How would you finish a San-Mai wrought iron and 1084 blade?

[Tom Lewis]

I found an old buggy wheel like 40 years ago. I finally decided to do something with it. I forge welded a 1/4" piece of 1084 between two 1/4" pieces of the wrought iron buggy wheel. I then put a ladder pattern in the blade. Today I did the heat treatment. I can see the ladder pattern in the blade, and it looks pretty good.
I am thinking I will need to etch the finished blade to bring out the contrast between the 1084 and the wrought iron.
Anyone have experience with this?

 

[coldsteelburns]

Definitely etch it, using ferric chloride. I've made a few wrought iron, carbon steel core san mai blades and it's one of my favorite mixes, especially when using a layer of nickel sheet in between. :thumbup:

~Paul

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My YT Channel Lsubslimed
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[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I agree on the nickel between the two. It makes the weld easier and stops carbon migration to some degree. It looks like a hamon when finished.

Grind and sand the knife to its finished size and condition. Etch well in FC and neutralize very well ( WI may have pits and pockets). Re-sand lightly with 1000-2000 grit paper and put on the handle.

 

[Tom Lewis]

Thanks for the help. I etched the blade in muratic acid and then neutralized with windex, then blued the blade. I am pleased with how it turned out. This was my first attempt. I learned a lot.

 

[wdtorque]

Came out good Tom.
Just plain ole muratic from the big box store? How long did it soak?
Dozier

 

[Tom Lewis]

It was muratic acid from Lowes. I left it in 30 seconds the first time, took it out dunked it in water and scrubbed with 0000 steel wool. The second time I left it in one minute, dunked it in water, scrubbed with steel wool, then sprayed with windex. Then I applied Birchwood casey bluing for one minute, then under running water scrubbed it with steel wool.
DO NOT use Muratic acid in doors. DO NOT breath the fumes. I etch outside with a breeze blowing the fumes away from me.
Next time I think I may etch in FeCl after the muratic acid.
I took a ABS Damascus class at Washington Arkansas back in 1991. The instructor was Master Smith Charles Ochs. He used Muratic acid to etch the Damascus steel and that's what I use for Damascus. For etching W-2 with a Hamon I use diluted FeCl.
A few weeks ago I etched some Wrought iron guards in FeCl and didn't see that the etch did much good. Maybe I didn't leave it in long enough.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

I agree on the nickel between the two. It makes the weld easier and stops carbon migration to some degree. It looks like a hamon when finished.

Grind and sand the knife to its finished size and condition. Etch well in FC and neutralize very well ( WI may have pits and pockets). Re-sand lightly with 1000-2000 grit paper and put on the handle.

Hey Stacy, i've heard a lot about using nickle. Do you mean using a high nickle steel like 15N20, or a sheet of pure nickle?

 

[javand]

Pure nickel 200 or 201. You can buy foil on eBay usually and jantz has particular sizes of plate.

 

[Rhinoknives1]

It was muratic acid from Lowes. I left it in 30 seconds the first time, took it out dunked it in water and scrubbed with 0000 steel wool. The second time I left it in one minute, dunked it in water, scrubbed with steel wool, then sprayed with windex. Then I applied Birchwood casey bluing for one minute, then under running water scrubbed it with steel wool.
DO NOT use Muratic acid in doors. DO NOT breath the fumes. I etch outside with a breeze blowing the fumes away from me.
Next time I think I may etch in FeCl after the muratic acid.
I took a ABS Damascus class at Washington Arkansas back in 1991. The instructor was Master Smith Charles Ochs. He used Muratic acid to etch the Damascus steel and that's what I use for Damascus. For etching W-2 with a Hamon I use diluted FeCl.
A few weeks ago I etched some Wrought iron guards in FeCl and didn't see that the etch did much good. Maybe I didn't leave it in long enough.

Tom,
I hate screwing around with harsh chemicals like that! :barf:

When I etch carbon steel Damascus I simply use White Apple Vinegar. It takes longer, but you can do it inside and dump it down the sink when you are finished.

I put the blade in, check it every 20 minutes or so. If I want a deep itch I leave it in over night. When I want to stop the process, I Just squirt it with Windex Run hot water on it and squirt it again. Then dry it carefully over an open flame.

 

[coldsteelburns]

A few weeks ago I etched some Wrought iron guards in FeCl and didn't see that the etch did much good. Maybe I didn't leave it in long enough.

You just didn't leave it in long enough!

Here's some Wrought Iron/L6 (bandsaw blade steel) san mai that I made a number of years ago which ended up having an inclusion/delam in the wrought iron itself. Since the inclusion happened to be near the center of the billet, I just cut it up into a few smaller pieces to mess with some other time, and ended up making this little kiridashi from one of them. I put it in my FeCl, but I accidentally forgot about it until the next morning, so it had a good night sleep in there lol... But yea, it ended up being a "happy little accident" because I really like the way it looks :thumbup: . I do plan on making a normal edc sized, "naked" (no scales) blade sometime in the near future. Next time however, I will put a resist around the spine, which will be nicely rounded off.

~Paul

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My YT Channel Lsubslimed
... (It's been a few years since my last upload)

 

[LX_Emergency]

WOW! That is a happy little accident indeed. Made for a very cool look.

 

[Tom Lewis]

Coldsteelburns, I think you are right I should have left it in longer. Also I think I need some new FeCl. I plan to make a new one in the near future.