Since several are interested, here are some notes about etching. There are a couple of more little notes on my faq page.
Finishing Pattern Welded Material
Just some notes about finishing damascus. First: check the knife-making forums on my links page. A lot of opinions out there. Experiment to find what works for you in your studio.
The finer grit finish before etching the better the finished piece will look. 300 will do, 600 is good 1200 isn’t too much. The highest contrast between the light and dark will be on heat treated steel. However, I’m finding the finish acceptable on normalized pieces if your project doesn’t need to hold an edge.
I only recommend Ferric chloride diluted with about 4 parts of absolutely distilled water. A slower etch is a better etch. Unless you desire a grippy surface like in the case of a flashlight I don’t like to see a real deep etch. If your shop is cold, warm the etchant to about 90*F. Important: Anytime you touch the metal during etching wipe with acetone to remove the oils from your skin or you will have a splotchy finish. It’s certainly acceptable when the desired depth is reached to buff the steel to highlight the high areas and then clean and re-etch a little to re-establish the black.
When the etch is completed I like to put the piece in boiling water, with a few drops of ammonia to neutralize the FECL3, for several seconds. This seems to lock in the black and the heated piece will cause fast evaporation before rusting can start. Then apply some lanolin product quickly while still warm and let set a while before wiping away excess.
A tip for things that will be handled or around someones mouth. There is a product available named Lanshinoh, it is a lanolin product intended for nursing mothers and claims to be safe for both “mom & baby”. Available on Amazon, you might find it locally. Luckily my initial tests have also proven it to be a good finish for pattern welded carbon steel. Another lanolin based product I like is called Fluid Film, don’t think it would be good for things where people might get it in their mouth like the Lansinoh, HPA Lanolin. But it is great for lots of things exposed to weather and corrosion. Many knife-makers like Renaissance Wax.
SO are you going for the Supper black and alternating shinny? I have always been a fan of the dark patinia grey and shinney, this should be interesting. Can not wait to see images of the finished product! 8)
I will etch a test piece by Matt's instructions. I'm hoping for a lot of contrast. I'll post a pic of that here so Matt can look at it and if he gives it the thumbs up, then I'll do the light the same way.
Anytime you want to see the pattern, just dip it in vinegar for a few minutes. It’ll need to be clean and a few minutes in vinegar will only give a shadow of what we are hoping for from the ferric chloride. But it should start to show.
Dale you gotta bigger room? You must have as everything is bigger in Texas. We have two Matts joining us. I’ll grab more ice and ales while you sort the next room out.
Move over Steve, and pass me the popcorn. Hey Dale, would you grab another brew while you’re up? Damn! No wonder I can’t get anything done around here.
s. I’m a big fan of 14650 cells for single cell EDC’s
Sorry RBD. I did not see you in the corner in the shadows. The suspense is really starting to build. I'll have to get myself a 16650 one day. Do you know of any going cheap?
I'm afraid the videos will have to wait until the light is finished and shipped. It's just too time consuming to do the editing. Basically, I have to watch hours of mostly boring video and edit out or speed up all (most) of the boring parts. For every minute of video that I put up I probably cut out a minute, but I have to watch all of it several times.
As someone mentioned in the other thread, hands are getting kinda itchy now!
I need to get a charger and spare battery on order. I am looking at the Nitecore I2 and the Hummingbird. I see the batteries come in button top and flat top and a variety of mAh as well as ni-mh or lithium.
Guidance appreciated.
