Ferric Chloride question

jdm61

jdm61

itinerant metal pounder
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
47,357
What do you guys use for a mixture ratio for etching straight steel blades? I just glued together my home made etch tank from 4" x 24" PVC with a threaded inspection/cleanout cap on the top. I have 2 bottles of Archer echant.
 
i always use 3/1 ratio meaning 3 parts water to 1 part feric -the more you dilute the more aggresive it seems to get.
 
Make sure you use spring water, distilled doesn't seem to work as well. 3 or 4 to 1 is pretty agressive...around a 5-8 minute etch time. And per Kevin Cashen, place your blade in boiling water to help it set and retain the etch.
 
Depends on what you're etching.

If it's my own carbon-steel damascus (usually 1084 and 15N20 or L6 these days) it's 50-50 Ferric Chloride and water.

If it's something like Eggerling mosaic damascus it's 50-50 ferric chloride and white vinegar.

If it's nickel/iron meteorite, it's 100% Ferric Chloride.

If it's Damasteel, it's 100% hydrochloric (pool) acid.

If I want the welds to show as dark lines (Which I might do sometimes to add a courser look and more 'activity' to a more historic-styled pattern), I'll do a short bath of 50-50 sulphuric (battery) acid and water. Then go to a standard 50-50 ferric Chloride bath for a short time. Lightly carding back and repeating as necessary.
 
TekSec said:
Make sure you use spring water, distilled doesn't seem to work as well. 3 or 4 to 1 is pretty agressive...around a 5-8 minute etch time. And per Kevin Cashen, place your blade in boiling water to help it set and retain the etch.
Click to expand...

Wow! I never heard that suggestion before. I always put my etchent near the baseboard heater in my shop to bring the temperature up slightly, but putting the blade in boiling water is a great idea! Thanks to you and Mr. Cashen!!

I guess putting the blade in a microwave oven would be a stupid thing to do!!:eek:
 
I read somewhere that you're suppose to add the acid to the water and not the other way around? Is this true or does it matter at all?
 
always acid into water.
There's an old scandinavian saying:
Syre i vand, det går an..
Vand i syre gi'r uhyre..
Translates loosely into:
acid in water is okay
water in acid will f... up your day :D
 
scottickes said:
Wow! I never heard that suggestion before. I always put my etchent near the baseboard heater in my shop to bring the temperature up slightly, but putting the blade in boiling water is a great idea! Thanks to you and Mr. Cashen!!

I guess putting the blade in a microwave oven would be a stupid thing to do!!:eek:
Click to expand...

I am only the messenger, credit can go to Brian Lyttle who put me onto the idea, and I believe he said he picked it up from researching some old patination recipes in some antiquated shop texts.
 
Joe, 3 parts water to 1 feric works for me. I use this mix for a quick dip on carbon blades and for etching damascus.
 
Hmmmmm...........well i have 2 pint bottles of Ferric which will make a gallon of solution at 3-1 and, by my rough calculations, a 4 x 24 inch cylinder should hold somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 liters if I fill it to the top of the actually piece of pipe, so it sounds like I am not going to have to go chase down anymore bottles from Radio shack if i go with maybe with a slightly weaker solution or don't fill it al the way up to the bottom of the cleanout fitting. Thanks, guys:D
 
Just an FYI, Radio Shack told me that the FeCl solution is no longer being sold by Radio Shack. Buy while you can. Once they run out, that's it.

Oh, and I mix mine 50/50 with water. It really doesn't matter how you mix it, it just affects the time needed for the etch, and your desired results.

Once the oxides coat the blade fully, the etch slows down to a crawl, so I do several short etchings with a finger rub in between until I get it looking the way I want.
 
I've been hearing and reading that Radio Shack was going to quit carrying Ferric Chloride for years now. I think this is a myth maybe that somehow got started and just won't go away. I stopped believing this story about Radio Shack discontinuing Ferric Chloride quite a while back.

As far as the ratio of Ferric Chloride to water, it does matter somewhat. I've found that I get the best results with a 3 parts water to one part Ferric Chloride mix.

This next part is what I've been told, and is not from my actual experience, so please verify this for yourself, instead of taking my word on it. If you mix it too strong or try to use ferric chloride at full strength, the etchant will attack both steels nearly equally, resutly in an etch that will not show the damascus pattern nearly as well or nearly as bodly. A slower etch allows the ferric to attack one steel faster and shows results more quickly. This is what I've read and been taught by some of the best makers in the world.
 
Well, I can tell you this, I tried using it straight in my early days...okay, that wasn't really that long ago, but anyway.... When I used it at 100% FC on straight carbon steel, not damascus, it gave a heavy etch with very little blackening, more of a charcoal graying when wiped down. I could see where it would show less of the pattern when done this way. I actually liked the look, rubbed down with some 0000 steel wool and a little oil, gave it kind of an antique worn look. But I digress.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top