Hi.
I have a question about finishing up full-tang knives that have been etched in ferric chloride. From what I've seen, many people etch their blades, then glue the handles on and then polish the top and bottom of the knife on the grinder, leaving the handles perfectly flush with the tang but stripping the etch in those areas. I want to keep that etch on, so I tried to temporarily attach attach the handles, sand them flush on the grinder, remove them, etch the blade and then glue the handles back. It worked pretty well, but there is a tiny bit of offset in the handles, a fraction of a millimeter, but I can still feel it and it bugs me.
I'm considering on doing what other people are doing and attach handles to the etched blade, sand them flush and then somehow darken the exposed parts back.
My question is - are there any substances that I can apply to the exposed parts of the blade to darken it to a color similar to results of ferric chloride? I know there are bluing compounds, but the color will be somewhat different, I think. I haven't tried them, just gathering information for now, but I was wondering if you know of anything else that would create a tint that's more black then blue?
Thank you!
Luka
Hi Luka here is a San mai Chef knife I etched after attaching and sanding the handle , I used a small scrap of the handle material to test it's resistance to ferric in this case the stabilized wood didn't discolor. I mixed up about an ounce or so of ferric mixture a little stronger than normal and carefully used a Qtip to apply the ferric (one of the pointy ones) and then windex to neutralize. When I've done Damascus bolsters or integrals in the past I've used clear nail polish and let it dry very well etch and remove nail polish with acetone. I'll add I think I would try to stick with one enchant to keep colors consistent.
So you just put more ferric chloride with a q-tip after? For some reason I thought it would run off, but your image proves me wrong. I will try that definitely, thank you!
The best way I've found to do that is learn to use screws.
Finish the knife out - remove the scales - etch/color/hot-blue/Parkerize/etc. - then screw the scales back on with epoxy.
Karl B. Andersen
Journeyman Smith
What Karl said. Chicago screws, Corby bolts, Loveless bolts, etc.
The important thing to realize is that the screws have to fit tight so as not allow any movement. Bolt the scales on and sand the profile 100% done. Take it apart and glue it back together. Now finish the sides. You can file the bolts/screws down to avoid excessive heat.
Joshua States
www.dosgatosforge.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg
https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71
Also on Instagram and Facebook as J.States Bladesmith
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