[Frank Niro]

Hi Don.
Robert Eggerlings phone no. I believe is 610-682-6836 I bought his Damascus from someone else who just happened to have it for sale. I understand he is a well respected, reliable, friendly person. If you call him let me know the outcome I want to go that way myself after I use what I have on hand. Don, the etching is simple. I finish my blades and bolsters down to 600 grit by hand using Mobil 1 motor oil on the blade which does a great job of keeping the finish even. To etch I lay the bolsters flat in a plastic dish and for the blade I suspend it in a tall pickle jar using a stainless wire. I use a solution of about 30% ferric chloride with distilled water and leave them for about twenty minutes. You can use this solution over and over and get great results every time. Of course it works great on other carbon steel Damascus.The time you may want to change for what you preffer in an etch. You can start with less time and add. I was once told that if you can feel the etch with a finger nail it will usually be sufficient. They are then washed and buffed clean for coloring.A furnace may be far too much and you will never catch the colors which are gold, brownish puprple, purple, blue and then silver in that order. If you overdo it, you can buff the color off and start again. I place the bolsters or blade that are extremly well cleaned, on a piece of thin stainless that is .050 thick and has a handle like a spatula,on an electric kitchen top element with the heat turned up to about 90% .In the case of a blade when I see it is just starting to become gold color I turn it over using tweezers. There is a little learning curve on the blades. You will find that if you allow the heat to evenly cover from under the plate, of course, the full lenghth of the blade, the heaviest ricasso area will color first. the tip end is off of the plate and therefore isn't receiving the same amount of heat. It is necessary to place your spatula so that for a while the ground end has heat while the other end gets only a little.
So I hope this helps some or ask for more. I believe that if you try the Thunderforge you will find it difficult to harden properly, and that it warps easily, as well as the fact that if colored it does not give good clear colors but tends to blur. Pleased to write this out for you and all others interested. Frank