I can't seem to get a good mark with my etching machine

[Belstain]

how do you get a good crisp looking etch? mine are always kinda screwy. i have tried using stecils but wherever i mark on em the lines come out blurry. i need help.

 

[R.W.Clark]

If your stencils are high quality with crisp lines than the problem is simple.

You are etching too long. If you etch too deeply the design will start to cut out as well as down. This leaves that ruff blurry look. I have the rock bottom Personalizer and love it. I use five cycles of five seconds (for 440C and ATS-34). After each five seconds you must remove the hand piece to let it "degas". Then I switch the unit over to mark and repeat the same steps. If you have a larger unit, you will need to decrease the lengh of the cycles. To be safe, do five cycles of two seconds and check the progress. If not deep enough repeat. It is better to take it to slow and get it right than try to rush it and screw up the blades finish.

The owner of Electro-ChemEtch made a good point about their power house units. He said that he is always amazed by makers who put in twenty to thirty hours on a knife and then do not want to take the minute or two to etch it properly. Makes sense to me.

 

[Mike Hull]

I use a marking methods machine,I use the heavy duty green stencils,not the gold.I set the machine at 1/2 power,touch the pad to the stencil (lightly)2-3 seconds,lift and repeat,about 12 times.BTW before you start,put the felt on your hand pad,soak w/ electrolyte,then dab it on a dry paper towel until it barely shows a damp mark,then proceed,and hopefully you will have better results.

 

[R A Wilson]

I too use a Personalizer but I have had poor results. I am using the stencil material that came with the unit. The problem I am having is the etchant bleeding through the stencil. This results in random pits and marks on the blade the size of the hand piece. I thought this was caused by excess etchant on the hand piece but when I blot the excess off on a paper towel, I get a poor etch. I have experimented with bloting the excess etchant and either get the bleed through or a random etch. Is this stencil material junk, I have had the etcher for a little over a year and have not used it after ruining several knives. Where can I get good stencils?? Please help!

 

[Mike Hull]

Marking Methods can supply xlnt stencils.Get the heavy green type,not the gold,the gold is junk.http://www.markingmethods.com

 

[Plain ol Bill]

the web address will work if you put a period instead of the comma before "com" Might help anyone new out there ---

 

[Belstain]

My problem is in the actual making of the stencil. I have an
ETCH-O-MATIC and I'm using the green stencils that came with it. I can't draw good and when I do the lines are never crisp. How should I make good stencils?

 

[Don Cowles]

The material used for handmade stencils is garbage, and can produce nothing but blurry results (and only once, at that). It would be ok for putting your name on your snow shovel, but not much else.

Draw up your design, and reproduce it on the computer. send your artwork to Marking Methods, and they will make you a good stencil for about $40, with which you can mark hundreds of blades.