dwalker
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2016
- Messages
- 1,220
- Reaction score
- 213
I have just completed my first etching job. Thanks to Dave Martell's tutorial, it was an easy and enjoyable experience that yielded great results. I started with a Tanaka blue 2 Damascus 240 that I had sanded to a semi-mirror polish.
View attachment 35258
After making sure I had everything I would need at hand, I mixed the acid and vinegar in a piece of 3" pvc.
I held the blade by the tang and lowered it into the mix, swished it around a bit, and let it stay in for about 20 seconds.
It etched very quickly and the core steel turned a rich black. After washing it off, the contrast diminished a bit, so I decided to give it another 20 seconds in the acid. The result was identical as far as I could tell. Here it is after washing and neutralizing the acid with baking soda.
It had a bit of texture so I gently buffed it with some brasso and paper towel. As expected, it reduced the contrast but it smoothed up the cladding.
Next, I needed to put a handle on her so I tried my hand at burning one on. I made it fit about 3/4 of the way on with files, heated the tang, and knocked it home. It worked out quite well.
So here she is complete and ready for prepping dinner.
This project was fun and easy and I encourage anyone who is thinking about it to give it a go. The only casualty was the tip etched away a little. That was easily fixed on the stones. Thanks again to Dave Martell for the tutorial.
View attachment 35258
After making sure I had everything I would need at hand, I mixed the acid and vinegar in a piece of 3" pvc.
I held the blade by the tang and lowered it into the mix, swished it around a bit, and let it stay in for about 20 seconds.
It etched very quickly and the core steel turned a rich black. After washing it off, the contrast diminished a bit, so I decided to give it another 20 seconds in the acid. The result was identical as far as I could tell. Here it is after washing and neutralizing the acid with baking soda.
It had a bit of texture so I gently buffed it with some brasso and paper towel. As expected, it reduced the contrast but it smoothed up the cladding.
Next, I needed to put a handle on her so I tried my hand at burning one on. I made it fit about 3/4 of the way on with files, heated the tang, and knocked it home. It worked out quite well.
So here she is complete and ready for prepping dinner.
This project was fun and easy and I encourage anyone who is thinking about it to give it a go. The only casualty was the tip etched away a little. That was easily fixed on the stones. Thanks again to Dave Martell for the tutorial.
