Thread: Acid Etching

Anyone know how to do acid etching? I have a Fredrick Reynolds "The Celebrated" For Barbers Use razor that I am working on restoring, but the etch is very faint, to the point where it is difficult to see.

I'd like to get the blade nice and shiny and then get the etching put back on the blade. Anyone know how to do this kind of work?

I don't think acid etching was ever used on razors. Usually acid etching is used alot with glass and hydrofluoric acid is used with that but don't use that stuff on a razor its very dangerous stuff. I guess nowadays they use laser etching.

I think that it was acid etched because that is what my jeweller (who also does a variety of engraving) suggested. He did try hand engraving a portion of the blade to determine how soft the metal was. He was able to cut it, but was hesitant to suggest a total price.

I think the hard part, if acid does work to etch the metal, would be to make the template - figure that out, and you have it made.

Perhaps you could use tracing paper to trace the outline, and then transfer that onto some tape (is that acid resistant?). Just throwing out ideas at this point, but I really have no idea...

Mark

I have been doing some research into this and came to a few conclusions… Now I may be wrong about a few things, but here goes...

They used acid to make the etching on those old wedge razors.

They cover the blade with a thin layer of melted wax (like candle wax), when the wax cooled it harden, a sharp tool was used to “draw” the image on the face of the blade (the tool would cut through the wax to expose the metal), when the drawing was done the blade is dipped in a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acid, the acid would quickly eat away only the exposed steel, the blade was then washed to remove all traces of the acid, then the wax was wiped away and the image would remain.

Later as technology improved they used electro-etching (similar to electroplating but with a stencil)… (you see these on later hollow ground razors).

With acid etching the resulting image looks “frosted”, with electro-etching the image is blackened (like ink).

You could do the same with melted wax, however, these acids are difficult to obtain today (because they are also used to manufacture explosives), you could substitute some other acid that will eat steel or use vinegar, however, vinegar is sloooow but would blacken the image to make it more pronounced.
Then you would need a steady hand, good eyesight and a lot of patience but it is doable.

However... the research continues....

If I were to pursue acid etching (it's done all the time on knives, so why not on razors?) I'd make in impression of the current etch, scan on a very high DPI, import to some sort of photo editing software, print out and make a stencil with the proper acid etch stencil material and acid etch away with the appropriate acid etch equip.

I don't know how else you would do it and get a high quality reproduction.

Now.....putting the above steps into actual practice and obtain success? Ha ha, there's the challenge and why every Tom, Dick and Shaver on this site isn't already acid etching etches back onto blades.

It can be done. I think there is a great resto thread done by Vlad a few years back that shows a flawlessly re-etched W&B. IIRC, Vlad was a masterful restorer who came, saw, conquered all things razor related and stopped doing any razor related work altogether and all in a very short time relatively speaking.

Chris L

Originally Posted by Chris L

If I were to pursue acid etching (it's done all the time on knives, so why not on razors?) I'd make in impression of the current etch, scan on a very high DPI, import to some sort of photo editing software, print out and make a stencil with the proper acid etch stencil material and acid etch away with the appropriate acid etch equip.

It can be done. I think there is a great resto thread done by Vlad a few years back that shows a flawlessly re-etched W&B.

I don't know all about the history of etchings although you can see the difference in some methods used. What Chris said (quoted) is dead on though. You can digitally transfer the image and make templates to etch with (most guys would do electro-etching nowadays). Would it be worth it for one razor? I doubt it.

Vlad did in fact do it, but IIRC when asked- he mentioned having or having access to equipment for the job amounting to maybe $10,000. Some guys do laser etching now. PM Tim (Oldblades) and ask him about it.

David Boye’s knife making book has a chapter on acid etching. Most of the references that I have seen to etching metal with acid, use nitric acid or a muratic/nitric combination. Most of the time beeswax or a beeswax asphaultum mix is used as a resist for the acid.

If you search on British Blade forums there are several threads that describe the use salt water to etch.

If you search the web there are also references to using toner from a laser printer or a copier to make a resist pattern. This looks like a really good way to go. I have not tried any of the above yet but have been reading how to do them.

Charlie

you can achieve grteat presition in acid etching, just make the template in your computer, print it on one of those sheet that are used to print circuit boards and then cover the rest, use muriatic acid or the same acid used in the circuit boards...

This looks promising.

Regards,
Neil