Pre -HT Sanding when Planning Acid Etch

[chavez556]

What grit would you sand your flats and your bevels to, if you were going to acid wash the blade after heat treat ?

What about after heat treat?

 

[Techtical]

I believe at least to 400 grit before you etch. But it depends on your etchant strength/time and what u want the etch to do. I do the blue and bleach process and the 400 seems to dissappear nicely with short etch times(15-20 min). But i believe any scratch pattern can be removed, it just takes a longer etch time. So 400 after ht should be good enough to get what u want...

 

[Frank Niro]

Grooves, holes, digs, will all become larger when you etch unless removed before doing so. It seems a lot of makers go with 400 when etching Damascus. I like 600 or even 800. Frank