G'day

[orrah]

I'm a brand new member all the way from New Zealand.
I hope you may be able to help me
I am after any infomation on etching a carbon steel blade with vinegar.
I need to know how to prepare the blade ,what sort and strenght of vinegar, how long to treat the blade for, how many times to treat blade etc etc etc.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thankyou

Orrah

[hammerdownnow]

Here are a few threads on the subject. Welcome
vinagar etch

[Dementia]

hey,
welcome to the forums
i think there are some other members from NZ.. so dont feel too alone

[john mcdonald]

kia ora Welcome to the most informative and friendly bunch of guys you will contact. What part of the islands are you from? I am in Hunterville in the Rangitikei and have been a full time knifemaker for nearly 2 years, I have the e-mails of all NZ makers contact me @ oldmcdonald@xtra.co.nz.. regards john.

[orrah]

G'day

Thanks for replying hammerdownnow, but I don't seem to be getting anything when I click on the thread you put up, it just says no match found , what am I doing wrong.

Dementia, thanks for being friendly, and I may catch up with you one day as my family and I are going to spend a year driving around Australia starting in July.

john mcdonald, fancy meeting a Kiwi here. I am a total beginner when it comes to making knives, I am in the middle of making a kit knife at the moment, so need all the help I can get.My trip to Australia this year is the reason I have taken up this whole knife making thing as my new hobby. I wanted something I could work on and make in the evenings with basic hand tools.I have also been a outdoors type all my life, and have owned, and used many knives, but none that I have put together myself.
Like I said in my first post I sure could use your guys help.

Orrah

PS I live in Ruby Bay ( thats between Nelson and Motueka)

[JeridJohnson]

Welcome to the KNet Orrah.. There is a wealth of info to be had here.. The forum search feature can help you find just about everything you need to know.

I personally do not have much experinence with vinegar etching but I believe it is on the mild side.. You chould probably leave a blade in overnight without any ill effects... Most of my experience on etching with using Ferric Cloride...

I guess the big question here is what exactly are you trying to accomplish with the etch.. Are you trying to simply put a matte finish on the blade or are you trying to bring out the effects of a temper line, or perhaps highlight the contrast of damascus steel?

With this information the folks here will be much more equiped to assist with your questions..

Cheers,
Jerid

[orrah]

G'day

Nice to meet you Jerid, and thanks for replying to my questions.All I am hoping to achieve is a basic dark grey finish on the blade.
As I said before this is my first knife that I have ever done ,and I don't want to get to complicated at my first attempt .
I have tried a search, but can't seem to find a step by step guide as to how to do it.
This may seem dumb to you guys, but I want to get it right and do it properly.
Can anyone help??

Thankyou

Orrah

[JeridJohnson]

Well, Like I stated I am not too familiar with using vinegar but here is what I would suggest. For a dark grey finish you could try sanding your blade to 600 - 800 grit finish.. Warm the vinegar until it feels warm to the touch.. Probably about 80*F.. Soak the blade in the vinegar checking it every couple hours until you reach your desired etch.. Make sure you remove ALL oil residue from the blade prior to etching or you will get some funky designs.. Once you reach the deired etch remove and wash the blade with water and baking soda to nutralize the acid.. At this point you can take a bit of metal polish such as Mothers Polish or Semi Chrome and LIGHTLY rub the chalky residue off of the steel.. Wipe clean and enjoy.. You can always re-etch if you are not happy or you can simply re-sand the blade and start over.. Different steels will react differently when etched.. Some may be darker or lighter than others. Also, etching may bring out the color of any temperlines or inperfectios in the steel...

Keep in mind that it would be pretty hard to ruin a blade when etching with vinegar.. so experiment a little and have fun.. In the future it would be good to buy some blade steel to test with prior to performing experiments on your actual blade.

Good luck on your project..

[orrah]

G'day

Thanks for replying, I will give it a go in the next day or two and see how it works out.
Just one question though.
You say to sand to 600-800 grit, I have already sanded to 1200 grit.
Should I go back to 600 to get a better effect.
Also I have access to a small sand blaster, has anyone tried sand blasting a blade before etching.
You have made me feel abit easier when you say it is pretty hard to ruin a blade with vinegar so I might just experiment.


Orrah

[JeridJohnson]

In my opinion, I dont think 1200 is a problem.. I just think it is probably overkill if you plan to etch the steel as etching it actually eats the surface. There have been lots of makers who sandblast the blades.. I have never tried it myself..

[orrah]

G'day

Hey thanks for your help.
This knife making thing is good fun.
I have spent some time looking over the rest of this site, and some of the knives that people make just blow me out of the water.
I will let you know how it goes, and if I get myself organised and borrow a friends camera, I will post up some pics

Orrah

[JeridJohnson]

Oh Geezzzz.... you thought knifemaking was complex?... wait until you try to take a picture of a knife.. LOL.. Thats where the real fun begins.. :-)

Do let us know how it turns out..

Cheers,
Jerid

[hammerdownnow]

I once desided to patena a blade with vinagar. I put it blade down in a glass full and set it on top of the fridge. about a week later I saw the sheath laying there and remembered it. Doh! Ran and got it out and it had deep furrows ate in the blade. So you can over do it with vinagar. If I had done that with Fc, I am sure the blade would have been gone.
Vinagar is a nice safe slow way to experiment with etching. After awhile your paitence wears thin and you want faster results. I recently discovered that wrapping a blade in a vinagar soaked paper towel sets up a nice patena within an hour. Just wiping a blade with a cut lemon will color it. mutiplle wipings darken the blade in stages till the desired color is found.

As there is no such thing as real stain-proof steel. (I guess thats why they call it Stain-less) It is believed that the finer the finish the more stain resistant the blade will be. The grey scale on a blade would seem to depend on the deeper scratches or pockets for the etchant to set in real black. The finer the finish, and the less deep pockets there are, the softer grey the the patena will appear. (Hope that makes sense).

[orrah]

G'day

Thanks guys for the advice, it's the exact type of advice that I've been looking for.
I'll have a serious go at the blade on the weekend.
I'm trying to work out in the mean time about how to do the handle wood.
The tutorials on handle wood fitting are very good, but I am trying to decide if I should add a finger cut out on the handle or not.

Have a good day


Orrah