GEC etches disappear

My most used GEC, a four year old #25 in Buffalo horn, has a fairly faint etching. It certainly didn't start off that way. My first knife with an etching was one of them Case Sodbuster Jr.'s from Lowes. I wasn't a fan at first, but they've grown on me. Not to where I won't buy a knife of there isn't an etching, but have come to view them as part of the charm of the knife.
 
CARRERA50 said:
Most GEC "etchings" will come off with a couple of applications of Semichrome polish. I think they are actually paint of some kind, as real etchings are really a form of engraving.
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Most true 'etchings' on blades are acid-etched, as opposed to engraving, leaving a black iron oxide on the surface. As light as the GEC etches apparently are, and as easily as they're removed, I'd bet theirs is a mild and shallow acidic etch (maybe dilute acetic acid, a.k.a. vinegar, essentially). That would be the easiest and probably least-expensive way to do it, using a mask or template/stencil with the logo. Polishing pastes like Simichrome/Flitz will rub the black oxide off, just as with a vinegar patina. The shallower the etch is, the more completely it'll be removed. A deep etch with a very strong acid, like ferric chloride/hydrochloric acid (works to etch stainless blades), would be much harder to remove, because it's much deeper into the steel than a typical patina.


David
 
Faster to do it with an electroetch than just with acetic acid. Not all electroetch processes actually remove metal. With the correct electrolyte and current settings it is possible to use an electroetch process to just oxidize the surface. We do this type of marking where I work.
 
knarfeng said:
Faster to do it with an electroetch than just with acetic acid. Not all electroetch processes actually remove metal. With the correct electrolyte and current settings it is possible to use an electroetch process to just oxidize the surface. We do this type of marking where I work.
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Thanks Frank. Do the electro-etched marks come off as easily?


David
 
Depends on how much current you apply and for how long. Electroetch can affect just the very surface or it can go a bit deeper, still without removing metal.

If you use different current settings and electrolytes, you remove metal for what is termed "deep etch".
 
knarfeng said:
Depends on how much current you apply and for how long. Electroetch can affect just the very surface or it can go a bit deeper, still without removing metal.

If you use different current settings and electrolytes, you remove metal for what is termed "deep etch".
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Thanks again. :thumbup:


David
 
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