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Post by mythosequidae on Nov 29, 2009 22:37:46 GMT
Hi. I have spent many hours acidizing folded and DH blades. This is to enhance visual appearance. One thing that I have noticed from this bit, is that acidization carries the ability to make scratches invisible. I have one Medieval blade that I could never bring to an acceptable level. You know, the skid marks from changing direction with papers. So...I dug out the acid. It worked! You need to get rid of the oxidants, but I chose to leave just a bit, for a slight grayish appearance. This is fairly trivial, but I thought that some others who might be obsessive about scratch patterns might exist.
I use phosphoric, and sometimes vinegar/lemon. Any acid will work. I add dish soap to aid adherence and never neutralize. Just polish out with non- ammonia based polishing compounds. Ammonia seems to makes the Hamon fade. (Simichrome and Autosol in my limited case).
Anyhow, if you have a medieval that bugs you in direct sunlight, try etching it.
Acidizing and Acidization are apparently not real words according to spellcheck. Sorry.
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Post by Dan Davis on Nov 30, 2009 13:37:02 GMT
Not sure what this has to do with sword repair. Perhaps you intended this for the Sword Customization forum.
I do not recommend EVER applying acid to a blade (any blade) without neutralizing it when you are done; as this promotes deep crevice corrosion which in turn causes crevice cracking, which in turn causes structural failure in steel. This is a bad idea.
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Post by mythosequidae on Nov 30, 2009 14:52:39 GMT
Thanks Mr. Davis. I was thinking sword maintenance when I picked here. I used to spray with windex, but that always created streaking that was a pain to deal with. Perhaps I should try the baking soda paste. I was finding that for the folded steel to show decent contrast, I had to leave a fair amount of the oxidant.
Darn, I have quite a few blades that are slowly being eaten away? Should there be some sort of visual that tells me that the acid is still alive? The phosphoric that I use actually leaves a zinc coating. It is for prepping steel for paint. Is this bad?
Thanks for the correction. Looks like I have some neutralizing to do....
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Post by Dan Davis on Nov 30, 2009 20:57:33 GMT
I'm still not sure that methods of enhancing appearance count as maintenance, but I can see where your thought process was going. I do recommend neutralizing those blades right away and then a very close examination for tiny "spiderweb" patterns, a sign of stress cracking.
I always use pure ammonia mixed in DI water for neutralizing but kitchen ammonia works fine too. It is a little weaker than I like to mix but that just makes it work slower. Either way, I soak blades for several hours after etching in order to ensure it has been completely neutralized.
You can allow the oxidizer to dry completely and then soak it for a few hours in ammonia to neutralize the dry acid to get that smooth layer you want but it is hard to keep the hiltwork out of the ammonia bath. It is also okay to leave a coating of oxides on the blade once it has been thoroughly neutralized.
Also, if you have to leave a large amount of oxides on steel laminates in order to get a high contrast, it is likely that the steels used were not chosen for a high contrast pattern. You may also simply need to etch the blade again.
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Post by mythosequidae on Dec 1, 2009 0:32:08 GMT
Thanks again Mr. Davis. The original observation that I was excited about, was the etchings ability to make scratch patterns less apparent on mono-steel blades. I had not even considered etching them since I did not see a purpose. Now I see one. I needlessly rambled on about the folded/DH stuff. I'm glad that I did, since I am getting some great info. here, that I need.
The folded ones are PC K120C. I did a bit of reading, and see that those really vivid patterns have a nickel steel folded in. So maybe this is all one sort of steel, just folded? They have been etched several times, and sanded. Likely will be again (it's fun), but with a new important step included.
Thanks.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 6:10:29 GMT
I'm still not sure that methods of enhancing appearance count as maintenance I'm not sure what he's trying to achieve here, but etching a blade does help maintain a blade under heavy use. The blades of Mindanao, Phillippines were never unetched, and served several purposes. Blades were ritually etched in a solution of citrus juices and left to sit in the heat of the sun to encourage a patina to form. It made the steel a very subdued grey colour (as the Moros, the ethnic peoples of Mindanao, found shiny blades to be gaudy and ugly) which both served to enhance the temper lines when examined up close, but also served the purpose of not reflecting light when a warrior had his blade unsheathed and was attempting to sneak up on enemies during battle. The patination of the blade also helped protect the steel from active rust that would otherwise have formed in such humid temperatures. EDIT: I should add that a lot of antique restorers of Moro weaponry use an FeCl etchant when they restore old blades nowadays, and like you say, they always neutralize it afterwards with some windex or ammonia.
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Post by Dan Davis on Dec 1, 2009 12:22:39 GMT
No argument there; that is exactly why guns are blued.
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