Damascus pattern lost after attaching scales

J

john...

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Jan 12, 2013
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Hi I'm new to knife making and I purchased a pre made Damascus blade and after attaching the scales and sanding the wood to the blade it wiped out the pattern. Is there a way to get the pattern back?

Thanks in advance
 
Are you saying that you sanded the steel? That will wipe out the pattern. It can be brought back with ferric chloride or another acid, but this might cause damage or miscoloration to your scales.

Brian
 
Page, The blade is made of 1095/15N20 steel and the scales are made of Myrtle wood.

Brian, Yes I sanded the scales down to the steel and erased the pattern on the tang portion of the blade.
 
You could very carefully use electrical tape to completely mask off the wood or coat the wood with coats of super glue (difficult as you must sand superglue smooth and have it all completely removed from steel before etch.), and then dunk it in ferric chloride for about 15 minutes. There are hazards, like a bad spot in the scales to tang epoxy letting it between them. If you want this area to keep the Damascus look it is best to somehow attach the scales in a temporary manner until the sides are completely finished to at least 400 grit, them remove and carefully finish to as high as you wish. The sides of the scales, pins, bolts can be finished after permanently attached if you are careful not to hit the edges. I have started using 1/4" hard plastic tubing with small bolts that fits tightly inside the tubing and a few drops of super glue on the sides of the tang to hold my scales in place. Put a pit of epoxy on the outside of the plastic tubing and tighten the small bolts swelling the plastic a bit and holding the scales tight, then I finish the edges real well and then go to work on the sides. Before you grind off the bolt head and nut remove them. When you are real close with the sides easily drill out the plastic, pop the scales off the super glue bond and reassemble with epoxy and some nice 1/4" mosaic pins after you redo your damascus etch. Then carefully flush up the pins with a file and finish sanding the sides to what ever grit you want.

Thats what works for me. Some guys use double sided carpet tape. Some guys have the skill and the patents to do the edges with out touching the original damascus etch.
 
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Thanks for the tips! Can I try to carefully apply the etching material with a fine brush and let it sit? Or does it have to be dunked?
 
You would have to keep brushing it on for as long as it took. The small amount that you brushed on would spend most of its chemistry very rapidly.

How did you treat your Myrtle wood. Take another piece that has been treated the same way and dunk it in Ferric chloride diluted 3 parts water to 1 part ferric chloride for about 30 minutes or so and see what happens. If nothing do it to the knife for about 1/2 that time and then wash it in soda water.
 
Put tape around the scales lengthwise so the tang is isolated then use one of the cold bluing pastes. it is easier to control than ferric chloride and will still etch the steel so the pattern is visible. Let is set for a few minutes then wash it off and repeat until you get the results you want.
 
I'm gonna second Chuck's recommendation.

Trying to etch the tang of a knife with the scales already attached is much akin to masking off a car's windshield for a paint job by laying a bath towel over it. Similar results too.

A nice, clean hand sanded finish around the profile would look best in this case, IMHO. :)
 
Yes, that is what he is saying and it isn't a bad plan, Use sand paper on a hard block so it doesn't round the corners or the spine. or get anything else. Depending on the damascus patter usually all you see on the spine is a bunch of line. They are correct in that at this point the you run a higher risk of messing something up than reward.
'
I like Nicks analogy.
 
That is what I do most of the time. Sand the tang and handle together, and carry it down the top of the spine. This gives an even look to the tang/spine. If sanded to a very fine grit, the pattern sometimes starts to show up again faintly.
 
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