- Joined
- Dec 9, 2013
- Messages
- 3,159
I actually got around to using my BK 10 the other day and realized that I needed to try and deepen the engravings if I wanted them to be there in the future.
I decided to do it on the cheap to see if it would work.
The components...
Cut two wire lengths and stripped the ends.
Put some (not measured) amount of salt in a glass, added water.
Attached the ends of the wires to the 9 volt battery using painter's tape.
The wire attached to the knife should be attached to exposed metal and the positive terminal. (It's under the painter's tape.) Wrap the wire from the negative terminal around a q-tip, dip in the salt water and pass over the engravings.
This is what it looks like when you do it wrong.
I wasn't paying attention and had the wires going to the terminals taped backwards. (I had positive to q-tip, negative to blade. Should be positive to blade, negative to q-tip.) If I remember my chemistry, I think I spent the first bit electro-plating rather than electro-etching. Note the clear water and clear bubbles in the above picture. When I realized and reversed the connections on the battery, the engraving turned dark pretty quickly.
The q-tip on the left is from it being hooked up backwards. The q-tip on the right is more of what you are going for.
We'll see how it looks when I finally get the rest of the finish stripped off.
I decided to do it on the cheap to see if it would work.
The components...
Cut two wire lengths and stripped the ends.
Put some (not measured) amount of salt in a glass, added water.
Attached the ends of the wires to the 9 volt battery using painter's tape.
The wire attached to the knife should be attached to exposed metal and the positive terminal. (It's under the painter's tape.) Wrap the wire from the negative terminal around a q-tip, dip in the salt water and pass over the engravings.
This is what it looks like when you do it wrong.
I wasn't paying attention and had the wires going to the terminals taped backwards. (I had positive to q-tip, negative to blade. Should be positive to blade, negative to q-tip.) If I remember my chemistry, I think I spent the first bit electro-plating rather than electro-etching. Note the clear water and clear bubbles in the above picture. When I realized and reversed the connections on the battery, the engraving turned dark pretty quickly.
The q-tip on the left is from it being hooked up backwards. The q-tip on the right is more of what you are going for.
We'll see how it looks when I finally get the rest of the finish stripped off.
