Pics of hamon etching

Knifemaker87

Knifemaker87

Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
1,073
okay i started a thread a while ago with some knives in it...
Blueline sent me some FeCL acid to etch the baldes with... and here are pics of me doing it. my only problem is that the big blade the hamon wont show up. its there... but when i clean the oxidized stuff off... the hamon doesnt stay... ideas? what am i doing wrong?

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then... i clean it up and it looks like this:
any ideas?

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gonna finish this one with black linen micarta and mozaic pins

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thanks for looking
~chris
 
Havent done it myself for a hammon, but with some cable damascus iv'e got, what i did to keep the patern showing well after etch yet having it bright was i first sanded 600 grit by hand, then etched, then hit it with a 1500 grit paper, then re-etched then hit it again with 1500 paper and repeated etching then 1500 grit till it looked alright.
 
okay... that works... i was doing the same thing... i guess i just wasnt etching it "hard" enough. i'll try that
thanks
~Chris
 
After etching in Ferric Chloride (or even vinegar) try cleaning it up with 0000 steel wool and see how you like that. I read that the steel wool doesn't clog the steel pores like sandpaper.
 
Good looking Blades Chris. Bringing a hamon out is time consuming, frustrating and a lot of work. But the end result is usually worth it.
 
Chris-

I laid out my methods a few times but I can't seem to find them with a search so I don't see how you would either.

I have never etched a knife the same way twice. It's always a little different... whatever it takes to get what you want out of the blade.

Anyway, I think your "problem" is that you're simply sanding too aggressively after etching.

I would recommend vinegar as well. Just the simple "distilled white vinegar" that you can buy at the local grocery store. Heat it up and use cotton-balls to rub it all over the blade (that's been cleaned with dish-soap). You have to put a couple drops of dish soap in the vinegar prior to heating it or it won't work worth a darn.

Then once you get the blade all dark purple/black and ugly from the vinegar, you need to remove the oxides. But that's where I think you're on the aggressive side. Instead of using sand-paper, try Flitz, Semichrome, etc. I have several polishing powders from Mager Scientific, but stick with something simple like Flitz for now. It WORKS.

It takes a lot of elbow grease to get the oxides off!!!

And you'll most likely have to do this process two, three, fourteen times to get what you want. You just have to experiment.

Certainly not the only way, but it works for me. :D
 
sounds like a plan... gonna try a few things... i WILL get it.
thanks so much for the help...
ummm where can i get flitz? i have looked at all the hardware stores around here... would ceramic cleaner work? i am gonna try and play around with it this afternoon.. what makes it dicy is that the blade is SHARP... like REALLY.
so yeah... well i am gonna try the FeCL first casue i have it... if that doesnt work i'll try the vinigar.
thanks a bunch!
~chris
 
okay long story short, i took Sunfishman's advice.. it worked.
the hamon line isnt as dark as i want it but i ran out of time tonight. let me know what you think
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Chris-

Looks great!! Your hamon looks very active and even!! NIce blade shapes too!

Thanks for posting the pics!! Looks like the FC worked out just fine!

Blueline
 
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