Hi guys,
the ferric chloride has some effect on baffalo horn or wood?

If I dip in ferric chloride the damascus tapered tang knife handle I know the ferric chloride effect on the metal bat on wood or baffalo horn what happens?

Riccardo

My suggestion is DON'T! It's not so much that the ferric will get into the wood/horn and change the color, but you'll never be able to get all the ferric out which means that it will eat away at the handle material, AND anywhere that ANY ferric remains will rust badly, and continue to do so, wrecking your knife.

You can TRY to mask areas with wax, nail polish, or vasiline, but it almost never fully works. My suggestion is to do whatever etching you need prior to assembly, and ensure you neutralize the parts that have been before putting everything together. Otherwise you'll have a constant problem with heavy rusting.

Hi Ed,
thanks for the ready answer. With damascus I have realized only knives with hidden tang.
Now I want to make a knife with a tapered tang construction, but the problem that I place myself is like etch the mounted handle.

Riccardo

Hi Ed,
thanks for the ready answer. With damascus I have realized only knives with hidden tang.
Now I want to make a knife with a tapered tang construction, but the problem that I place myself is like etch the mounted handle.

Riccardo
You either have to do the handle without gluing, then take it apart, etch, and then finish the handles, or you can just etch and then do all of the handles, and then finish spine and bottom of handle, which isn't a bad look.