Glitterin' and other etching questions

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ar11

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Etched my Tanaka Gyuto and noticed glitter? This was above the area I thinned, not sure whats going on with the clad but surprised me. Note that there's no texture to the glitter that I can detect, it's all smooth. Prior to the etch I had taken the knife to a hazy polish but never detected any difference in the clad color/contrast. Either way looks like glitter wont go away unless I remove more metal, but it's started to grow on me.

Also for pro-etchers, any advise on how to get the Blue #2 etch a more uniform color? Notice that it's varying shades of dark grey. Did I mess up the prep?

DSC04625.jpg
 
Also for pro-etchers, any advise on how to get the Blue #2 etch a more uniform color? Notice that it's varying shades of dark grey. Did I mess up the prep?

In my experience, this is a result of variances in the heat treat. Harder steel simply etches differently than softer steel...and the steel can be at different levels of hardness throughout, even in the same section thicknesses.

if you look at etched mizu honyaki blades, you'll see what I mean. The swirls in the quenchant change the rate at which the steel cools, even below the clay (meaning towards the edge), and this gives you activity in the etch.
 
I've seen the same glitter and wondered / asked the same question. AFAIK, the HT on a clad blade is uniform, but optimized for the core steel, so the cladding is HT'd the same way but has a different result due to the composition of the metal.

I always wondered if it had something to do with the cladding being much cruder metal with much larger / coarser grain structure so the components are much less finely integrated and the etching reveals this.
Anyway, I think that it does look kinda cool and it goes away / evens out very quickly with use.

IMAG0028.jpg
 
Got the same thing on a kagayaki AS. Looks killer. Mine was uniform across the whole thing though.
 
I used Dave's 50/50 Ferric/Vinegar mix. Etch happens super fast. My first blade I dunked for 10 min and had pitting. This time (with blade above) just wiped it on with a sponge probably 5 min total. I actually sponged 2x and polished inbetween with a flitz (not sure if made any difference). I did notice with Flitz polish it took longer for the acid to eat thru so it must form a protective barrier.
 
I used Dave's 50/50 Ferric/Vinegar mix. Etch happens super fast. My first blade I dunked for 10 min and had pitting. This time (with blade above) just wiped it on with a sponge probably 5 min total. I actually sponged 2x and polished inbetween with a flitz (not sure if made any difference). I did notice with Flitz polish it took longer for the acid to eat thru so it must form a protective barrier.

It has some sort of wax in there also besides aluminum oxide.
 
I use straight diluted ferric chloride. I've been meaning to ask Dave why he mixes ferric and vinegar. I mean...they both do slightly different things, but I think that's mostly due to the strength of the acid, not the actual chemistry. I'm sure he has a reason, but I never would have considered mixing them myself.

I always find it interesting to see what other guys are doing. What seems logical to you may be completely outlandish to me, and vice versa. Sharing is how we all improve though...and its a worthy investment!
 
I always wondered if it had something to do with the cladding being much cruder metal with much larger / coarser grain structure so the components are much less finely integrated and the etching reveals this.

that would certainly be my guess.
 
Has anyone etched with anything other than ferric? Was watching this youtube vid, and this guy uses ferric, muriatic, and sulphric. Tempted to try muriatic if I can find some.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inzrn7kL-2U

Back when I worked for a molecular genetics department, I used HCl, because I could get it easily, and at a high molarity. Works great, though diluting is important.
 
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