blade is s90v.
Click to expand...

Gee. OK- copper is too soft for a blade finish, and it turns brown.
Should you really want a copper finish, electroplating copper is very easily done and it's inexpensive.
But like I said- it's too soft FOR A BLADE FINISH and it turns brown.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Gee. OK- copper is too soft for a blade finish, and it turns brown.
Should you really want a copper finish, electroplating copper is very easily done and it's inexpensive.
But like I said- it's too soft FOR A BLADE FINISH and it turns brown.
Click to expand...

Like I said, I tumbled it for 20 minutes and it didn't fall off. Turning brown is called petina, and is quite desirable by most people for decorative copper.
 
Well, I'm glad I'm getting knife lessons here!
It's patina, by the way.
If you really want copper on your blade, you should electroplate it-though I can't see any reason to want it on a blade.
 
Pittknife said:
Mike made it work. His process is different then the other ones. If you just use FC with copper dissolved in it, the copper will not bond with the blade and can easily be wiped off.

Mike has a YouTube video on how to do it. Here is a summary:
Bring the blade to around 600 grit.
Clean blade.
Beadblast with a heavy grit (I used 70 grit aluminum oxide), this is the critical step.
Dunk the blade in the solution while constantly moving it for 10 seconds.
Dunk blade in clean water.
Repeat this process until you get the amount of copper layer you want.

Next is stonewash. I have my own mix of media.

This finish is pretty durable, that is 20 minutes in stonewash and no became off.

Thanks for all the compliments, and especially thanks to Gavko for sharing.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks.
 
Look cool,

But as Bill said it will turn brown, just like an old penny

some like the patina
 
I think what Bill and Adam are trying to get at is that the coating you have is only a few microns thick, and that auto-plating is not nearly as heavily bonded to the steel surface as it would be by electroplating.

Take it and use it for a few days. Whittle some wood, cut some kindling, cut some rope, cut some cardboard, etc. Bring it in and clean it up. How is the finish holding up now?

I do a lot of work professionally with plating. Copper is probably the least durable coating. It is used as an underplating with stronger coatings over it, but very rarely as an exposed surface coating. With exposure to air, it also turns rather dull brown.

That said, it is your knife and work, so if you are happy with it, that is all that matters.
 
I like the look. On a fixed blade that was not going to see much use I would like it a lot.
I am not trying to be a smart ***. Many of my knives are for my collection and do not get used.
It would really look cool if treated to show a green patina or other colors you can get with different reactive chemicals.
 
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