need help etching mokume

J. Neilson

J. Neilson

Joined
Feb 6, 2001
Messages
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OK, customer order, never messed with the stuff before. I'm finishing up a little belt/neck knife with damascus and sambar and I have brass/copper mokume on the pommel and contoured guard. I buffed and tried brushing ferric onto the stuff and it etched but, it wasn't very pretty. I was expecting to be impressed. How else can I (should I) etch this stuff? Should I just let it tarnish? :confused:
 
J. Neilson said:
OK, customer order, never messed with the stuff before. I'm finishing up a little belt/neck knife with damascus and sambar and I have brass/copper mokume on the pommel and contoured guard. I buffed and tried brushing ferric onto the stuff and it etched but, it wasn't very pretty. I was expecting to be impressed. How else can I (should I) etch this stuff? Should I just let it tarnish? :confused:
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I will tell you if you promise not to laugh. Buff to mirror polish and etch with a little natural oils from you face. The side of your nose works well, or your forehead. Do this a few times a day for a few days and you will be amazed at how good it looks. Sweat also works good. dont have it dripping off the knife. Just a little spread evenly on the bolster. I got this tip directly from a well known Mokume maker at theBadger Knife show a few years ago. I am not kidiing. This is how i do it and it works great.

The ferric etch does look like crap. I also found that leaving it inside the sheath for a few days also works prividing there is no crap inside the sheath like excess dye or glue.

Hey, you asked.
 
There are dozens of acidic "wipes" you can try.Lemon juice,white vinegar,ammonia,sweat,urine (yes),liver of sulpher,FC,etc.The preferred Japanese solutions are 1 pint ammonia plus 1 tablespoon of salt;and liver of sulpher.Immerse in a hot solution and keep swishing the mokume around.Rinse every 5 minutes.It can take 30 to 60 minutes to get a good patina.Another technique is to "smoke" the mokume.Put the etchant in a large jar or plastic pail.Suspend the mokume over it and let it "develop".You can get a month worth of age patina in twenty or thirty minutes.Liver of sulpher can make some nice colors on mokume.
Any patina you make will rub off with buffing/cleaning.A permanent deep etch,like on damascus,can be gained with FC,or aqua regia.The trick is to rinse and check often.Really unusual 3D effects can be gained with a very deep etch.
As in any etching the metal should be sanded to 400,and absolutely clean and oil free.
Mirror polish is not the best surface for mokume.The reflections hide the pattern.
I am into the final stages of a san mai wakazashi and tanto with all mokume hardware.When done,I'll post photos.
Stacy
 
it's a bit late now to change things,but the mokume should have had silver or nickle silver componets for it to be etched good. the copper and brass combo will etch at about the same rates and not give the results you were wanting.a satin finish and patina will work now,but the contrast between metals won't be great.
 
Thanks guys, I can always count on my forum friends. The ferric etch was ok on the surfaces but, it just looked like dirty copper on the sides/edges. I'm going to take it down and try it again..not with the ferrric. I'm going to have to since I'm planning on making this stuff in the furture as well. Thanks again.

Michael, that doen't sound strange. One of the Jones brothers gave me that same tip for copper furniture and I've been doing that for awhile now. Works great.
 
if you really want to age that sucker pee on it :)
 
blgoode - I have several references to using urine as a good aging bath.PLUS - it is a good excuse to drink beer (in order to get a fresh supply).Maybe we should do a test study of different brands of beer/whiskey to see if some will create a better "aging bath" than others! We could call it "PEE WARS". I am now thinking that since I just received six jars of Indian George's HT relish I may be able to recycle a darn fine etchant.
 
in art school I was really into aging things. my theory was, if you cant make it look "pretty" make it look abused :thumbup:
That being said I was into aging alot of things from the paper that I drew on to harware bought from home depot....
There was a place that you could buy patina liquid for different materials like brass, copper, iron but I found that it was too harsh for what we are doing here. :D
 
I've found that it depends upon the composition of the mokume as to how well it etches. When using 3 color made of copper, brass and nickel silver an 8 part water 1 part FC at about 70 deg gives a very nice etch. When I etch my two color mokume made with copper and nickel silver it etches but looks terrible. I usually deep etch the 2 color stuff and then bead blast it lightly. Gives it some texture and gets rid of the corroded look.
 
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