Chimaera

Thank you for your service. Sounds like you got a good truck mechanic! I've actually got somethin' of a similar deal. My great uncle gave me my anvil, (RR, but it still works) when I was just a little kid. Now that I've started forging, I'm trying to make him a good knife.

Hey, would you look at that. I'm OH too. Cincy. I figured if I wanted to do some good etching I'd have to bite the bullet and get some FeCl3. I'm just on a fairly tight budget (railroad anvil, homemade forge, rebar) and wasn't sure how much use one could get out of a bottle of Ferric Chloride. I'll probably check the Lowe's that's 1/4 mile away. What would you suggest for a dark, even protective finish? Cold bluing or FeCl3? Thank you.

Ok, I'll look at getting some of that. Right now I just have a piece of scrap that I'm dropping in coffee, vinegar, etc to see if it does anything XD. To the best of your knowledge, will that cold bluing work on 5160? I'll probably be getting some of that, and maybe some O1 or W1.

I'm looking for a very black finish, such as this. I believe this is a stonewashed DLC, but is there a way to patina it that dark? That would be my goal.  

Ah! Makes sense. So, the whole thing (except the letters) is black? Sorry for all my questions, I'm just trying to figure out what I'm doing.

Looks nice! How did you get the blackened letters? Or is that from the bluing?

Ok. I just didn't know if it would cause issues, i.e. take off too much material, give a really rough finish, cause faster rusting... I'll give it a try, just rebar, no harm done.

Thank you for the advice. I've been looking into getting some coil springs, just haven't gotten hold of any yet, and thought rebar could be good practice. I will look into getting something from the library. So, your consensus on the sand is that it might be a little too aggressive?

Hi! I'm new to this forum, along with forging in general. I've made a few leaves and trinkets, but I don't get the same dopamine hit as from making a knife. I'm looking to blackwash my next blade, and think a sandblasted finish would work nicely. I have access to an industrial sandblaster that is used for aluminum, but I can't find anything about sandblasting steel, especially after the heat treat. Any help in that regard would be appreciated. Also, for a blackwash, what should I use for the patina if I'd like a solid black finish (forging rebar for now)? Preferably a household chemical. I've heard instant coffee gives a very dark etch? Thank you.

Chimaera