Damascus Question.

[keninshiro]

Hi all! Why some Damascus needs to be etched to bring out it's patterns? and the dummest question of all......what is etched in this contex? Thanks for your help!

 

[raker]

First off you need to know what etched means. To etch means that the piece of damascus (pattern welded steel) is submerged in an acid solution. The kind and strength of the acid will depend on the maker and the composition of the materials in the damascus. The damascus is made by using two or more different steels. These steels will be of different percentages of alloying materials. The acid will react with all steels, but different steels will react at different rates. So it eats some steels faster than others. This would be similar to weathered boards that have the ridges when the rain has worn away the softer parts of the wood.
I etch the blade after hardening and before tempering so that the steel will be uniform in appearance and have the most contrast that I can get. Hope this helps. Ray Kirk RAKER Knives

 

[keninshiro]

Thanks RAY!