Damascus etching question

[BenF]

Hi all,

I recently forged my first ever piece of damascus, made from 1095 and some mild steel. Welded and lightly twisted, and will be made into a letter opener.

It has gone through heat treating as I read somewhere that helps with contrast. After sanding down too ~600 grit I etched it in a mix of Ferric Cholride and White Vinegar, I did this for about 5 minutes then took it out and rubbed it down with 0000 steel wool before etching again, I repeated this several times. But the etch just seemed to rub off and be faded, so how do you manage to keep the high contrast without it rubbing off?!

 

The photo below is of the blade straight out the etchent. It hadn't been etched very long at this point, as I etched it again for photos just for this question.

 

Then, below is once it was rubbed down with the wire wool, and the pattern is really faded.

 

The last photo is where I've rubbed the blade with some oil using kitchen towel, as you can see the black is coming off of the towel and the pattern is still faint.

 

All comments and advise welcome and appreciated. Thanks for looking

[Steve Sells]

First, 1095 with mild leaves very little difference between the layers.  Carbon migration is equalizing the carbon content between the layers fairly fast, so there is nothing except the  additional elements of the steels such as Manganese content which moves slower, between them. 

Why combine Ferric Chloride and the vinegar anyway?   I use a dilute solution of Ferric Chloride for about 30 to 45 minutes.  If I am using vinegar, I soak for many hours.

[ThomasPowers]

try 1095 with bandsaw blade for more contrast.

[BenF]

Thank you both for the help.

I'll definitely give that a go: got some bandsaw blades I saved for just such an endeavour!