Finishing wrought iron blade

[lyuv]

I plan to make a san-mai knife, with wrought iron clad.

How do you suggest I finish/treat it for good aesthetics?

[ThomasPowers]

depends on what YOU like.  Some like an etched face to show the wrought; some like a polished face.

[lyuv]

Quote

The reason I use wrought iron is to get the "grain" pattern. I"m looking for advice/info on getting that. I assume etching is the way, but how?

 

[ThomasPowers]

take test piece(s) and place in various available acids at different strengths for different amounts of time and see what you like the best.  Perhaps vinegar to start.

[Latticino]

Here is what I do for Wrought/High carbon mixes: 

After heat treatment sand all surfaces up to fairly high polish (say 600 grit at least).  Clean thoroughly with first soap and water, then acetone.  Etch in a 25% solution of Ferric Chloride and distilled water.  Scrub with old toothbrush to remove oxides periodically during etching (wear rubber gloves).  Neutralize after etch with Windex, or similar product with lots of ammonia.  

I've seen some great results on pattern welded steel with a final soaking in very strong coffee, but have no idea how that works with wrought.

Good luck.  Post photos of your results.

[rhitee93]

I don't really do much with wrought iron, but the folks that do seem to report that each piece behaves differently when etched.  You may need to experiment a bit to see what give you results that you like on the material you have. 

I've seen  a lot of people use ferric chloride, but I think I'd do as Thomas suggests and start with something a little less aggressive.  Vinegar or lemon juice are probably easy to get where you are, and not likely to lead to something irreversible.

I have become a big believer in coffee as a final etchant for 10XX/15N20 mixes of pattern welded steel, but I don't know what it will do to wrought iron.  It would be easy to try though.

If those don't yield results, ferric chloride, or even HCl might be my next steps.