Acid Etching Stainless Steel Knife

Same timeline or just feel with the q tip for when the acid starts to bite the steel.

Acid etching stainless steel knife.

S use a cotton q tip to soak up a bit of acid. The handle on this zero tolerance 0630 is made from finely stonewashed titanium. Regular carbon steel acid etches well but stainless is much harder to darken. This was an experiment to darken stainless steel.

Rub the q tip around the stencil working the acid into the steel. In the case of carbon steel the etching provides protection for the blade from corrosion. This instructable covers how to etch a knife blade. Apply the acid to the steel in the stencil.

Modern knifes are often made from stainless steel and other corrosion resistant materials. Time tested methods like acid etching and stonewashing are frequently used by major knife manufacturers and with a little practice and around 100 in materials you can use these techniques as well. I ve ruined a few knives with the odd drip somewhere it wasn t suppose to be. As i use mostly cpm154 154cm and aeb l stainless cutlery steel i am looking for a way to darken a blade.