Hamon etchant, what vinegar?

E

Eldritch

Joined
Aug 28, 2015
Messages
19
Hello,

I've recently delved into the world of hamon and I am fascinated with it all, I've been using Ferric Chloride up until now with some good results but I wanted to try Nick Wheeler's method and so being a stickler for details I wanted to check what type of vinegar is normally used, what strength etc...?

I think in the UK we get the standard 5% or 7% for pickling, I even have some 15% knocking around somewhere for descaling, does it really matter on strength?

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

Dave
 
Use white vinegar. It is nothing but diluted acetic acid. Get the strongest solution available. It is a rather weak etchant, so there is no worry about overdoing it. If trying to bring out the very fine details, you can always cut it 50:50 with water.

When using FC to develop a hamon, dilute the stock solution 15:1. You can go as weak as high as 25:1.

One etchant that is very good for getting the tiny white wisps to show is a 100:1 dilution of nitric acid. One ounce in three litres of distilled water will make all you need for a long time.

Note:
All these are caustic, and need to be treated with respect. The working solutions aren't dangerous, but need to be handled and stored correctly. Even vinegar can blind you if it gets in your eyes.
When using acids, always have a source of water available to wash it out of eyes or off skin immediately.
 
Great! Thanks for such a detailed reply. I have some 20% white vinegar that is used for weedkilling, would that be too strong? I have been toying with getting some nitric acid alrhough it scares me a little. I have full safety gear but I always worry about my own clumsiness. Thanks again for the info, if it wasn't for this forum I'd still be utterly ignorant.
 
If you can get 20% acetic acid, that will be good as the concentrate to mix weaker solutions from. Be aware that 20% acetic acid is a strong acid. Its vapors will take your breath away - literally. Momentarily if it is just a whiff ... more permanently if you get a lungful.

The nitric acid will only be a worry in the concentrated form. You only need an ounce or two. Once you add the acid to 100 parts of water - repeat - ALWAYS ADD ACID TO WATER, NOT THE REVERSE - the solution will be much safer than the vinegar.

Another etching acid is bottled lemon juice.
 
Which etchant solution leaves the hardest finish? I have been using vinegar with salt and hydrogen peroxide for a while with good results. Still only about as tough (hard) as gun bluing though.
 
Etching has nothing to do with hardness. It is merely a chemical reaction with the steel.

Anodizing is used to put a hard coating on a surface. This may be for coloring, or durability.

Carbidizing will put a very hard layer of carbide on a surface.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Use white vinegar. It is nothing but diluted acetic acid. Get the strongest solution available. It is a rather weak etchant, so there is no worry about overdoing it. If trying to bring out the very fine details, you can always cut it 50:50 with water.

When using FC to develop a hamon, dilute the stock solution 15:1. You can go as weak as high as 25:1.

One etchant that is very good for getting the tiny white wisps to show is a 100:1 dilution of nitric acid. One ounce in three litres of distilled water will make all you need for a long time.

Note:
All these are caustic, and need to be treated with respect. The working solutions aren't dangerous, but need to be handled and stored correctly. Even vinegar can blind you if it gets in your eyes.
When using acids, always have a source of water available to wash it out of eyes or off skin immediately.
Click to expand...

Where can you get Nitric Acid ?

The average householder can't get that here, even a lab would have to be on an approved list for that one.

After the 911 US pressured our country into some legislation which means we can't get the chemicals we used to, cause you know nitroglycerine
 
Order a small bottle of platinum test acid (or 22/24 karat test acid) from a jewelry supplier. It is even on eBay. It is a mix of HNO3 and HCl. For the purposes of etching a hamon, diluting it about 20:1 up to 50:1 works fine.

A friendly jeweler can order it for you from their supplier, too. It is very low cost. The same jeweler may be able to order you a small bottle of 67-70% Nitric acid (15 mol).

I see a Canadian seller of various Nitric acid dilutions. They are called 4yourlab on eBay. They aren't cheap, but they may be able to sell you a litre of etching dilution acid. I would ask for a dilution of 0.1mol/litre. That is about 60:1 dilution from concentrate.
 
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