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- Jan 26, 2013
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I have posted some pictures of a few ZT's that I have acid etched and stone washed before but I thought while I worked on one tonight I would take some pics for others who are "ballin' on a budget" and want to give this a go.
Final Objective: Darken Ti scale, Acid etch and stone wash the blade, procure toxic green scale from one of our trusted ZT scale makers.
What you will need: Torx drivers for take down (I stared using wiha drivers about a year ago and will never go to anything else), Acetone or rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover (I had to ask my wife which color she cared the least about), Ferric Chloride or PCB etchant, dental floss, a glass jar that is taller then your blade, lots of paper towls, oxi clean, and a heat resistant dish.
1. Take down the knife without bumping table and knocking all your hardware in the floor. Eh, it wont be the last time.
2. Assemble all ingredients in one location near a sink and a microwave.
3. Fill Jar with etching liquid and place on a paper towel in case of dribble.
4. Clean blade with acetone, and then paint up the pivot area of the blade with fingernail polish. Be sure to encompass the area in which the detent rides on the blade.
5. After the polish dries, loop a strand of dental floss through the pivot eye and slowly dip the blade into the etching liquid. Hold the floss across the top of the jar so that the tip does not touch the bottom of the jar, and screw lid on snugly with the excess hanging out.
6. Mix a scoop full of oxi clean into a dish full of hot water (heated 2 mins. in the microwave on high) and submerge the cleaned ti scale of the knife into the solution.
7. WAIT.........45 mins.
8. Remove the blade from the liquid and clean it off with paper towels. DO NOT WASH IT OFF IN YOUR METAL SINK UNLESS YOU WIFE WANTS AN ETCHED SINK!
Also remove the scale from the oxiclean and wash it off with soap and water.
This morning I headed down to the shop to do the stone washing. On my way, I decided since this would be a personal user, I would do two different washes; one on each side of the blade. I taped up one side with waterproof frog tape, did one side, then taped up the finished side, and washed the other. You will see the difference in the pics.
Here is the tumbler we use at the shop with ceramic medium.
In this first set of pics, the blade was tumbled on High for 6 mins. to achieve a more traditional uniform "pattern" on the right hand side.
On the reverse side of the blade, i tumbled on Low for 3 mins. then Hi for 30 seconds. This gives a more "Nuked" finish to the blade.
Hope this info can be helpful to anyone who wants to give it a go. Feel free to ask any questions.
Final Objective: Darken Ti scale, Acid etch and stone wash the blade, procure toxic green scale from one of our trusted ZT scale makers.
What you will need: Torx drivers for take down (I stared using wiha drivers about a year ago and will never go to anything else), Acetone or rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover (I had to ask my wife which color she cared the least about), Ferric Chloride or PCB etchant, dental floss, a glass jar that is taller then your blade, lots of paper towls, oxi clean, and a heat resistant dish.
1. Take down the knife without bumping table and knocking all your hardware in the floor. Eh, it wont be the last time.
2. Assemble all ingredients in one location near a sink and a microwave.
3. Fill Jar with etching liquid and place on a paper towel in case of dribble.
4. Clean blade with acetone, and then paint up the pivot area of the blade with fingernail polish. Be sure to encompass the area in which the detent rides on the blade.
5. After the polish dries, loop a strand of dental floss through the pivot eye and slowly dip the blade into the etching liquid. Hold the floss across the top of the jar so that the tip does not touch the bottom of the jar, and screw lid on snugly with the excess hanging out.
6. Mix a scoop full of oxi clean into a dish full of hot water (heated 2 mins. in the microwave on high) and submerge the cleaned ti scale of the knife into the solution.
7. WAIT.........45 mins.
8. Remove the blade from the liquid and clean it off with paper towels. DO NOT WASH IT OFF IN YOUR METAL SINK UNLESS YOU WIFE WANTS AN ETCHED SINK!
Also remove the scale from the oxiclean and wash it off with soap and water.
This morning I headed down to the shop to do the stone washing. On my way, I decided since this would be a personal user, I would do two different washes; one on each side of the blade. I taped up one side with waterproof frog tape, did one side, then taped up the finished side, and washed the other. You will see the difference in the pics.
Here is the tumbler we use at the shop with ceramic medium.
In this first set of pics, the blade was tumbled on High for 6 mins. to achieve a more traditional uniform "pattern" on the right hand side.
On the reverse side of the blade, i tumbled on Low for 3 mins. then Hi for 30 seconds. This gives a more "Nuked" finish to the blade.
Hope this info can be helpful to anyone who wants to give it a go. Feel free to ask any questions.
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