Damasteel Muric Acid Etching Questions

T

Trollsies

Joined
May 1, 2023
Messages
10
Hello Experienced Blacksmiths,

I am writing to you all because I made a pretty big oopsie with a rare Damasteel pocketknife from WE Knife. I was trying to get some stubborn rust off the back of the blade and ended up significantly dimming the contrast of the dark metal. I had a few questions before going forward with an at home first time re-etching dip.

Do I use just straight 20% muric acid or some sort of mix?

What should I wear when doing this? Mask, googles, gloves (which kind)?

What parts of knife do I need to coat in nail polish? Is there something safer/stronger than nail polish? How many coats of it? How long to dry between coats?

Will the acid process require me to re-polish/re-sharpen the knife? If so, how would I go about this without damaging the pattern again? Definitely not Filtz lol (that’s what ruined it).

Additional information: The knife is the WE KNIFE 604 DS Limited Edition Damasteel Version. =

The knife front is Filtz free and much darker. I have attached both the front and back below for reference:

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I know that I need to coat the parts that I do not want etched, but I am unsure which parts that includes. Does that include the ridging on back of knife? Does it include the small frame lock hole in blade? Does it include the parts of blade that could hit the flipper? Does it include the inside of the hole in the blade itself? I think I am over complicating this but it is expensive knife and I can’t get in contact with manufacturers.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Knife Newbie
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The only safe way to etch it would be to disassemble it and etch the blade only.
You want to take the blade to an even 400 grit finish before etching.
You would need to paint the tang and all the pivot surfaces with nail polish.
20% muriatic acid is the normal strength I use. I do it at room temp (60-80°F)
Following the muriatic etch, a second etch with a coffee etch or a ferric chloride etch will make the contrast show better.

I feel compelled to say that this isn't a starter project, and the fact you asked those questions says to me you should not do it. Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid. It is wicked bad stuff and can ruin your lungs as well as eat a hole in your skin. It can make everything near it rust.
Think hard before you try this.

Etching damasteel with Hydrochloric acid and coffee?

Hello, how should I go about for the best results with these components for etching damasteel? How this process sounds: final mirror polish first Hydrochloric acid soak for around 10 minutes(cold) coffee soak Now I have a question also that should the blade be polished after the coffee soak...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Etching Damasteel ??

I tried Etching a Damasteel blade I recently finished in ferric chloride and it did not come out too well. I mirror polished it first and cleaned it with acetone and then etched for 30 min. The mix was 1:1 for the Ferric Chloride and water. The blade was dull and the pattern did not show well. I...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The only safe way to etch it would be to disassemble it and etch the blade only.
You want to take the blade to an even 400 grit finish before etching.
You would need to paint the tang and all the pivot surfaces with nail polish.
20% muriatic acid is the normal strength I use. I do it at room temp (60-80°F)
Following the muriatic etch, a second etch with a coffee etch or a ferric chloride etch will make the contrast show better.

I feel compelled to say that this isn't a starter project, and the fact you asked those questions says to me you should not do it. Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid. It is wicked bad stuff and can ruin your lungs as well as eat a hole in your skin. It can make everything near it rust.
Think hard before you try this.

Etching damasteel with Hydrochloric acid and coffee?

Hello, how should I go about for the best results with these components for etching damasteel? How this process sounds: final mirror polish first Hydrochloric acid soak for around 10 minutes(cold) coffee soak Now I have a question also that should the blade be polished after the coffee soak...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Etching Damasteel ??

I tried Etching a Damasteel blade I recently finished in ferric chloride and it did not come out too well. I mirror polished it first and cleaned it with acetone and then etched for 30 min. The mix was 1:1 for the Ferric Chloride and water. The blade was dull and the pattern did not show well. I...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
Click to expand...
I appreciate you greatly for reaching out. I was under the impression that a coffee etch would not work on a stainless steel like Damasteel. This was going to be my first route, but stopped after reading that. Do you know of any blacksmiths that you trust and would be able to do a repair like this?
 
I wouldn't trust any blacksmith to do that job.
You need an experienced folder maker. I'll leave this up and see if someone has a suggestion (including themselves). My two suggestions would be Bill DeShivs or AVigil.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I wouldn't trust any blacksmith to do that job.
You need an experienced folder maker. I'll leave this up and see if someone has a suggestion (including themselves). My two suggestions would be Bill DeShivs or AVigil.
Click to expand...
I just reached out to both. Hopefully can find someone with fair pricing for restoration.

As long as blade is sharp after acid bath, the knife still flips smoothly, and none of the ridging gets messed up on flipper/back, then we should be good.

Might need a slight polish job after the sanding to get out any mild surface scratches, but blade itself is in great condition. However, shape of the blade is a bit unique with 3 sides (seen in reflection but I’m sure there is better word), which is my only fear with machine polishing.
 
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Screebo said:
Good luck Trollsies and welcome to the forum! 👍🌴
Click to expand...
Appreciated. Hoping someone experienced can help, but if not, I found this at ACE:

Transchem Muriatic Acid 1 gal Liquid - Ace Hardware

Professional Strength 31.45% HCL (Muriatic Acid), excellent for pH reduction in swimming pools or to clean and etch masonry surfaces, excellent for pH reduction in all commercial and residential pools.Find the ACID MURIATIC GAL at Ace.
www.acehardware.com www.acehardware.com

Will be quite the project to do on my apartment patio. Looking fairly straightforward. Main concern is messing the flipability of the knife if done solo. Would feel much better in the hands of someone who has worked with Damasteel before.
 
Leave the muriatic acid alone. Ferric Chloride is what should be used.
I really have a disdain for damascus steel, and I don't fool with it much.
You should not attempt this on your own, but let a knifemaker that is familiar with Damasteel do your etching.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Leave the muriatic acid alone. Ferric Chloride is what should be used.
I really have a disdain for damascus steel, and I don't fool with it much.
You should not attempt this on your own, but let a knifemaker that is familiar with Damasteel do your etching.
Click to expand...
I believe muriatic acid is the correct thing to use with Damasteel in particular. I got that from the official YouTube video where they display the etching process.


Unless I am mistaken? Is there another reason you suggest this?
 
As I said- I don't fool with damascus steel much.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
As I said- I don't fool with damascus steel much.
Click to expand...
I just sent you email and realized you were person helping lol. Offer still stands if you know/can replicate the general dipping process. If not, can you think of anyone more familiar with Damasteel flippers?
 
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don't know if this helps, but Allen Elishewitz uses Damasteel a lot in folders....and seems to have it down pat.

Bill
 
Just an update, WE Knife company reached out and let me know they could repair the knife. HOWEVER, knife import to China is highly regulated. They let me know flat out that there is a serious risk of customs taken the knife and that there is nothing they can do in this case.

Still have not found someone comfortable with this process so going to to try it myself this weekend. Hopefully it goes well 🤞
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The only safe way to etch it would be to disassemble it and etch the blade only.
You want to take the blade to an even 400 grit finish before etching.
You would need to paint the tang and all the pivot surfaces with nail polish.
20% muriatic acid is the normal strength I use. I do it at room temp (60-80°F)
Following the muriatic etch, a second etch with a coffee etch or a ferric chloride etch will make the contrast show better.

I feel compelled to say that this isn't a starter project, and the fact you asked those questions says to me you should not do it. Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid. It is wicked bad stuff and can ruin your lungs as well as eat a hole in your skin. It can make everything near it rust.
Think hard before you try this.

Etching damasteel with Hydrochloric acid and coffee?

Hello, how should I go about for the best results with these components for etching damasteel? How this process sounds: final mirror polish first Hydrochloric acid soak for around 10 minutes(cold) coffee soak Now I have a question also that should the blade be polished after the coffee soak...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Etching Damasteel ??

I tried Etching a Damasteel blade I recently finished in ferric chloride and it did not come out too well. I mirror polished it first and cleaned it with acetone and then etched for 30 min. The mix was 1:1 for the Ferric Chloride and water. The blade was dull and the pattern did not show well. I...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
Click to expand...
After using 400 grit sandpaper, do I need to repolish the blade before dipping?
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
No, you polish after etching to brighten the high spots.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the clarification. I have been doing lots of research of the actual etching process and feel pretty comfortable at this point. I just wanted to see if you had any suggested sanding method. I picked up some 400grit paper today but wanted to ensure I was doing it right without curls or scratches. Also trying to not ruin the shiny almost mirror like finish on the knife. This blade also has 3 distinct bevels/sides (not sure if that matters). I am very new to knives but always love a good project and to learn.
 
Unless the rust spots are pretty deep, you likely don't need to start at that low of a grit. I'd probably start at 600 or 800 and then go back up from there. Otherwise you're just creating more work than necessary. But that's assuming you do the muriatic at all. I would start with the least aggressive method before worrying about sanding it all back down and re-etching with muriatic. Coffee etch does work on Damasteel, despite what some people will tell you, but it needs to be etched with muriatic first to get some topography, and then the coffee will further darken the low spots. Since the blade is already etched, you might be okay to just give it really good cleaning and then coffee etch, then sand across the top with some 1500 grit with a hard backer.

Look up Neil Kamimura's coffee etching video on YouTube for some great detailed instructions on that. Works every time.
 
It’s been a couple of years since I made a Damasteel folder but I used the video referenced above as my guide.

I suspect most makers won’t want to work on another maker’s knife. It’s difficult to recover your time and there’s too much unnecessary risk.

Good luck

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