First attempt at acid etching/stonewashing

[jfindon]

I've had a Manix 2 for almost a decade that I neglected for awhile. It had some surface rust on it and some scratches and I just never really carried it much. I decided to clean it up and attempt to acid etch and stonewash the blade. I didn't really set out to document the process, but here are some pictures:

Once I etched the blade and cleaned it off, it looked like garbage to me:

I thought I didn't do a good enough job cleaning the blade and figured it was all for nothing, but I decided to throw it in the tumbler anyway and was pleasantly surprised with how it came out:

Now all that's left is to put a new edge on it.

 

[rpttrsn]

Nice end result. What was your tumbler media?
Ron

 

[jfindon]

Nice end result. What was your tumbler media?
Ron

Thanks. All I used was the ceramic tumbling media from Harbor Freight, threw it in the tumbler that I also got from them with some WD40 and probably a total time of 3 minutes or so.

Side question, what made it look so bad straight out of the acid? I don't know why some spots looked like they weren't etched and how the tumbling blended that all together.

 

[Conrad smith]

That looks awesome! Very important to make sure there's no fingerprints on the blade before you etch it, rubbing alcohol works great for this.
It's amazing how well the stonewash worked to even it all out!

Stay safe and well.

 

[jfindon]

Thanks. I tried isopropyl alcohol but my fingerprint remained, not sure if it was there from one of the other chemicals I used to remove the rust or what.

I have another question. I bought the cheap tumbler from harbor freight, how aggressive should it be? I feel like it should tumble the way it did for the first few seconds but it always stalls out to how it tumbled for the rest of this video:

 

[000Robert]

Thanks. I tried isopropyl alcohol but my fingerprint remained, not sure if it was there from one of the other chemicals I used to remove the rust or what.

I have another question. I bought the cheap tumbler from harbor freight, how aggressive should it be? I feel like it should tumble the way it did for the first few seconds but it always stalls out to how it tumbled for the rest of this video:

It might be better to clean the blade with lacquer thinner or acetone before you etch it.

 

[Conrad smith]

Thanks. I tried isopropyl alcohol but my fingerprint remained, not sure if it was there from one of the other chemicals I used to remove the rust or what.

I have another question. I bought the cheap tumbler from harbor freight, how aggressive should it be? I feel like it should tumble the way it did for the first few seconds but it always stalls out to how it tumbled for the rest of this video:

I think it runs fine, you don't want it to agresive. I'm no expert though.

 

[bucketstove]

Thanks. I tried isopropyl alcohol but my fingerprint remained, not sure if it was there from one of the other chemicals I used to remove the rust or what.

Hi,
What percent rubbing alcohol?
And you used a lint free cloth?
After washing with soap/water?

 

[razorburn]

Looks nice thanks for sharing.In the end everything worked out great.

 

[bflying]

Thanks. I tried isopropyl alcohol but my fingerprint remained, not sure if it was there from one of the other chemicals I used to remove the rust or what.

I have another question. I bought the cheap tumbler from harbor freight, how aggressive should it be? I feel like it should tumble the way it did for the first few seconds but it always stalls out to how it tumbled for the rest of this video:

I think the tumbler and media will land on a harmonic balance once everything gets moving in there. Function seems pretty normal to me. You may try toying with the volume that you fill it to. And/or different size media. If the drum were only half full, you may find differing results.

By the way, your post tumble results look fantastic!!!

When I'm messing around with finishes, I always clean with acetone. Usually just acetone based nail polish remover because there's always some somewhere in the house (girls).

What acid solution did you use?

 

[jfindon]

Hi,
What percent rubbing alcohol?
And you used a lint free cloth?
After washing with soap/water?

It was 91%. The towel I was using wasn't lint free I'm sure, but I did wash it well with soap and water while wearing gloves so no more oil got on it.

I think the tumbler and media will land on a harmonic balance once everything gets moving in there. Function seems pretty normal to me. You may try toying with the volume that you fill it to. And/or different size media. If the drum were only half full, you may find differing results.

By the way, your post tumble results look fantastic!!!

When I'm messing around with finishes, I always clean with acetone. Usually just acetone based nail polish remover because there's always some somewhere in the house (girls).

What acid solution did you use?

Only reason I asked is I noticed with another cheap blade I threw in that it started to "even out" and tumble less aggressively so I left it in there for about 10 minutes. When I came out, the blade was sitting in one spot and having the ceramic rub against it which seemed to cause a rub mark instead of random scratches. I thought it should be more aggressive so it would keep pushing the blade around instead of pinning it.

The solution I used was 3 parts water to one part ferric chloride.

 

[Jeeeen!]

I'm thinking about acid etching my shirogorov.
Does the process add any thickness or grittyness to the pivot? I want it to have the same action as it originally has.

For thr tumble, can i just put rocks in a container with the blade and shake it? Will it destroy the tip of the blade?

 

[GAGL]

I'm thinking about acid etching my shirogorov.
Does the process add any thickness or grittyness to the pivot? I want it to have the same action as it originally has.

For thr tumble, can i just put rocks in a container with the blade and shake it? Will it destroy the tip of the blade?

Yes, acid etching will affect the surface. You can cover critcal areas like the pivot and detend groove with nail polish.

Pebbles or rocks work just fine. I use an old stainless steel bottle, filled aprox. 1/3 with different size pebbles and rocks. Use some WD40 or dish washing soap with a bit of water. Shake lightly or turn your container for 5-10 minutes.

Edit: after etching, dip your blade in a water/baking soda (sodium bicarbonte) solution to neutralize whaterever acid you used.