[TheForge] Etching Damascus

[Washington, Aubrey O.]

Good information.  Thanks, Steve.
 
Aubrey

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From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net on behalf of smith at blacksmithing.org
Sent: Wed 11/22/2006 8:45 AM
To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Etching Damascus



Greetings all --

Just my 2 cents --HCL works as as etchment but it's a small and aggressive
molecule. If there is any delaminations, there will be rust blooms (no
relation). Boiling in a strong base (like NaOH) doensn't seem to help. I've
done lots of blades in it but they better be perfectly welded.

FeCl works but has tends to highlight grain - so the pattern ends up looking
like dots rather than lines. I don't like the effect but it's a matter of
taste. Neutralization is easier and rust blooms way less of a problem
compared to HCL.

Kano Labs Ex-Rust works (1:10 solution) but it's slow and dies after awhile.
It also lays down a hard coat that is removable with a strong base if you
let it go too long and/or the solution dies when you're not paying
attention. If you use fresh solutions, wipe off the slime coat every few
hours and can stand a 24-hour cycle, it works without the rust problems of
HCL or the grain effects of FeCl.  It's what I use these days.

Steve Bloom (Ironflower Forge)
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