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I Forge Iron

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Radio shack was the last I knew of. I make my own now by dissolving mill scale in muriatic acid. I am pleased with the results and I can make it etch stronger than regular by using less scale. So the adjustability is handy.
What cable did you use?
Would love to see the finished product. Did you just make stock or did you finish an item?

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Well dang! I've got some muriatic acid and some scale on the floor already.

I got the cable scraps from Arctic Wire & Rope for free. Good guys over there. To answer your question as to the form, its in a blade-like shape now, bout 1/4" thick and 10" long.

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Thanks for the tips guys. I'm going to give it a go. Having never etched anything before, I'm assuming you do it after hardening, and polish right?

 

Another question, it seems I am not brushing my metal before striking it, and it looks like I'm pounding scale into the steel. It is very hard to remove with the grinder. Is there a better way? Besides scrubbing it after it comes out of the fire?

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You can dissolve the scale by leaving it in vinegar overnite. It will leave pits though where it ate the scale out of the metal.best to brush when doing something where the surface is important. Making a knife though you will normally need to grind a bit off anyway and that should get you down past the scale.

Just a note back on the ferric chloride bit- the idea to add H2O2 does work but doesn't really add much to the results. Commercially it is a waste product where they used muriatic to dissolve scale in mass quantity. It is no longer really effective at dissolving the scale, but enough bite left to etch which is why we use it. There is plenty if bite left to eat copper so they use it in making printed circuit boards, that is why radio shack had it.
Be careful with muriatic acid it is mean stuff.

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I bought this jug almost 10 years ago to disolve some aluminum from the bore of a snowmachine jug. If I remember right, the reaction put off hydrogen gas in the process. It is definitely some nasty stuff. I guess I need to find a tall glass jar for the etch now.

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I do not believe that Radio Shack carries Ferric Chloride any longer in the local stores. I got the last two bottles at the RS in Wasilla; I think they were just leftovers collecting dust on the shelf.

 

It seems you can order it online:

 

http://www.radioshack.com/radioshack-16oz-pcb-etchant-solution/2761535.html#.VG_n-GPiupo

 

It's also used in woodwork; you may be able to source it from specialty woodworking outfits as well.

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The point of using ferric chloride instead of just acid is that it is weaker. If you use full strength it attacks both with equal vigor and you net no difference. Your piece looks good for only an hour. Some people use very diluted and soak overnight.
It is rare to get very high definition with cable Damascus. It is more of a delicate pattern that can easily be washed out.

 

Ferric chloride is an acid....

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I've never played with forging cable but have swaged fittings and spliced. If you had two identical cables say 3/4 7x19 one in stainless and one regular you could unwind the two cables and mix the two different alloys. Big question which I have not researched is will stainless forge weld to the other alloy?
Might be a simple way of getting some better contrast.

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Different size wire in the cables should show up in the final pattern , but like I said you won't ever see high contrast in it. I have been lucky with most of mine to have pretty clear distinction between the strands, except one time when I moved it around several times trying to make things other than knives.
If it is wrong to lust after a pattern in metal then I am in the same boat with you.

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