do you paint your damascus?

[Seals]

I have been working with Brad Vice Damascus lately and really like it.I was talking to a friend about it today and mentioned the only thing i didnt like was it took a lot of maintenance to keep it from spotting or rusting.He told me that he paints his and that he got the suggestion from Brad.By paint im talking about clearcoat.I happen to have some and i must say i kind of like the result so far.I treated the little wharnie that is my sig pic and it seems to make the pattern jump out nicely.Just gave it a quick even spray coat.I had never heard of this before today and i wonder what ya'll thought about it.

 

[sunshadow]

I boil mine in a strong baking soda solution to set the oxide and neutralize any residual etchant, then keep it oiled with Hoppe's #9 Gun Grease

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[A C Richards]

There are a couple of things in addition to the boiling methods. One is the baked on epoxy finish called gun kote from Brownells http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=41610/Product/GUN_KOTE_trade__OVEN_CURE__GUN_FINISH. The blade is etched really deep then sprayed with the Gun Kote and baked at 300f to set the epoxy. Then the blade is lightly sanded to bring out the ridges. This gives a durable and sharply contrasting finish. Next is the parkerizing process were a phosphate solution is used to deposit oxides on the blade. Similarly, the blade is etched deep then parkerized and sanded. It takes a few cycles to really bring the parkerizing up to the same level as the ridges but it can be done. It really does a great job and is a very hard finish. Then there is blueing. Either cold or hot. Hot is a little more durable. Etch, blue and lightly sand. This is not as durable as either of the others mentioned but also gives a little protection and contrast. paint will not hold up very well and will look pretty bad after use. It will wear quickly and look blotchy. Normal maintenance is all that is really required on any damascus blade. Keep it cleaned and oiled and it should last just as long as any quality knife.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Brad and Lacy are good guys, and they try hard to make a good product. If you ever have a bad piece, they will replace it.
Due to the way it is manufactured, Alabama damascus is a slightly looser layered product than the much smaller billets many folks make. Now, that is not really bad, and the cost is really good, so the trade off is that you will have tiny pits and layer lines to deal with. It is an excellent product for first time damascus projects when people are leery to spend a couple hundred dollars in steel on a knife they aren't sure how it is going to turn out. It isn't the steel of choice for some projects, but is an affordable choice for general use damascus knives and tools. I find it looks best when deeply etched. I have probably used 100 feet of their stuff, starting with the first batch Brad made nearly ten years ago. I still buy it for suitable projects. They will also custom make a billet in odd sizes to order. If you want to mill a sword guard from a block of 1X2X8" damascus, they can probably sell it to you cheaper than you can make it yourself.

The following is good advice for all damascus.
The first thing to do is remove all traces of etchant from the recesses in the steel. Just spritzing on Windex won't do it. Boiling for 30 minutes in water anda little soda, and then boiling again with plain water will help keep corrosion spots from showing up later. Next, you need to remove any retained water from these tiny places, or rust may creep out. Placing the blade in the oven at 300F for an hour will do that. When the hot blade is taken out of the oven, let it cool to about 150F, and immediately oil it well with a protective/penetrating oil. This will wick into the recesses and keep water from getting back in later.
Sealing the recesses from invasion, with a coating of some sort as Chuck described, is also a suitable plan.If you are going to seal the blade, skip the oil impregnation step.
The raised surface can be sanded back to metal, and the recesses will stay sealed. This really gives a bold two-tone look.
Regular maintenance will help keep things rust free.

 

[Seals]

I went back with acetone on the knives i treated.I think the neutralizing is where im going wrong.I was simply rinsing and then trying to finish polish.Ill try the soda hot tub treatment next time.I can see why Brad may give them a shot of clear coat as he lugs around dozens of billets and blades to shows and stuff.It's also possible (likely?)my friend misunderstood what he said completely.I do like the steel.Its easy to heat treat in my little brick forge and has a great look.As a beginner i can afford to make some mistakes and its not a huge hit.Also,yea,Brad and Lacy are great guys always willing to help.Now on to the next issue in the learning curve.( :