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etching with ferric chloride

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    #1

    etching with ferric chloride

    After watching some youtube videos last week, I went to RadioShack and got some ferric chloride. Last night I got some fingernail polish at Walgreens and tried etching for the first time. This is a cheap steak knife that got sent to me from Omaha Steaks one time, so no biggy if I ruined it. I covered the whole thing with fingernail polish, then scratched out my name with a toothpick, then let it sit in the ferric chloride for five minutes, then cleaned the fingernail polish off with acetone, then sanded it with 600 grit sandpaper. Although it looks kind of rough, I think it's pretty cool.

    If any of you have tried etching (other than damascus), I'd like to see pictures of what you've come up with.
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    Last edited by SamHarper; 07-17-2014, 07:20 AM. Reason: correcting a word
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    #2
    That is pretty cool

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      #3
      I use salt water with a homemade etching machine for my makers mark

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        #4
        You can also use sharpie as a resist, if you need a little more control. Here's a short tutorial I did a long time ago on the process. I've long since gone to an electric etcher for making my marks, but this way does work.

        How I Etch My Name
        http://www.frycustomknives.com/tutorials/how-i-etch-my-name-2
        I remember when I was trying to figure out how to mark my knives, there wasn't much out there on the internet other than expensive stamps or electric etching machines. I didn't invent this method I'm about to describe, but neither have I found the whole concept in one tutorial. I now use

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          #5
          Pretty cool, Jason! Thanks. If I had known a sharpie would work, I could've spared myself having the check out guy at Walgreens say, "I think that'll look nice on you" when I bought the fingernail polish.

          I wonder if I could make mine look more neat if I used something other than a toothpick to scratch out my letters. Like make a sharp pick or something. I saw some at Harbor Freight today.

          But people do pretty cool stuff with fingernail polish. Check these out.



          He did that with fingernail polish.

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            #6
            Yeah, you have to go to fingernail polish to get it to etch as deep as the ones you pictured. Sharpie works for a frosted mark, but you need something thicker than that if you're going to leave the FC on long enough to really eat the steel.

            I use fingernail polish for etching guards and Damascus blades.

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              #7
              I went to the dollar store today and got this knife for a dollar and some stickers and used the stickers to etch. I painted fingernail polish along the edge. I'm just experimenting.

              Psyche (pronounced 'Sue Kay') is the name of my cat.
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                #8
                That's pretty dang cool!

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