Do it yourself blade etching! Instructions and pics inside!

T

TheMartialWay

Joined
Jul 2, 1999
Messages
1,347
Hello all,

I have been wanting to get a design etched or coated onto my new Hayes TAC-1 and decided I would try it myself. Here is a before pic:
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The design is of a tattoo that I have. Here is the finished product:
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And here is a close up:
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Here is how you do it:
First clean the blade. Next, cut a piece of duct tape large enough to fit your design on. Place the tape on a piece of plexi glass or similar object. Draw on your design and then, with an exacto knife, cut it out of the main piece of tape. You should now be left with the main piece of tape with the design cut out. Peel the tape off of the glass and place it on the blade. Carefully make sure that the tape is securely in place, if it is not stuck perfectly on the blade the etching material can seep through and ruin the design. Once it is firmly in place pour on some “Level 3 Naval Jelly” (You can get Naval Jelly in any hardware store, it is a rust remover with an acid base) With a paper towel, blot the Jelly on the design and make sure the Jelly is all over the design. It should have a good thick blob of a uniform coating. Make sure that you don’t get ANY Jelly on any part of the blade other than the design. Let sit for 20 minutes. Then, take a clean paper towel and carefully wipe off the Jelly. Now rinse blade under running water until remaining Jelly is washed off. Make sure you get it all off. Now remove the tape, rinse the blade again and wash the blade with some dishwashing liquid, clean and DRY well. There you have it! Instant blade etch. Once completed you should coat the blade in something like tuf cloth to protect the etched area. (NOTE:Remember, the only part of the blade that is "etched" is the design itself. The rest of the blade was covered with the tape.) I am not sure if this etch works on all finishes, so test it first. Good luck and be CAREFUL.
 
Awesome Job Louis! Nice knife to do that on as well. I offer one tip for you and other though. After etching, rinse your knife in a baking soda solution. You have to neutralize the acid, and a baking soda solution will help you do this.Baking soda won't kill your knife, so don't be cheap with it either!
 
You can also do the same on titanium with a sand bolster. You polish the bolster, tape over the places you don't want bead blasted and when you remove the tape you have the design left, polished. Then if you heat it with a torch you get a uniform blue color on the sand blasted part and rainbow on the polished part.
 
Looks cool Louis. I hope you practiced first on a little less expensive knife.:eek:
 
Wasn't there another method where you use a sponge soaked in a salt solution, then you place that sponge over the design and apply either a DC or AC (can't remember which) current through the sponge and blade?
 
Great job, Louis! Never heard of this “Level 3 Naval Jelly” stuff. It's going to be a lot easier to use than the ferric chloride I've been messing with! Great tip/tutorial!!!
 
Just saw this post. I know this behavior of Naval Jelly by accident, long story.... Anyways, do you know how long will this acid etch last? I stained (etched) my knife more than once with Naval Jelly, but everytime I was able to get rid of it with light sanding. On each case I only let the stuff sit within 5 minutes.
 
What a great idea!

Duct tape is a good choice. But, being a cloth-based tape, it's flexible and may be difficult to handle and get a nice design with. If you go to an office supply store, you can get thick plastic material with an adhesive back. It's used to make signs in a very similar way. You use an exacto knife to cut out the desired pattern and then stick it onto the desired background. One critical tip is simply not to touch the adhesive backing with your fingers as you work with the material as the oil on your fingers will compromise the adhesive. After applying the stencil to the knife, use the tip of a butter knife or similar tool to rub the edges of the stencil down really well to make sure that you have firm contact with the knife. We don't want any of the etchant to seep under the stencil.

An excellent suggestion, Mr. TheMartialWay.
 
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