how long to etch.?

[david lovins]

how long and at what temp should you etch cable dam .any help would be greatly appreciated.
thank you; david lovins

 

[Ed Caffrey]

David,
Each has his or her own preferences for time whtn etching. I would recommend that you start with about 10 min. in a 3-1 ferric chloride solution, at around 70 degrees. I personally go for about 10 min., clean the blade with 0000 steel wool, and if I want a deeper etch.........clean it and etch again.
The whole trick to etching any material is to take it slow. Your end product will come out much crisper and cleaner.



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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"
www.caffreyknives.com

 

[tom mayo]

like ed said...take it out -clean it off- and check it...you dont want to forget about it, and end up with a very small piece of metal...been there.

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http://www.mayoknives.com

 

[rookie]

pardon me for my ignorance, what exactly does the etching process do ?what benefits come from etching?

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Shane ------------------- If you don't have time to do it right the first time, When do you think you'll have time to fix it!!!

 

[Gerome Weinand]

the etching process eats away one layer of steel faster then the other one steel will have nickel acid does not attack nickel as quick as regular steel that leaves the dark and light colors

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All that is not Given Is Lost

 

[david lovins]

thanks for the info,i'll give it a try on my next one.as me and my brother are planing on doing some forgeing in the near future.thanks a lot.

 

[Osbourn]

The acid also eats at high carbon faster than low carbon, so the procedure works with laminates that don't contain any nickel, too.

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Oz

"Violence never settles anything."
Genghis Khan 1162-1227

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