Etching a Hamon line

[pogino]

Hi folks,

I'm new in this forum. I wish to have some advice on hamon etching. I have a katana that has a mirror polish but doesn't have a hamon line. So I decided to use it as a cutter and do some experimenting with it. So the first thing I want to do is give it a hamon line. I have read some post about etching, but I'm looking for a simple and safe technique. I read a post on vinegar etching but I don't know if it works for creating a fake hamon in the blade. Any advice? any experiences on the subject. Thank you very much!!!!

Best regards,

Paulo K. Ogino A.
Architect

[ThomasPowers]

Ferric chloride is probably your best bet. Often can be found at Radio Shack as PCB etchant (Printed Circuit Board). This will etch most metals but is fairly "safe" to use compared to many acids.

On the other hand why lie? If your katana doesn't have a real hamon why put a fake one on it?

[S.Willis]

I have heard of using clear finger nail polish and painting the back and the hamon line in and then etching. I have never tried it so don't know for sure if it works

I do have to agree with Thomas,why fake it.

[Morlock]

On the few blades that I've done, I've found that a mirror (burnished) finish can actually hide a hamon. From what I've read, the actual japanese polish uses nothing but waterstones, which have only an abrasive action, with no burnishing. This results in an "open" surface to the steel, showing its internal details and grain structure - whereas a western polish "smears" the metal over onto itself, making it very shiny and slightly less prone to rusting, but hiding much of the steels actual appearance.

Etching it in vinegar might work, but I'd suggest going back over it with the two or three finest waterstones you can find, or perhaps make up some emery sticks out of the finest Wet/dry paper you can find - 3M makes some that go down to 15000 grit, which is just about right for the final (insane) japanese finish...