Ferric Cloride to darken A2 ?

Bill T

Bill T

Well-Known Member
Hey Guys , I was thinking of using Ferric Cloride to darken an A2 blade I'm making for our Service Member Build .
Has anyone used this on A2 before ?​
And if so , what's the technique for using it ? Soak time ? Full strength ? # of times dipped ? How to clean after ?​
Any suggestions would be a great help .​
Thanks , Bill​
 
I've used it on D2 but not A2, YET. I was planning to do the same thing when I get ready to finish mine up. On the D2, I think I soaked it for a minute or so and then checked for color (full strength), neutralized, hand buffed the blade with Flitz, cleaned, and repeated til I got the effect I was looking for.
 
I've done it a few times a few years back. It will darken the material a bit...almost like a bead blast finish.

It wasn't something I did often so I don't recall the specifics but I think I etched for around 45-90seconds in the ferric chloride that Radio Shack sells at full strength. (different suppliers sell ferric in different concentrations) Then washed it off with water and neutralized it with dish soap. I then rubbed it down with really fine steel wool. Repeated process until it got the results I was after.

The kind of interesting thing about it is it will sometimes form an almost Wootz looking pattern on A2. I'm guessing thats from the added alloys in the steel compared to regular high carbon.

Also, in my epxerience it tends to hold wax/oil on the blade longer than a polished or satin finish....making it slower to stain.

This pic is an A2 blade I darkened around 5yrs back. The edge of the blade has been lightly polished. You can see the contrast of the darker acid etched blade and the polished edge.
ecos_custom_knife_neck_misc035.jpg
 
Just a thought, you may try tomatoe juice. I have a blade made from A2 that was used to pick a few tomatoe slices out of a bowl and was left uncleaned for awhile, and where the juice ran it darkened the tip on the new blade alot. Since then, this knife has been used to field dress severial deer, and has a nice patina, but that tomatoe juice stain is still visable.
Dale
 
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Billy Boy,
This is my Milly Build entry. It was shot blasted then soaked for 10 minutes in 25% Ferric Chloride and 75% distilled angel sweat (water) taken out, rinsed in Windex and dried then dipped again for 10 minutes to get it this dark.

Steve:steve:




milbld 071.jpg
 
Thank you guys for your help . Looks like it won't be a problem , can't wait to give it a shot . Bill
 
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