"How to" acid etch 1095 steel

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Blackcat471

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Oct 23, 2014
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I just bought my first custom made from this forum from josh powell. Its sweet as hell its been pre acid etched and polished. My thing is i love the knife and all but i wanna jump in and make it mine. I'n not sure how it was acid etched but its a very pretty light grey and id like to make it a bit darker. My thoughts where to degrease it and soak it in vinagar. I dont however wanna take the paracord wrap off, its tight as steel. Any thoughts, advice, pointers? Thanks in advance.
 
I posted this question on another part of the board and i had few veiws and no replys so ill post it here. I just recieved my first custom knife. Its a beaut. Its polished etched 1095. Id like to try and etch it myself a little darker. I was wondering if i just soaked it in vinager if that would suffice. I dont wanna take the paracord off the handle though. Its really really tight like the maker used two horses to tie it.
 
This probably isn't the correct place. But I doubt vinegar would do what you want. It will just cause a patina, and dull or darken the whole blade evenly. Also, if the paracord is that right it might be epoxy soaked.
 
Buy some PC board etching solution from a place like Radio Shack or online from an electronics store. It is Ferric Chloride and is a brown color. I believe there is an acid in with it in a very low percent. I used it to acid etch all kinds of steel. Make sure the part is completely clean or it will show as a dark or light spot. Even a fingerprint can show up. 5 - 15 minute soak and rinse with clean water. I use a firearms rust prevention liquid after to stop it from oxidizing right away. As for the paracord, It may tint the cord from the brown color of the solution. You could either remove it or soak it right up to where the cord wrap starts.
 
You can use ferric acid and wipe it on with cotton balls and leave it on for 10-15 min.,spray with Windex wipe it down, wash with dish soap and repeat if you want it darker. This way you can leave the wrap alone. Be careful not to get it on the wrap, it would most likely have some bad effect on it. Just tape it off as best you can and use Qtips to get in to the tight spots. Don't worry to much if it is not perfectly even in color, the stonewash will even things out. Here is a O1 blade that I used this method on.
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Well its black paracord. Its not epoxy coated or anything its tied very well. I dont know if id wanna chance it now with the paracord if its not going to turn out right. Ill eventually make some scales for it. I have no access to tools to do the work right now. Like i said this is my first custom knife ive always carried bench mades and cold steels before. This knife really makes me wanna jump in and get my hands dirty.
 
Thats a nice effect flatblack will 1095 turn out that way ? how bout the hamon will it still show up well ?
 
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