Bailey Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2004
- Messages
- 3,818
OK, So I had a few people ask me about my etching process. Here it is.
This is a pic of the knives. They are all san mai, and the cool thing is that with decent damascus or san mai damascus, you can't really tell it is damascus when it is all hand sanded. If you catch it in just the right light you can, but the different layers of steel are really hard to see otherwise. With a quick dip in the ferric, all changes.
this is a shot with the stencil applied. I have been using the same stencil for about a year. I believe the date on this one is 9/11. I mark them with the date I start using them.
Here is my etcher, taken from the Chris Crawford plans. Total cost...about $75.
I use a jewelry ultrasonic cleaner to clean the stencils. It gets them really clean and is a 'drop in and hit a button' type of cleaner.
Here are the knives after etching my logo. There is quite a bit of cloudiness around the logo, but it will all get cleaned up with the sanding.
I use a new piece of 2000 grit. As I use it, it gets worn and by the last time I use it it is right about where I need it to be.
Here are the blades in the ferric. It is about a 8 to 1 mixture of ferric and water.
Here is one out of the ferric waiting to get the oxides sanded off and then back in the ferric. I repeat this process about 3 or 4 times... sometimes more, sometimes less.
after the last time in the ferric, they get a spritzing of windex with ammonia. This helps neutralize the ferric. I wipe them down and make sure they are really dry. Here they are on the kitchen table....did I mention how awesome my wife is to allow this???
A good dose of renaissance wax. My daughter decorated the container with a Curious George sticker....
Here is the finished product after waxing.
This is a pic of the knives. They are all san mai, and the cool thing is that with decent damascus or san mai damascus, you can't really tell it is damascus when it is all hand sanded. If you catch it in just the right light you can, but the different layers of steel are really hard to see otherwise. With a quick dip in the ferric, all changes.
this is a shot with the stencil applied. I have been using the same stencil for about a year. I believe the date on this one is 9/11. I mark them with the date I start using them.
Here is my etcher, taken from the Chris Crawford plans. Total cost...about $75.
I use a jewelry ultrasonic cleaner to clean the stencils. It gets them really clean and is a 'drop in and hit a button' type of cleaner.
Here are the knives after etching my logo. There is quite a bit of cloudiness around the logo, but it will all get cleaned up with the sanding.
I use a new piece of 2000 grit. As I use it, it gets worn and by the last time I use it it is right about where I need it to be.
Here are the blades in the ferric. It is about a 8 to 1 mixture of ferric and water.
Here is one out of the ferric waiting to get the oxides sanded off and then back in the ferric. I repeat this process about 3 or 4 times... sometimes more, sometimes less.
after the last time in the ferric, they get a spritzing of windex with ammonia. This helps neutralize the ferric. I wipe them down and make sure they are really dry. Here they are on the kitchen table....did I mention how awesome my wife is to allow this???
A good dose of renaissance wax. My daughter decorated the container with a Curious George sticker....
Here is the finished product after waxing.
