Removing Etchings

[tas237]

Hello again all...

I have a few 1095 blades on some traditional folders that are a bit busy in the etching for my liking. What is the best way to remove etchings? Do I just sand & polish? I've read somewhere that Flitz works well for this.

It is laser etching I believe.

 

[Sam Dean]

For the light laser etch, any metal polish will work, like flitz or semichrome. Just don't use sandpaper!

 

[sitflyer]

For the light laser etch, any metal polish will work, like flitz or semichrome. Just don't use sandpaper!

Actually, for very deep etches, and for stainless steel which is etched, sandpaper can be very effective and leave a nice "as ground finish". The trick is in keeping the sanding lines strait and even across the surface of the steel. For carbon blades like GEC's 1095, just cut a bunch of fruit with it and peel some potatoes for a few weeks, the etch will be eaten up by the patina in no time at all. Or use a metal polish like Flitz, or Simichrome. It's all good in the end

etch being consumed by patina...

bottom knife originally had a deep "Orvis" etch which was removed by sanding, I like to say, re-surfaced...

 

[knarfeng]

Moved to Maintenance and Tinkering.

 

[tas237]

Thanks. Appreciate the knowledge.

 

[ryxlyx]

Even a "light etch" is melted/resolidified metal-- you'll be Flitz polishing for quite a while, it doesn't come off like paint. I've removed a few etchings from blades, I sand, taking blades eventually to 3000.

 

[Jason B.]

Even a "light etch" is melted/resolidified metal-- you'll be Flitz polishing for quite a while, it doesn't come off like paint. I've removed a few etchings from blades, I sand, taking blades eventually to 3000.

Um, etching with a acid is a coating of oxide formed in a chemical reaction.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Even a "light etch" is melted/resolidified metal-- you'll be Flitz polishing for quite a while, it doesn't come off like paint. I've removed a few etchings from blades, I sand, taking blades eventually to 3000.

Laser etches, yes. Many (or likely most) others, no. Many 'light' etches are applied chemically, and the 'etch' is just oxidized iron (usually Fe[sub]3[/sub]O[sub]4[/sub], specifically; a.k.a. 'black iron oxide'). This is not melted metal, but just iron in the steel that's altered by chemical reaction with the etching agent (usually an acid). It's usually very shallow, compared to a laser etch, which does deeply 'burn' steel out of the blade (steel is vaporized; it can be seen under magnification in the deep 'dots' making up Spyderco's laser etches; they look like little craters in the steel, and won't be polished out).

Some chemical etches will take a little more time to polish off, but it can still be done (Queen's D2 blades have pretty durable chemical etches, for example). The means by which the polish is applied and scrubbed will make a difference in how fast it works, such as powered buffing vs. not; or using a firmer scrubbing media, like a wooden block/stick, for scrubbing. More aggressive polishing compounds, like diamond paste or other relatively aggressive stropping compounds (black or white emery/alox compounds), can work faster; this works better on Queen's D2 blades, by my own experience in thinning, polishing & stropping these.


David

 

[ryxlyx]

he says "laser etch" up top, I commented re: my experience w/ removing laser etchings

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

On 1095-bladed traditional folders (per the OP), I'm betting it's not laser-etched; burning precious steel out of small, thin blades wouldn't make much sense, and only adds more expense. 1095 blades are the easiest on which to apply an acid etch, as the steel oxidizes so readily anyway. On those blades, the acid etches are usually the easiest to remove as well (with metal polish, buffing compound, and other acids like vinegar can take them off too). The 'disappearing etch' mentioned with patina on GEC's 1095 blades is a good example of that, as the food acids forming the patina will gradually dissolve the original etch away, while adding new oxide to the surface.

As I'd mentioned earlier, if one looks at the etch under good magnification w/bright light, the laser etches are easy to see; they'll leave a nicely-organized & tight pattern of deep, recessed 'dots' forming the logo (Spyderco's trademark 'bug' on their Golden, CO blades is a good place to see this). The acid etches look more like they're 'inked' onto the surface, more or less, even under magnification.


David

 

[tas237]

On 1095-bladed traditional folders (per the OP), I'm betting it's not laser-etched; burning precious steel out of small, thin blades wouldn't make much sense, and only adds more expense. 1095 blades are the easiest on which to apply an acid etch, as the steel oxidizes so readily anyway. On those blades, the acid etches are usually the easiest to remove as well (with metal polish, buffing compound, and other acids like vinegar can take them off too). The 'disappearing etch' mentioned with patina on GEC's 1095 blades is a good example of that, as the food acids forming the patina will gradually dissolve the original etch away, while adding new oxide to the surface.

As I'd mentioned earlier, if one looks at the etch under good magnification w/bright light, the laser etches are easy to see; they'll leave a nicely-organized & tight pattern of deep, recessed 'dots' forming the logo (Spyderco's trademark 'bug' on their Golden, CO blades is a good place to see this). The acid etches look more like they're 'inked' onto the surface, more or less, even under magnification.


David

Okay. That's good to know. I don't know much about different etchings and was guessing it was lasered.

The knife in question is a GEC 23 so it seems that will be acid etched and easy to remove with a compound.

Thanks again to everyone who offered their knowledge.

 

[ChromeMiner]

Laser engraving is a general term covering several types of laser marking.
A fiber or YAG laser does vaporize a tiny spot of metal where is strikes. This is what Spyderco uses to mark with.
A CO2 laser cannot vaporize metal and marks by either vaporizing existing powder coating or anodizing, or by use of a specific laser industry ferro-coating that is brushed or sprayed on and becomes "embedded" in the metal as a dye when struck by the laser. This process is used to mark bare metals with a CO2 laser, currently used on medical implants for bar coding and serial marking as it does not make an inclusion in the metal for stuff to get stuck in, it remains smooth on the surface.