Weird etching result with AEB-L

Isley

Isley

Joined
Feb 26, 2016
Messages
65
I've worked with AEB-L a lot and have never seen this, felt like I entered the twilight zone. Blade was pre-ground and heat treated to 80% finish then heat treated (Bos). Ground it and quickly hit the flats as usual to match surface textures. Its going to be tumbled so nothing fancy there. Etch it and the flats remain bright. Etch some more, nothing. I decide to rough up the flats more and lo and behold the bright steel flakes off revealing a darkly etched surface underneath. I'm assuming I went through mill scale but I've never encountered it in this manner and I was surprised it was seemingly indistinguishable from the good steel. I have some more blades from this batch I'd like to experiment with. Is sodium bisulfate sufficient to remove mill scale like this (assuming that's what it is)? Its hot rolled AEB-L for clarity. Would really like some insight on what's going on.
 
I've had a similar case with SF100 steel. Comes from the factory with a thin shiny surface layer, under which- dark oxide layer, and the good steel under it.
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Yeah it looks similar. Had I not etched it I'm not sure I would have detected the layer anomaly on mine, its pretty tenacious. If I don't hear anyone else chime in I'm going to try some muriatic in a bit and see if that reveals it on the others.
 
The two steels are almost identical in composition. It's possible they sold you SF100 (like mine) instead of AEB-L. I managed to get rid of the unwanted layers using a wire brush attachment for a drill.
 
That's normal. Various concentrations gives different results. I avoid chemicals and use electricity. Same thing. Etching, pitting, polishing, passivating. Electric and chemical. Find the appropriate concentration for the need.
 
JoeBusic said:
That's normal. Various concentrations gives different results. I avoid chemicals and use electricity. Same thing. Etching, pitting, polishing, passivating. Electric and chemical. Find the appropriate concentration for the need.
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I'm trying muriatic right now. What do you use as your solution for electrolysis, vinegar and salts?
 
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