Problems with etching wootz

AJ1356 · 1st June 2013, 04:52 PM

Thanks Jens, here is what I did:
1st I lightly sanded the blade by oiling it and rubbing it with a Scotch pad (green scab pads) then cleaned up the oil, and used another piece of pad with soapy water and cleaned the oil while sanding the blade more. once done I washed the blade with hot water to rinse and dried it off, by this time the blade was nice and smooth but it did show some pit marks. I tested with a weaker solution first slowly adding more acid until I could see the solution is getting the desired affect. By this time the blade was starting to darken up and the pattern was showing, all this time I kept the blade evenly wet with the solution. To stop the etching I used Windex for the ammonia, and then washed off with water immediately. I could see some yellowish orange color appear after the rinse so once I dried it I sprayed the blade with WD40. I wiped with paper towel to remove the gunk, and also used a nylon brush to clean up the gunk. I used a CLP to oil the blade and an old sock to polish, still going at it and still nothing.

1st June 2013, 04:52 PM	#3
AJ1356 Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Nashville Posts: 317	Thanks Jens, here is what I did: 1st I lightly sanded the blade by oiling it and rubbing it with a Scotch pad (green scab pads) then cleaned up the oil, and used another piece of pad with soapy water and cleaned the oil while sanding the blade more. once done I washed the blade with hot water to rinse and dried it off, by this time the blade was nice and smooth but it did show some pit marks. I tested with a weaker solution first slowly adding more acid until I could see the solution is getting the desired affect. By this time the blade was starting to darken up and the pattern was showing, all this time I kept the blade evenly wet with the solution. To stop the etching I used Windex for the ammonia, and then washed off with water immediately. I could see some yellowish orange color appear after the rinse so once I dried it I sprayed the blade with WD40. I wiped with paper towel to remove the gunk, and also used a nylon brush to clean up the gunk. I used a CLP to oil the blade and an old sock to polish, still going at it and still nothing.