Etching HIdden Tang Damascus Blade

[Sean O'Hare]

I have a hidden tang damasteel blade that I am going to etch in Muriatic acid and am wondering if I need to protect the filed area where the guard will meet the blade from etching?

I'm thinking I don't have to worry about it but I thought I should double check before proceeding. Would really suck to get this far and screw that up!

Thanks,
Sean

 

[J. Neilson]

You should be fine Sean. I use ferric on carbon damascus and etch it up to about an inch of the tang. i would think it would work the same as long as you neutralize it completely when finished.

 

[C L Wilkins]

I have a hidden tang damasteel blade that I am going to etch in Muriatic acid and am wondering if I need to protect the filed area where the guard will meet the blade from etching?

Yes. I use fingernail polish on the shoulder and the tang area where the guard will be in contact. The fingernail polish will come off with acetone afterwards.

You may consider bluing the blade afterwards.

Craig

 

[Don Hanson III]

I etch the whole thing, no problems here. If I were going to solder the guard I would mask it of but I do a press fit with a sealer (JB weld, epoxy or what ever) the etch isn't a problem, just nutralize and clean up real good.

Don Hanson lll sunfishforge.com

 

[Sean O'Hare]

Perfect that's what I wanted to hear. Definitely would rather just etch the whole thing, makes life a whole lot easier. I am using JB weld for it so this should work well.

Thanks,
Sean