MEMBER ITEMS FOR SALE
Custom Knives | Other Knives | General Items
-------------------------------------------
New Posts | New PhotosAll Photos



Go Back   The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions > Custom Knife Discussion Boards > Knife Making Discussions > The Newbies Arena

The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 11-24-2012, 10:38 AM
troglodyte troglodyte is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Redneck Holler Kentucky
Posts: 24
$30.00 etcher

Hi Againg. I mentioned in last thread about building tools is a lot of fun. Hers one you might try. I was tring to find a schematic for Chris Crawfords etcher and a very smart friend said "why Bother". He said go get a small cheap battery charger. Purchased 6-12V,1AMP charger(19.00) alligator clips (2.00) Made my own handle(0.00) stencils (9.00). Tried it out on an old kitchen knife. Surprise,suprise. Durn thing worked great. Thought you might want to know. Probably nothing new though. trog out. Used ferric chloride ans an etchent.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 11-24-2012, 11:24 AM
damonw81's Avatar
damonw81 damonw81 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Indiana
Posts: 15
Cool, I like tinkering too. Try using salt water. Additionally, Mr. Crawford put a tutorial on his sight. It allows for AC/DC switching for the mark/etch option. It appears simple enough.
http://chriscrawfordknives.com/#/ele...nit/4535265119
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 11-24-2012, 08:17 PM
Imakethings Imakethings is offline
Steel Addict
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Boone, NC USA
Posts: 293
I encourage etching stuff on occasion: the only extra note I would add in is doing a toner image transfer.

Take a look at: http://mordent.com/etch-howto/
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 11-24-2012, 10:45 PM
piggy's Avatar
piggy piggy is offline
Steel Addict
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: AZ, Like to party in Tombstone
Posts: 127
Quote:
Originally Posted by Imakethings View Post
I encourage etching stuff on occasion: the only extra note I would add in is doing a toner image transfer.

Take a look at: http://mordent.com/etch-howto/
Imakethings have you tried this? If so could you post pics? I've seen something like this but it didn't turn out as nice. this is pretty cool.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 11-24-2012, 11:11 PM
Imakethings Imakethings is offline
Steel Addict
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Boone, NC USA
Posts: 293
Yup, I've done copper, nickel, and iron.
Fiddle with a mix a bit and you've got a sulfate based plating solution.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 11-24-2012, 11:37 PM
ranger1's Avatar
ranger1 ranger1 is offline
Hall of Famer
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Lexington,NC
Posts: 2,414
That is pretty cool . I see all kinds of possibility's with this.


__________________
Andy Sharpe
I ruin perfectly good steel!!
www.sharpeknives.com
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 11-25-2012, 03:36 AM
AUBE's Avatar
AUBE AUBE is offline
Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Cebu, Philippines (or Michigan, USA)
Posts: 909
The toner transfer method can come in handy. We used to get vinyl stickers for etching designs but the designs were limited by how thick the vinyl cutter could cut. You don't have that problem with the toner method.

It can be a bit tricky to transfer it on a knife...for example trying to get it nice and tight near the plunge line. When we first tried it we used an iron and heat gun to warm the piece but we found baking in the oven worked better. Some paper works better than others. With some of the paper the paper fibers get trapped in the toner and will create pinhole etchings all over the piece. They make paper specifically for doing this stuff (laser toner transfer paper)but its a bit pricier than regular glossy paper. One tip we picked up online was using glossy magazine pages, it can work pretty well. Also regular saltwater will work as an etchant, you don;t have to get the iron sulfate.


__________________
www.ecosknives.com
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 11-25-2012, 11:01 AM
Imakethings Imakethings is offline
Steel Addict
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Boone, NC USA
Posts: 293
Oh, and if you do want to do some electroplating with this setup, it is possible. You're not going to get a perfect coating unless you are very careful and do a good bit of reading on the science behind it. Also I highly suggest making sure that you are aware of how to dispose of any of the etching and plating chemicals you use, some of them are toxic and should not be disposed of down the drain or anywhere that they can get into groundwater supply (nickel compounds especially).

If you want any further reading here is a site for you
http://www.substech.com/dokuwiki/dok...ickel_coatings

And if you have specific questions about plating or surface prep:
www.finishing.com
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 11-26-2012, 10:18 AM
metal99 metal99 is offline
Master
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada
Posts: 859
You used ferric chloride for the etch? Wouldn't the ferric chloride do the etching without the use of electricity?
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 11-26-2012, 02:25 PM
AUBE's Avatar
AUBE AUBE is offline
Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Cebu, Philippines (or Michigan, USA)
Posts: 909
Quote:
Originally Posted by metal99 View Post
You used ferric chloride for the etch? Wouldn't the ferric chloride do the etching without the use of electricity?
Ferric will etch by itself but adding electricity speeds it up. Using electrochemical etching I can get the same depth in about 5-10mins that I would using undiluted ferric(from Radio Shack) in about 10 hours.

Thats an extreme case though...etching that fast can cause problems...I just used it as an example of how much faster adding some electricity can make it.


__________________
www.ecosknives.com
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 11-29-2012, 07:44 AM
metal99 metal99 is offline
Master
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada
Posts: 859
Ahh ya that makes sense.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
battery, building, chris, crawford, electrochemical etching, etch, etching, handle, how to, image, iron, kitchen knife, knife, made, make, making, post, simple, supply, surface, tools, tutorial


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Just another etcher ? Uncle Buck The Newbies Arena 2 02-07-2009 08:40 AM
etcher Kbud Tool Time 4 11-11-2006 10:49 AM
etcher knifer94 Tool Time 4 10-11-2006 10:13 PM
electro-etcher Omega Fine Embellishment 2 02-24-2005 06:51 AM
looking for an etcher mwinans The Supply Center 5 04-16-2004 01:26 AM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:09 AM.




KNIFENETWORK.COM
Copyright © 2000
? CKK Industries, Inc. ? All Rights Reserved
Powered by ...

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
The Knife Network : All Rights Reserved