My First Etching! Opinions and Advice Welcomed.

H

Honed_Edge

Joined
Feb 5, 2013
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I found two old and tarnished knives in a box. Both knives are cheap stainless junkers. I sanded/buffed them both to a high (not full mirror) polish that could be used to easily read reflected text. I really didn't worry about getting every scratch out as these are proof of concept blades. The goal was to test the paint application methods and etching methods. It took about 30 minutes a blade. All my knowledge was gained via YouTube. Please tell me what you think of these first ever "customs". Let me know what you would change and advice you have gained through experience.

By the way, it's hard to get good pictures that show off the true quality of these. I'm an experienced camera user but damn these things!!!



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Definitely like the splotchy one better than the polka-dots. Keep practicing, I think there's some promise here.
 
JustSomeGuy said:
Definitely like the splotchy one better than the polka-dots. Keep practicing, I think there's some promise here.
Click to expand...

I agree with the promise part but I like the dotted one. It looks like a whale shark. (An actual whale shark, not the knife)
 
What'd you use to etch them? And what was the process in general. They look really nice. I haven't had much luck getting stainless that dark.
 
Nail polish covered the shiny spots. Maybe the pink helped! :) I used a battery charger with salt/vinegar solution and cotton balls.

Make your pattern on a very clean blade, nail polish is very cheap and easy to use.
Allow lots of time for it to dry, the globs take forever to set up.
Mix some salt in a dish with vinegar. (You will do electrolysis as a side effect and make chlorine and hydrogen gas. Don't huff the fumes but it's no big deal.)
Dab a cotton ball into the mixture.
Red + lead clipped to the blade, Black - lead with the cotton ball.
The best results came from keeping it moving and not dabbing it.
I only etched for about 3-4 minutes a side, it was really quick using the 6 volt setting.
Watch youtube to see the process in action.
 
Great results on your first attempt at etching Honed_Edge. Keep at it. One day I hope to get up the courage and give it a try.
 
These are a little big but you can also do it with a ferric chloride bath as well. I have found nail polish to be best in most situations but as an alternative and for a thinner and more easily manipulative mask, I have used Dykem layout dye. It is a very thin liquid and about $11 for an 8oz bottle on line. Once dry its very tough to remove without the specific cleaner. It also comes in a spray can which is great when I want to protect an entire side or large area of a blade or folder handle. I haven't figured out how to upload a pic yet or I'd show my recent Kershaw BLUR I did similar to yours.
 
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