strange-ish etching question

[Fletch Helical]

So today I shipped off 3 blades to be HT and I have some time to play with my etcher and hopefully make a sheath. I have my test piece of steel all sanded up to 800 but it's a smallish piece. What I'm wondering is: Does the negative HAVE to clip on to the piece of steel I'm etching or can I connect it to any old piece of steel?

I have a very small space on the piece of steel I have that I can clip like the tip of the alligator clip on. So I can do it if need be but I was wondering if I can clip the negative on to another piece of steel as well?

 

[Patrickknives]

You have to make a circuit between the positive and negative, you can connect your negative to another piece of steel if the piece you are etching sits on top of it. You could clamp the small piece in a vice and then connect the negative to the vice as well.