Here is the enameled spacer next to the buttcap that has not been enameled so far. Rough sanded to about 220 and not 600 grit.

Here is a rough photo of all three pieces: guard, spacer, buttcap after enameling. They still need polishing but you can see the vitreous enamel. This stuff is hard, resistant to acid, scratching, and heat. I will silver solder the guard to the blade and that heat is irrelevant to the enamel.

where are you buying the enamel? is is a powder do you make a slurry ?

Hey Matt,

I buy direct from Thompson Enamels. They sell to other companies and usually have the best prices. There are sample kits you can get that have 5 or 6 different types of glass enamels. I was trying to sand the fittings above yesterday and aluminum oxide works but it is similar to sanding borax flux. It is tough stuff.

On these pieces I used a cobalt based ground coat to get a strong well adhered base coat. Then I went to the colored glass. Because I cut deeply into the fittings, it gave me a chance to build up the layers. In this case, only three firings in the forge. As I stated in the past you can see the colored glass melt so there is almost no guessing like enamelists do in a kiln. The metal just has to be very clean. I use a tooth brush and powder cleaner like Zud. Wash it very clean and then keep my hands off the pieces.

I use a glue that Thompson sells. It is designed to hold the powdered enamel to the metal and it works great. Then I sift using a fine mesh the powdered glass onto the fittings or sheath or handle. You just want the first coat to fully cover the metal with glass. Once that ground coat is fused onto the steel/copper/brass/aluminum, then additional coats are easy.

Design suggestion: I wanted some light green and white colors to show. However, on this knife the customer wanted a black handle. To match I used black opaque glass in spots to coordinate. If they had wanted ivory on the handle I could have matched the colors of the ivory (e.g., browns, tans and even ivory glass enamels). The colors are almost infinite. I have another piece where I wanted the round texture of the metal underneath to show so I used a transparent amber colored enamel. Worked great.

There are some things you should read on but the size of the glass frit is important for designs that use stencils or shading. Remember that this glass enamel is made to adhere to metal. Regular glass will not work and glass frit used to fuse glass only art work will not work. This is glass that is specifically made for metal. Also, the melt temperature of the glass is important. You want to start with a ground coat that usually melts at a higher temp (1525 or higher). Then add glass on top of the ground coat that melts at the same or slightly lower temperature. Because there is so much visual control in the forge this seems to be a minor issue unless you are doing large areas like a large sheath or handle. Fittings are a breeze.

If you go for it consider getting the forge hot so that it radiates at least about 1550 or 1600 F. I take my up higher and then shut everything down and just use the heat radiating from the forge liner. This controls for oxidation, the blower wind on the piece,etc.

I use a spatula of thin stainless steel upon which I place the fittings. When the glass is fused, I take it out of the forge and slide it onto an thermal brick to cool. You want the cooling to go slow.

Hope that helps and inspires a few of you to try it. Small amounts of the glass are relatively cheap and the options are huge.

Thanks for sharing this with us Dan.

Here's a question. This applies to the guard and spacer because it has two sides, as opposed to the butt cap that will be enameled on one side. What is your procedure for applying the enamel on two sides? Does the enamel cling to the base coat in spite of gravity? Or is this a multi stage operation from that standpoint?

I use a quarter inch rod or smaller for the spacer and the guard. The rod is nickle bearing welding rod so it handles the heat well. It is about 3 ft long and works well with a multi sided piece. On smaller pieces I have hammered the other end so that it is not thicker than the opening for the guard or spacer. I coat the rod in some satanite to keep the spacer or guard from sticking should it start to fuse to the rod before I slide it off after fusing. In the case of the items pictured I did all of them on the spatula. I hammered the edges of the spatula so that the piece I am enameling does not slide off the spatula while in the forge. Just peening the edges is enough. I learned this the hard way.

BTW the glue burns off as the glass starts to fuse so it tends to stay where I sifted it on to the metal.

On big pieces like the handle and sheath I made a spatula that just fit in the handle and one that just fit in the sheath. Coated them in satanite also. These were tight enough that I could rotate the piece. Larger pieces take more time at temperature (7-10 minutes versus 5 minutes). I found the glass moving slightly (slumping) unless I rotated the piece. On one handle I had silver leaf shaped liked leaves on a branch and I found the enamel flowing over the silver. A little was desired but too much made it difficult to see the silver leaf. By rotating it slowly I could control any movement. It does not run like a liquid but it does move some. Whatever you use it needs to not be a heat sink. You want the piece to heat up about the same rate. Now I preheat the spatula before sliding the piece I want to enamel onto it.

I had a learning curve doing this so I hope anyone who attempts this can benefit from what I learned. I am just amazed how well this works in a forge. Most of us have a great sense of working in the 1500 F range where the vitreous enamel fuses to the metal.

Get the glass too hot and it will develop a texture. Keep it just in that heat range and it comes out nice and smooth and glassy. Remember you can pull it out of the forge and look at the surface as you go. You can also redo the piece as long as that first coat goes on smooth and all over the desired surface. Otherwise, you have a problems with scale on any area that was not coated and that makes it very hard to cover that area on subsequent firings with added glass. I have not gone beyond 4 or 5 firings where each added a new layer or color of enamel/flux. There is likely a limit to the thickness of enamel that can be applied and still retain its integrity to the metal.

I have been very successful with copper and low carbon stainless steel. All my firings are successful now as long as the steel is well prepared, clean, and the ground coat is applied evenly to the right thickness. Too thin a coat and the enamel tends to leave voids on the metal. You want to have an even coat where you cannot see the underlying metal. Too thick and it tends to clump.

Dan

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Thanks for sharing this with us Dan.

Here's a question. This applies to the guard and spacer because it has two sides, as opposed to the butt cap that will be enameled on one side. What is your procedure for applying the enamel on two sides? Does the enamel cling to the base coat in spite of gravity? Or is this a multi stage operation from that standpoint?

Matt,

It comes in a powder of various frit size. Be careful not to breathe the glass into your lungs. I usually go with a mesh size of 80. It is pretty standard and a good place to start. I would not go larger unless you are experimenting with texture. 100 mesh is used with stencils and I have used it with success.

Thompson offers a nice FAQ webpage that does basic but good job of explaining the process. https://thompsonenamel.com/enameling-help-and-information/#1448049905549-1af4693f-7a7c

These enamels are made of silica, lyme, soda, borax, and then added metals to either give color or increase fusion onto metals. Right now I like using a ground coat that is opaque and then adding transparants (these have color but you can see underlying texture or gold or silver leaf.

I could literally spend the rest of my life playing with all the options. For example, on the buttcap I could lay in silver wire and do a cloisonne type effect.

BTW these are vitreous enamels and not paints, glue based, or acrylic enamels. This is a form of glass and is like the flux we struggle to grind off after welding with borax.

You did a pretty good job of putting the technique into qwords. I understand much better now. I really appreciate your taking the time to share this with us. It's things like this that lets each of us be exposed to ideas that may lead us into the next level of craftsmanship. New skill sets.

Thanks, Lin.

A couple of collectors told me I should patent the process. I thought about it and then decided that I had no intention of trying to keep it to myself or even making money from it. I would hope only that others who try it will give me some credit. I have a long way to go with this and I was lucky to get one of the Fisk Cutlery Challenge awards to work a lot of the kinks out of it. I would like to do some demos on it for other bladesmiths if I can find the time. Seeing the process and then showing how some of the enamels work can help.

Silver and gold foil laid on a base layer and then covered with a transparent is spectacular. Grinding and stamping a pattern or even engraving covered by a transparent results in just amazing depth. That may be one of my favorites right now. I used an amber transparent on a stainless flat guard with a tsuba shape that had been stamped with chisel cuts resulted in this amazing refraction of light off all the faces of the stamped cuts. That is for an upcoming knife.

A talented enamelist can stencil a face, adding layer after layer to shade eyes and cheekbones. You can use a lead pencil to draw patterns on a white enamel which is then covered with a transparent. One of my next attempts is going to involve a couple layers of enamel that are tossed immediately into a can of dried leaves (maple leaves from last fall) as is done in raku. Only with the enamel the burning leaves are supposed to burn/press into the hot and still soft enamel leaving variations in color and a twig/leaf pattern. I have seen a small 4x4 inch square that looked great. On a sheath this would be dramatic. There are lots of possibilities for anyone who wants to have a go at it.

Loving this thanks for sharing Dan!

Very interesting.  Inspiring me to explore the endless possibilities.  

TY Dan !!