I need help with a knife(steel) finish!

Joe Watson

Joe Watson

Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
484
Hi guys,

Ive taken a small step into knifemaking, I have a few blanks that Im currently working on. Id like them to have a finish that is low glare and will offer good corrosion and wear resistance. Ive considered Brownells Gun Kote, Ive used it on some firearms with good results. Problem is, Im thinking heating the knife up to 100 degrees then baking at 300 for another half hour might mess up the temper or heat treatment. Will it?

Does anyone know any other good DIY finishes or a professional who will do good work for a reasonable price? Any advice would be helpful.
 
300 shouldn't mess with the temper. but that depends on the steel you're talking about.
what type of steel are you using?
you could try tool black. or birchwood and caseys cold blue. pretty nice stuff.
 
yeah i worded that wrong. i should have stated that 300 won't hurt the temper but when going higher you have to start worrying, depending on the steel.
 
If it's non-stainless, etching it is another nice no-glare finish that while it won't completely prevent rust on it's own, it will slow it down enough that you don't need to be as fanatical about oiling it immediately after use. Besides hard to find and dangerous acids, you can use safe and simple household items like vinager, mustard, and hotsauce to etch.
 
The best etch I have found so far is from Chuck Burrows. Blue the blade (Birchwood Casey Superblue) then etch in Chlorox. Follow this with clean up and sanding until you have the finish you want. It does an outstanding job.
 
Thanks for the help.

I have two blades one is 440(im guessing A) and the other 1095. I know not very good, but like I said this is just a start! I really dont stand a chance of bluing the stainless, right?

Im not sure Im familiar with etching a blade with liquid, could someone please provide some more information?
 
Uncle Joe
To get a nice, mottled finish on the 1095 blades, use regular yellow mustard. Put a little mustard on the blade, dip your fingertip in it and pat the blade with that finger all over, occasionally adding more mustard to your finger. Let it sit over night. Wash off the mustard using water and 00000 grit steel wool, found at Walmart, in the paint section. Repeat as necessary to get the finish you want. I usually do mine 3 or 4 times. The vinegar in the mustard acts as the etchant, leaving a nice coating of oxides on the blades. With a little care, this will help prevent rusting, but 1095 will never be close to stainless.

For the stainless blades, I've used a solution of ferric chloride (sold at Radio Shack as Archer Etchant or PCB Etchant-it's used to etch PC boards) and water, mixed 3 parts water and 1 part ferric chloride. I submerge the blade for 7 or 8 minutes, then clean with water and 2000 grit sandpaper from the auto supply store, and repeat as much as needed for the finish I desire.

Hope that helps!

Todd
 
If you use the super blue/clorex etch it works fast, check every 5 min and scrub with 0000 steel wool or Scotch brite pad. Gib
 
Some steels etch faster than others. Here is a D2 blade I forgot and left in the chlorox overnight for 8-9 hrs. (multi-tasking and rum are not good). Probably most steels would be gone by that time, but this looks pretty good in an aged way.
 
For liquid etchants, you just dip it in there, depending on what you use it can be anything from overnight to a few seconds. Room temp vinager would be an overnighter, hot vinager can be checked every 20 minutes to an hour.

You just submerge it, check it after a while by pulling it out and neutralizing the acid and cleaning off the oxides with a plastic scrubbie or something similer, then it's either done etching or goes back in for more and check again later.
 
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