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

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  #1  
Old 02-11-2016, 01:59 PM
WNC Goater WNC Goater is offline
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Etching makers mark

I've done quite a bit with the search function, found Ernie's site for stencils, looked at the etch-o-matic, making your own stencils, etc. I have an electro-plater I believe will work with Ernie's stencils which seem to be the most cost effective way to go, but still a question I haven't found a clear answer to.

Once you have the stencils and means to do it, what do you use for etchant? I saw Ernie's recipe but can the standard Radio Shack etchant (Ferric chloride) be used for a makers mark with a stencil?

edit to add: Specifically 1084 & 1095 steel


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Last edited by WNC Goater; 02-11-2016 at 02:09 PM.
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  #2  
Old 02-11-2016, 02:25 PM
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mwhuston mwhuston is offline
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I bought mine from Ernie when I ordered my stencils


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  #3  
Old 02-11-2016, 03:33 PM
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ricky_arthur ricky_arthur is offline
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No, ferric chloride is an acid and will probably destroy your stencil. You need an electrolyte which you can either buy or make. You can make it with white vinegar and salt, and it works good for carbon steels. If you use it on stainless it does not leave the Black in the etch and if that bothers you just order an electrolyte for stainless. They are pretty reasonable to just buy. If you want to see how a stainless etch with vinegar and salt looks, look at the kitchen knife thread I have been working on. I wanted the White etch to match the white handle so It worked good for that.
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Old 02-11-2016, 08:03 PM
LCooper LCooper is offline
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I'm just now set up to etch and was wondering about voltage and time difference between high carbon and stainless. Does stainless, which I'll be using, taking longer times or more voltage? I have a old lab power center that puts out AC or DC and can vary the voltage between 0 -30 volts with either a 10 amp or .5 amp output. Any thoughts on what would be best in my scenario?
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Old 02-11-2016, 08:11 PM
WNC Goater WNC Goater is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ricky_arthur View Post
No, ferric chloride is an acid and will probably destroy your stencil. You need an electrolyte which you can either buy or make. You can make it with white vinegar and salt, and it works good for carbon steels. If you use it on stainless it does not leave the Black in the etch and if that bothers you just order an electrolyte for stainless. They are pretty reasonable to just buy. If you want to see how a stainless etch with vinegar and salt looks, look at the kitchen knife thread I have been working on. I wanted the White etch to match the white handle so It worked good for that.
Actually your photos are what prompted me to quit putting this off. I currently just engrave them. I'm pretty new at this and only sold a couple but I want a professional looking mark. Your's looks great and is exactly what I would like. That it would be black on carbon steel is fine. And so it is salt and vinegar. I've seen some YouTube vids on that but thought it had to be some magic brew more complicated that vinegar and kosher salt.

Thanks for the info. I need to get in touch with Ernie.


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Old 02-11-2016, 08:33 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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LCooper,

Too much power will ruin your stencils in a big hurry. I use 6vdc and 12vac with about 1amp. My etch goes for 20 seconds on carbon steel and 25 seconds on stainless. You should make contact for 3 seconds and lift the pad for 2 seconds, repeat 4 or 5 times as required ...


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Old 02-11-2016, 08:55 PM
LCooper LCooper is offline
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Thanks Ray, I know each machine is different but it's a starting point! Anxious to try it. Great advice about starting with lower voltages and not burning up stencils. The other good thing is I have several stainless knives that didn't make the grade to leave the shop for buddies but will now be stencil experiments!
I got my stencils and etchant from TUS. Very good to work with and quick turn around times.
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Old 02-12-2016, 12:13 PM
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walterwhite walterwhite is offline
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I've been using a setup I made with a 16V doorbell transformer. How do I find out the amps? Is it stamped on the transformer maybe?
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  #9  
Old 02-13-2016, 07:18 AM
LCooper LCooper is offline
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I'm new at the stenciling but most stenciling is done with DC voltage first to remove metal and then with AC voltage to darken. With that said your door bell trans is strictly AC. it should have a stamped VA number on it. A door bell trans is usually 16v or 22v to get a idea of amps divide VA by your voltage.
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Old 02-13-2016, 08:26 AM
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Andrew Garrett Andrew Garrett is offline
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Timely thread...

I had the Matronics Etch-O-Matic set up many years ago. It was the pro version with the full stencil making kit. Making stencils were a pain in the butt what with having to set up a 'dark room' and all.

The mark quality was ok, but I wound up selling the whole works when my marks started making my knives look too 'factory'. I have been making knives with no marks for several years now.

However, I have finally developed a mark and 'brand' if you will that I like and will start etching it in the coming weeks. I ordered the electrolyte yesterday.

I also ordered a pin feed stencil roll from Jantz. I'm curious how that product works. I do know that it allows you to create a single use stencil with a dot matrix printer, typewriter, or with a ball-point pen. The ability to etch a hand-drawn mark appeals to my desire to maintain the 'hand-made' quality of my knives. I'll let you know how it works.

I have multiple tattoo power supplies with adjustable voltage and amperage that look perfect for etching, so I will use one of those and a small pad yet to be made. I know the Q-tip and alligator clip are popular on Youtube, but I think I can do better. I just don't want the contact pads/hand units like the ones that come with the Etch-O-Matic or the Personizer. They are just too big and cumbersome. I'll make something just the size of my mark.

Thanks for the post.


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Last edited by Andrew Garrett; 02-13-2016 at 08:29 AM.
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  #11  
Old 02-13-2016, 02:36 PM
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walterwhite walterwhite is offline
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Thanks LCooper I'll take a look at it today and see what I come up with. Andrew I too love the hand drawn mark, that's how I'm currently doing it. I'm going to have to check out that stencil material on Jantz.


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Old 02-22-2016, 08:18 AM
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Andrew Garrett Andrew Garrett is offline
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So, the pin feed stencil material from Jantz came in.
It is a very thin non-woven mat of fine fibers coated with a blue 'film' on both sides.
The film is not plasitic. To call it 'waxy' would be descriptive but probably inaccurate.
The material is connected at the pin feed edges via perforation to a roll of paper on one side.
To use it, cut off a piece, lay it blue side down and paper side up on another sheet of paper. and write or type on the paper attached to the material.
Lift from separate sheet and tear blue material away from attached paper at the perforation.
You will have blue transfer images on both sheets of paper.
Your stencil material will looks very much like a professional stencil with your image removed from the fiber mat on bot sides where pressure was applied.
This is likely a single use stencil, but I will do a few tests first.
More to follow (gotta get to radio shack for a power cord and some alligator clips, etc.).


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Old 02-23-2016, 10:21 PM
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mwhuston mwhuston is offline
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homemade etching machine

I built mine using Chris Crawford plans. It works great and the plans made it easy. He has updated the site recently too.



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Last edited by mwhuston; 02-23-2016 at 10:30 PM.
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  #14  
Old 02-26-2016, 07:06 AM
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Andrew Garrett Andrew Garrett is offline
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The tattoo power supply did not work. At .15 AMP it just did not have the requisite power at any voltage setting.
Therefor, a fair review of the stencil material is not yet available.


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