for knife makers

Wasn't sure where to put this thread. Shoot me if this doesn't work.
Enneyhow, several guys have been trying their hands at knife making lately. I'm sure no knife maker even though I have cobbled together a number over the years. The one shown was not made by me. It is an example of a technique for putting a 'faux damascus' appearance on a blade. The secret is plain old bleach as in Clorox. I have had guys tell me to place in straight Clorox for a period of time. Others say to boil in straight bleach. Some say to dilute and leave in. Others say boil in a dilute solution. Obviously this is not an exact or critical science. The bleach is what does the trick. Probably something those of us with primitive tastes would like more than others.

That would be really interesting if it was possible to control the process so that a pattern could be produced. For example, a common pattern in Damascus blades was Mohammed's ladder. If that (or some other pattern) could be reproduced, it would make a really interesting blade.

Mike

[For those who are really into Damascus steel, see the article here.]

Agreed. Many etching processes use wax, ordinary Crayola might work, to write where you do not want the reactive agent to work. Worth a try.

I work with a machine shop full of felons, so most of them are into making knives as guns are off limits. We had this one 19 year old kid. He was absolutely worthless, but once he found out that he could make knives at the place, he got right into making one.

He worked hard on it...mostly when he was not supposed to (company time). Then as he neared the end, he was sharpening it when the blade broke. He used a cold cut saw blade and it was so hard, it would hold an edge, but not a handle. It was so brittle it snapped. That was all it took. He was crushed and never tried making another knife again.

It was too bad, it was the only thing he ever worked hard on.

found the pins

Here are the scale pins I referred to earlier. I'm not crazy about doing business with this company, but if they have it, so wat.

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_104_537_544_550&products_id=11512