Controlled Etching

[youngsmith]

I got a freind who wants his last name etched on the blade of a sword that he made.
I've read to coat the blade with tape all the way to paint it. :confused:
I need to know what coating will work best and what type of etchant to use
whether it is HC2H3O2 or FeCl3.
I was looking to coat the balde in parafin wax and cut out the name any help at all will be greatly appreciated.

[noob blacksmith]

well all i know is what i read i have no real experience because still getting the lasts bits for my charcoal forge but the way i read it in a bladesmithing book the man coated the blade with a mix of asphaltum and bees wax the cut the design in the wax and dipped it into a container of ferric acid of course tape sounds alot easier

[me miller]

One way is to paint with fingernail polish and leave his name uncovered. After the etch use acetone to remove the polish. you could do as you thought and over part of it with tape.

[steveh]

ive used beeswax to coat the piece before etching.iwas doing it on a piece of copper,i dont know if that makes a difference.

[Alan B]

salt water etching is about the most controllable. Place clear masking tape on the degreased blade. Use an exacto knife to cut the name or what ever you want to etch out of the tape and remove it from the blade surface.Now take a 1/4 teaspoon of salt to 8 ounces of water and use an eye dropper to create a puddle over the area you want to etch. You can use a 9 volt battery as your power source or an 11 volt phone charger. Hook negative terminal to the blade and just dip the positive terminal in the salt water solution, don't let it ground to the knife. You may have to change the salt solution a few times to get the depth you want but this process is very easy to control. There is a blue print on this process if you need more info.

[Rich Hale]

Orrrrr you can purchase an etching system and have stencils made with you name or logo on and have a perfect etch every time..It really depends on what you want to etch and what skills you have in cutting through paint etc for the above methods.. I use Personalizer plus unit. I have three different size stencils for different sizes of knives. The unit will cost you a bit and the first time you have stencils made they charge and art fee for each size. I can pay for everything with one knife so it only makes sence to me to go with a repeatable plan. I believe most knife supply outfits show the unit in their catalogs. ( and yes I did use the salt water and nail polish in the past.)

[youngsmith]

where might I be able to get a catalogue or maybe a url for one of those suppliers?

[ThomasPowers]

You can also do referse etching where you go get some "press-apply" letters and burnish them on a very clean surface, then make a moat around it with plasticine clay and use ferric chloride to flood the enclosed area. When done remove the letters for shinny letters on an etched background.

[Jmercier]

I get my stencils made from TUS Technologies, and I use a Lectroetch VT15-A power unit for my etching

[youngsmith]

Thank guys this has really helped

[blafen]

i have tested this on a piece of flat iron stock, by coating the blade in parrafin, and cutting my name out, then i built a little retaining dam around the waxed area to hold the acid, i used plumbers putty for that which didnt work good (it reacted with the acid, not violently but still not good)

[rollman]

I saw this on youtube , looks pretty easy . I don't have first hand experience with it so I can't comment on how it holds up .
Mark or Etch Knives In Seconds

[Drq]

Another idea looking at it from a completely different angle would be to take it into an engraving place and have them do it with a laser. They're getting cheaper all the time.