Darken titanium ano?

[Blade Lab]

I got a power supply the other day and have been starting to tinker around with anodizing. One thing I wanted to try was not coloring Ti, but darkening it, if possible. In particular, I've got a "reverse tux" Nymble-X that I really like ... except for the very silver color of the scales. For some reason I just never liked that finish on this particular knife. So I figured I'd see what I could do before going to the trouble and expense of sending them out to be blasted.

Here's the before:


And the after, after etching for about 10s in Whink and then anodizing at 42.5 volts:


I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Not *exactly* how I would want it, but a lot closer than before.

 

[beahrdog]

Thanks for this!
I’ve been looking to do similar.

looks like it was originally a light stonewash?

 

[Blade Lab]

Thanks for this!
I’ve been looking to do similar.

looks like it was originally a light stonewash?

Yes, I think so. Very light. Almost a raw finish.

 

[beahrdog]

sweet.
What’d you do for prep? Just a good cleaning?

 

[Blade Lab]

sweet.
What’d you do for prep? Just a good cleaning?

Yeah, cleaned off with acetone and then the brief Whink bath.

 

[dadosdadayus]

Hi. Great result there. What did it look like after the whink but before the anodization?
I'm asking because the final color you got doesn't look like the one I see on anodization voltage/color charts.
Thanks

 

[Blade Lab]

Hi. Great result there. What did it look like after the whink but before the anodization?
I'm asking because the final color you got doesn't look like the one I see on anodization voltage/color charts.
Thanks

I honestly don't remember, but I think it looked more or less like it did before the Whink bath. I was surprised at the result myself. I think it might be down to the fact that I left the voltage running for a good bit longer than was necessary to reach the voltage chart color.