How To I want to start anodizing

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knifedonk

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Hello,

I want to start anodizing and customizing my knives as a hobby.
Can a lab power supply be dangerous to use? Or is it really safe if you follow the common safety instructions? The last thing I want is to hurt myself obviously.
Can anyone recommend a good power supply that goes up to 100V or even 120V? I live in Austria, so if anyone has an amazon (ref) link, I'd be very happy to use it.

Is it better to start with 9V batteries in the beginning?

Thanks for helping me :)
 
I'm no expert, and there are some here with much more experience than myself who will hopefully chime in, but I have tinkered a bit and done a couple of projects. In my opinion the power source is well worth it over the 9v battery method. This way you can get precise results and replicate them easily. The model I went with is the TekPower TP12001X (120V). It was recommended somewhere in my research and I picked it up from Amazon. I haven't really played around much with the higher voltage colors though, but it seemed to work well for me in the bronze/purple/blue range so far.

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You should be aware aluminum and titanium anodizing are vastly different processes.
I use a Variac for anodizing titanium (has variable voltage output).

Get yourself a voltage to color chart and understand there are both low and high voltage colors (example: bronze low voltage and bronze high voltage)

Beware, shorts/sparks from being energized before making contact can blow holes in work surfaces (Ti cookware, cups, etc.).
 
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I am an electro player by trade , 5 years aluminum anodizing and the last 36yrs in the maintenance, overhaul, and repair for one of the world’s largest airline. In my shop we currently use Dynatronix or Dynapower rectifiers. 12-18 and 25 volts. We anodize aluminum followed by a seal and occasionally clear anodize then blue, red , green or black dye followed by a seal. The only process we use For Titanium is shotpeen to strengthen the part followed by a passivation process to remove any iron that may be imbedded in the part. I wish I could tell you that we change colors on Titanium using voltage but unfortunately we don’t. Good luck with your pursuit, Troy
 
Sorry, the passivation process entails submerging the part after shotpeen in Nitric acid for approximately 45 minutes to dissolve any Iron left on the part from the shotpeening
 
Also, as mentioned by Spey, contact is crucial as to not arc or burn the work piece
 
Thank you for all the answers. It really helps me.
I want to work primarily with titanium in the beginning, since it seems easier to me than aluminum.
My first project will be my Boker Urban Trapper with titanium scales, because it's not an expensive knife and if I mess up it's not that bad. Will probably go for a nice two tone finish, just have to decide what colors to go for.
My first plan was a nice toxic green, but that would mean that I will need a power supply that goes atleast up to 100V and those are not too cheap from what I have seen sofar, so maybe my first project will be bronze/gold - blue.
I for sure underestimated how tough it is to grind titanium and give it a nice and even surface finish. I do all the grinding/sanding by hand and it took me several hours just to get rid of the initial surface finish (stone washed?!).

Btw, is there way to find out of what material the screws of the knife are made of? I checked if they are magnetic which they are not, so is it safe to assume that they are made of Ti aswell?

I will post my final result here once I am done, but it will probably still take a few weeks.

Cheers from Austria
 
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I doubt they are Titanium, too costly to manufacture, more like stainless, mass produced, yes the finish is tough, even sand blasting or as we say at work grit blasting will spark like the dickens on Titanium
 
yeah, you are probably right. would be nice if they were titanium because then I could anodize them aswell for a better overall look of the finished product.
 
After taking the knife apart, I can for sure say that they are not made from Ti. They are unfortunately super soft and strip very easily. The tool that comes with it is a joke aswell, doesn't even fit properly. Some of the screws didn't even come out. I had to heat it first to get the loctite or whatever they use a little softer.
Can't wait to work on a better quality knife but I guess it's enough to learn and mistakes won't be so expensive.
 
I've anodized aluminum in my kitchen with an old computer power supply from my closet. If you keep clothes in your closet like a normal person, you can probably find a cheap or free one on craigslist. As for electrical safety, anodizing uses DC, which is safer than AC, and anyway, electricity, like a knife, can hurt you if you're careless, otherwise it's a useful tool. Good luck!
 
knifedonk said:
Can a lab power supply be dangerous to use? Or is it really safe if you follow the common safety instructions? The last thing I want is to hurt myself obviously.
Can anyone recommend a good power supply that goes up to 100V or even 120V?
Click to expand...

You can get a Variac off eBay for $50-$100. You'll need a voltmeter, a cheap one should be less than $10. If you have one of the old-style automotive battery chargers, you can plug it into your Variac to make DC. If you don't have an old style automotive battery charger and don't want to buy one, you can buy four 10A diodes for less than a dollar each. Google on "how to make a bridge rectifier." And you'll need some wire. 18 gauge will be fine. If you want to get fancy, get a few alligator clips.

It's not rocket science. Common sense safety measures will be adequate. Avoid licking the electrical circuit when it's turned on. Don't drink the electrolyte. Work in a ventilated area. Don't use your wife's plastic kitchen containers.
 
It took me a while but I still want to post my finished first little project here. The knife is a Boker Urban Trapper with a Titanium frame.
I polished the blade and luckily the Boker embleme would come off very easily since it's not laser engraved and just printed on I guess. Same with the BZ logo on the backside.
I love the BZ design, but I'm just not a big fan of having too much stuff on my blade.
I texted Boker and asked for another set of screws, and they were very polite and sent me another set of screws, stop pin and pocket clip free of charge. (The screws still suck tho and are way too soft, but I guess they know that.)

I hand sanded the frame all the way up to a 3000 grid.
I chose to do the ano with 9V batteries because I didn't want to buy a power supply (but probably will do in the future)
First I hooked up 3 batteries to do the blue ano. Then I grinded a part off again with 3000 grid sand paper and used a single 9V batterie to give it a golden contrast.
I also anodized the pocket clip with 9V but I didn't put it back on since I am not a big fan of pocket clips in general.

I really like the outcome and will do more little customisations in the future for sure.
Unfortunately you see every finger print on the titanium, so maybe next time I don't go all the way up to 3000 grid.

I also made a Ti dice with the same specs (3000 grid, blue & gold ano) just for fun.

Here are some pictures, hope you guys like it :)


https://imgur.com/yRoGK9H
https://imgur.com/T6Zlp5C
https://imgur.com/G3RjIhv
https://imgur.com/LfCuV04
https://imgur.com/9TaymUy
 
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