mikeyg Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Finally got round to posting some pics of my latest project. Had some really good contrast pre heat treating,Black and silver. After heat treating, quench in oil colours changed to more greys. Any ideas or advice? Knife is 80 layers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffrat Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Finally got round to posting some pics of my latest project. Had some really good contrast pre heat treating,Black and silver. After heat treating, quench in oil colours changed to more greys. Any ideas or advice? Knife is 80 layers. After heat treat did you do a final grind and acid etch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyg Posted September 16, 2010 Author Share Posted September 16, 2010 After heat treat did you do a final grind and acid etch? Yeah did both. I know the heat treating changes the steel obviously making it harder but did not realize it would change the colour if that's what has done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffrat Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 Yeah did both. I know the heat treating changes the steel obviously making it harder but did not realize it would change the colour if that's what has done it. I'll be honest, I think that the contrast in the photos above is pretty good considering the # of layers and the content. I usually do not do a serious etch before I heat treat. I usually do a very light swab so that I can see the pattern and lay out the blade. Once I start grinding, the blade never see acid again until after heat treating and finish grind. If you did a serious etch (15 mins or more in FeCL or hasher acid) after rough grind & before heat treat, that may have more to do with it than anything. As for adding color or better contrast after all is said and done: I have seen some master bladesmiths use hot bluing or a Birchwood Casey product called Plum Brown to add color/contrast to damascus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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