Try some etching solution, you'll like it!

Sorry Brian,, I thought it did in the past and when I saw how the SS one looked well I assumed wrong. It says it does work on titanium but it doesn't Frank
 
Long story short, what worked for me: 12v, Ernie's stencils, Mickey's etchant

I used to make my own stencils and they turned out pretty good. A little labor intensive but it was nice to get the exact font and size I wanted for each knife. Turns out the stencil material can go bad over a couple of years (kind of disintegrate when I would develop them recently). Since I would burn through mine pretty easy, I just switched to having Ernie make me a couple of stencils. They're really nice and really sturdy but I still burned through them in one or two etches. Switched my homemade etcher over to 12v and it worked much, much better. Then I bought some etchant solution because of this thread and now everything is working fantastic :) :thumbup:

Although now that I switched to 12v and Mickey's etchant I'm guessing my homemade stencils will also last so I might get some more stencil material to make my own for some odd sized knives or if I want to add some personalization on a knife.
 
Mike Fennessy said:
Although now that I switched to 12v and Mickey's etchant I'm guessing my homemade stencils will also last so I might get some more stencil material to make my own for some odd sized knives or if I want to add some personalization on a knife.
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What is the stencil material? Is it just a mesh with a chem film on it that you develop? Any links to the info would be great.
 
Yeah, that's a good description of it. It takes a lot of experimenting with times and lights but it's kind of fun. I'll post pics on a different thread to not hijack this one.

edit: here's the other thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/930699-Stencil-Developing-with-lots-of-pictures

I'm not positive where I got mine from but here is the material and developer from Mickey:

http://www.usaknifemaker.com/stencil-material-undeveloped-85x11-p-2878.html
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/stencil-material-developer-1-quart-p-2879.html

Looks like he's out now. I might have gotten it from etchomatic. It would be the 'Unexposed Dura-Film Stencils' and 'Stencil Developer' that's about 3/4 of the way down this: http://www.etch-o-matic.com/price-list.htm
 
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I started out using saltwater and Tustech's stencils (great company to do business with BTW). I recently switched to a commercial etching solution at the recommendation of a veteran smith - thanks Dan!

I may have missed it above, but the most obvious difference yet to be mentioned is how little stencil fouling occurs when using the commercial fluid compared to saline. Quick rinse under soap/water and they're good as new - flat, clean and ready to go. With salt water, I would be lucky to get 3 or 4 uses before I had to switch to an ultrasonic cleaner to get that nasty buildup cleared from the mesh. Now that unit has gone back to gathering dust again (read - more bench space).

I changed very little about my process after the switch and was generally pleased with nice deep sharp marks even on my 3/8" wide mark version with salt water. I cannot honestly say that the commercial etchant improved the outcome for me, just reduces the cleanup of both steel and stencils. Makes it more pleasant afterwards.

Money well spent IMO.

AWL
 
Fine, I'm now including Electrolyte 110A etchant with my etchers instead of salt packets. I agree with Andy that my test results didn't change much, but the cleanup was definitely easier.
 
Frank Niro said:
Sorry Brian,, I thought it did in the past and when I saw how the SS one looked well I assumed wrong. It says it does work on titanium but it doesn't Frank
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Bummer, I was hoping...

I've spent a bit of time and dough on trying to get a good looking mark on Ti with no luck.

Marks? Yes.
Good looking? No
 
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