discoloring stainless steel

[sixleggedinsect]

I have a 440C blade with a mirror finish. I would like to discolor it, pretty much anything that will take the shine off. i dont have a sandblaster, and am curious about cheap options that might look decent. (no paint, sorry..).

can you DIY anodize this steel? mask the edge and etch it with an acid? am i just going to be stuck sanding it?

ideally, id like to preserve the edge thats on it now, but ill sharpen her later if i have to.

thanks,
anthony

 

[Cougar Allen]

Welcome to Bladeforums!

 

[Creeper]

I have a 440C blade with a mirror finish. I would like to discolor it, pretty much anything that will take the shine off. i dont have a sandblaster, and am curious about cheap options that might look decent. (no paint, sorry..).

can you DIY anodize this steel? mask the edge and etch it with an acid? am i just going to be stuck sanding it?

ideally, id like to preserve the edge thats on it now, but ill sharpen her later if i have to.

thanks,
anthony

Sandblasting would be a poor option as it's typically done under very high pressures and tends to raise the metal.
Glass-bead blasting on the other hand will leave a very fine, smooth matte finish.
As much lower pressures are used for glass beading, you can mask the edge and blast the blade and not blow thru the tape immediately.
In fact, if the nozzle is held correctly, you can leave off the tape and blast the entire blade without affecting sharpness.

If you can't find someone in your area to do it (it's very common to find bead blast cabinets in gunsmith, custom motorcycle, and high performance cylinder head shops)... you can send the blade (blade only please) to me and I'll do it for a whopping $5.

Have you considered using a scotchbrite pad (or maybe 220 grit wet-dry) on a random orbit sander? That way, there wouldn't be a directional pattern. You will want to multi-layer mask the blade should you choose to try it though.

C

 

[leon.pugh]

Try some ferric cloride full strength while working it with 1500 sandpaper. I have got some intresting colors that way, with patience you can get a aged patina appearance that way. Different alloys will give different appearances.

Leon Pugh

 

[Creeper]

Try some ferric cloride full strength while working it with 1500 sandpaper. I have got some intresting colors that way, with patience you can get a aged patina appearance that way. Different alloys will give different appearances.

Leon Pugh

Hi Leon,

Interesting... Are you using ferric chloride powder and buffing it in dry, or using water to make a paste? I'm curious about your process... as when mixed in water, ferric chloride is both corrosive and exothermic.
I have no first hand experience with it in the application you discribe... just the basic chemistry.