Freehand etching?

J

J-T-K

Joined
May 11, 2020
Messages
89
Hi guys

I was searching on the forum and I might have missed a thread, but is there a good starting point or advice for freehand etching of blades? I.e., what hard ground to use and how, tooling, videos, advice, etc.?
 
Sorry - acid etching but straight by impregnating with beeswax and carving that before wiping with acid or suchlike.
 
There is a book: "Step by Step knife making by David Boye. There is one section where he talks about etching knife blades. His female partner Francine, does some beautiful etching on his blades.
Try searching on "David Boye knives", and "Francine etched knives"
Jim A.
 
Yes , Boye's book is good with info. Some of it is a bit outdated, but the basic principle is good. FC will work the same as his aqua regia.

I use enamel paint to paint the image as a negative (paint what you don't want etched) and etch in FC to the desired depth. Works OK for basic line drawings like a whale or such, but not all that well for a detailed drawing that requires shading or small detail. Play with some scrap metal before trying it on a good blade.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Yes , Boye's book is good with info. Some of it is a bit outdated, but the basic principle is good. FC will work the same as his aqua regia.

I use enamel paint to paint the image as a negative (paint what you don't want etched) and etch in FC to the desired depth. Works OK for basic line drawings like a whale or such, but not all that well for a detailed drawing that requires shading or small detail. Play with some scrap metal before trying it on a good blade.
Click to expand...
I was going to say I use my wife's fingernail polish. Works well, but let's keep it between us
 
Brilliant. Saw the Boye book online cheap so ordered one. I might try first on old rusty garden tools!
 
Fingernail polish is fine, but it is made to form a thick coating and isn't made to paint fine lines. Enamel is made for painting. Also, since you have to coat the entire blade, it gets expensive to cover a bowie knife with Loreal nail polish. A pint of black enamel is $6, and will last years.
 
Try a paint pen or glue.

The acid will eat away the metal and leave the paint/glue.
 
When I bought my personalizer, it came with this blue tape that you can use to draw your own designs or logos and use that to etch your blade. I've only used it once, and it work the way it was supposed to. It was on a nephew's knife. We just needed to etch his logo, and since making a knife was a one time thing for him, we figured using the blue tape would be better than ordering templates for him.
 
It seems some folks don't understand resist etching. It isn't the same as making an electro-etch with a freehand stencil.

You completely cover a blade with a substance that will resist the acid. Asphaltum, enamel paint, hard wax, etc. are the normal coatings. Then, using sharp tools, you remove the resist material to expose the metal where you want it to etch. Once exposed, you place the whole blade in a pan/container of acid or other etchant and let it eat into the exposed areas. Other areas may be cut into during the process to get less deep etch lines. When done the mordant is removed and the blade neutralized.

Fingernail polish, glue, or a paint pen won't work.
 
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