Hi everyone! I had a go recently at making a chef’s knife on a blacksmithing course, but in the aftermath I’ve noticed some scratches that I can’t unsee and tried to sand them out. This has removed the Damascus etching, would the space have any ferric chloride to hand for me to attempt to re-etch it?
I’d also be wanting to touch up the handle since I got some vice imprints on it, do we have belt sanders and buffing wheels availiable?
Is this a project I’d be alright to carry out in the space? Maybe a blacksmith might even be down to give me advice on touching it up?
Just to say as well, since I’ve heard ferric chloride has a shelf life, I’m happy to acquire a bottle to donate to the space, since they seem to sell at 1 litre minimum which seems a bit much for just me…
It was awesome! 2 days with Boneyard London, on their Forge a Kitchen Knife course. It’s not cheap, but it was worth it, we started with a billet that had a basic squared shape, then hammered out the shape we wanted.
The etching was done before a handle was attached, dipped in a solution of ferric chloride, not sure if theirs had coffee already in there, but for this one I’ll do it separately as they advised me when I asked over email yesterday:
Yes if you’ve started sanding you’ll definitely need to ferric etch first before bothering with any coffee.
In terms of advice, stick with the 220 until all the scratches are away, and only then work up the grits. Just a time waste to do anything else.
For etching, go for a 2/1 water/ferric solution, try 10 mins at first, then sand with some 2000+ grit sandpaper, and re-etch for a further 5-10 mins, and then gently clean with the 2000+ again. Then, stick into some high strength coffee with the handle wrapped tightly, and every hour or so, rinse off with cold water and check. Once it looks dark enough, give a clean with a paper towel until bone dry, and then oil.
The handle was then attached to a wood blank and spacer and bolster, which I then sanded down to the shape I wanted, then buffed. (I left some vice marks on it recently so may need to touch it up if we’ve got the tools).
@metaltechs I was just in the space tonight and the COSH cupboards had no ferric chloride. I would also be after some distilled water to minimise the risk of any adverse reactions, is this something I could request? Do we have any suppliers I could check?
I’ve gone ahead and bought some, along with a big enough glass jar to hold the blade. Will use the space’s PPE when I’m down. Also should buy some coffee…
