HOW TO DIE STEEL DAMASK

Posted by usman on September 7th, 2018

How to burn stainless damask from Vegas Forge

By taking your time and learning how to burn stainless Damascus and Carbon Damascus steel properly, you will avoid problems like stains on your finished product.

Be sure to always use the appropriate protective equipment when working with acid. Complete the prints in a well-ventilated space and wear gloves, eye protection and an apron or old clothes.

The engraving in handmade damascus pocket knives is completed with ferric chloride or muriatic acid. Before starting, check the expiration date of the acid of your choice to make sure it is not too old. Using expired acid causes problems with your etch and does not want to know after it has already started that its acid is too old to function properly.

You will also need a bath of sodium bicarbonate. Mix baking soda with distilled water, using a generous amount of baking soda, so you can submerge your piece to neutralize the acid and stop its dissolving action.

Once you have prepared everything, you are ready to record!

A knife made with Typhoon Damascus from Vegas Forge Etching helps produce these striking contrasting colors.

HOW TO CHILL STAINLESS STEEL AND CARBON DAMASCUS

STEP 1: SAND

Bring your Damascus to a grain finish of 400 to 600. If you use muriatic acid, you can bring Damascus up to 1200 grains, or you can leave it at 400 grains. Or it is effective. For ferric acid, keep the sand between 400 and 600.

No buff before recording! The polishing closes the pores of the metal, which will prevent the acid from being absorbed, and will end with an uneven attack.

STEP 2: WASHING

To record Damascus, it should be perfectly clean. Wash the piece thoroughly with alcohol and dry it with a clean cloth.

Avoid using materials such as acetone because they leave residues that interfere with the engraving and do not touch the metal with your hands. The acid correctly penetrates a very clean surface.

STEP 3: DILUTION

If you are using ferric acid, dilute it with distilled water until you have an approximate 50/50 ratio of acid to water. Never use tap water, spring water or filtered water; all will cause problems with water, etc. Make sure that the distilled water has not accumulated for more than a year.

Muriatic acid does not need dilution.

STEP 4: HEATING THE ACID

For both muriatic acid and ferric chloride, the temperature should be between 70 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, at about room temperature.

If you need to heat your acid for use, the best method is to place your acid container in a large container with warm water. Never put acid in the microwave!

STEP 5: SUBMERSION

Hang your Damascus piece in the acid container so that it hangs freely and does not touch the sides or bottom of the container.

To ensure that the acid penetrates, you can move the piece from one side to the other in the acid, but brushing is the best way to ensure you get a uniform engraving. Using an old toothbrush, gently brush the Damascus into the acid to help remove any residual oil or grease that may have been lost during cleaning, and to remove the dissolving material, as the acid does its job.

Allow your piece to remain in the acid for 10 to 15 minutes.

STEP 6: NEUTRALIZATION

Remove your piece of Damascus from the acid and immerse it in your baking soak for 5 minutes to neutralize the acid.

You can also use Windex for this step, but do not try to spray your part. Pour the Windex into a container deep enough to fully immerse your Damascus item.

After 5 minutes, clean the piece with alcohol and dry with a clean cloth. You can repeat steps 5 and 6 for a deeper engraving if you wish.

If you have masked part of the piece so that it does not burn, and you want to make another round with acid and baking soda, remove the mask completely, clean the blade and reapply the mask before the second engraving. Skipping this step is not advisable, even if your mask still looks good, because the acid can penetrate the second time and ruin your design.

STEP 7: POLISHED

With stainless Damascus, one of the layers inside the steel is not affected by the engraving, which is what gives Damascus stainless that unique texture when it is finished. Use a fine-finish sandpaper to smoothly polish the top of that slightly raised steel, and the other steel will remain dark and unpolished, which gives it a beautiful and dramatic contrast.

If you prefer, you can polish with a 2000 grit polishing compound and a soft wheel to light up your Damascus piece, but you will lose some of that contrast between the steel layers. Play with this technique and with the sandpaper to see which one you prefer. If you decide to recover some of your contrast.