Thread: Restoring the darkened etching on a blade.

So I've been teaching myself razor restoration. In the process, I gathered up a bunch of old razors in varying states of decay.

This one was pretty tarnished, but I really liked the blade etching.


Hackett, Walther, Gates Hardware - Before by Zak Jarvis, on Flickr

I didn't want to grind out the pits on it because that would kill the etching, but I did want to get all the rust out. I'd never done anything like this, this being only the second razor I owned. The other I just sanded down (badly). Some quality Dremel time later, I had this:


Pre-Etching by Zak Jarvis, on Flickr

I also repinned it, and that's a bit ugly since I couldn't find real #0 washers, only some sort of very small metric ones that I had to enlarge using a makeshift drill-press. It took hours to get 4 usable washers. So, while I can get these locally, they were not a good time-investment. I ordered a huge pile of the real deal this morning.

Today I finally found a bottle of Mother's polish, and that's made cleaning up my other razors so much easier. But I really did want to do something about that lost etching.

For my first attempt at this, I tried to cut a mask onto the blade using an x-acto and cellophane tape. It didn't work, the features of the etching are just too fine. For my second attempt, I coated the blade in paraffin wax and scraped out the etching with a toothpick, then brushed vinegar on. This worked better, but I couldn't get enough of the wax out with the toothpick head to get a consistent or even particularly dark etch.

A friend told me about Naval Jelly, which is phosphoric acid in gel form. I got a bottle of that today and, indeed, I was able to easily paint it over the etching. I couldn't get it precisely into the etch, but I knew I could sand off the top and get a decent result. Well, the moral to the story is I need finer sandpaper. All I could find today was 600 grit, so the surface is more satin than I'd really like it to be. However, I'm pleased with the etching.


Try-Me etching 1 by Zak Jarvis, on Flickr

In a perfect world I'd have less darkened pits around the main etching. In a perfect world I could make ideal razors appear out of thin air for free, I could retract my whiskers when I don't want them and all my favorite bands would be local. Yeah.

I'm guessing that with more experimentation I can likely do better at darkening only the parts I want. I'll just need practice. I've got an F.W. Engels that needs to have its tang darkened, but that's not nearly such a precision job. I guess, at some point, I'm just going to have to get more etched razors. Poor me.

Wow that is very impressive, especially for only a second attempt.

You could use cold gun-bluing fluid to darken the etching. The common bluish ones actually deposit a very thin layer of copper, and darken that, which isn't very satisfactory for mst purposes, as it rubs off very easily. But in the etching should be OK, and the rest will rub off with 2000 abrasive paper. Some are in cream form, and could be rapidly wiped off flush with the etching.

A far better substance is Birchwood Casey Plum Brown, which turns steel a deep brown, similar both chemically and in appearance to much handled steel. If boiled in clean water, it turns a warm black on most steels. The snag is that they tell you to heat the metal enough for the stuff to hiss when brushed on, which is dangerously hot for hardened steel, and impossible when the scales are on. Heating in a domestic oven should do it, and you might get good results by heating it to 100 degrees centigrade in boiling water, or slightly more in brine. Or use a hot sandbath in which a test piece of scrap doesn't discolour.

Originally Posted by Caledonian

A far better substance is Birchwood Casey Plum Brown, which turns steel a deep brown, similar both chemically and in appearance to much handled steel. If boiled in clean water, it turns a warm black on most steels. The snag is that they tell you to heat the metal enough for the stuff to hiss when brushed on, which is dangerously hot for hardened steel, and impossible when the scales are on. Heating in a domestic oven should do it, and you might get good results by heating it to 100 degrees centigrade in boiling water, or slightly more in brine. Or use a hot sandbath in which a test piece of scrap doesn't discolour.

I have, so far, been having a real bear of a time finding almost any of the stuff for this new hobby of mine. At least, finding it in a store where I can pick it up and look at it. I'll have to look for the Casey Plum Brown.

In my digging around, I also found a German company that makes etching pens in a huge variety, including some which put permanent glossy paint onto metal. Can't find a source to buy them though.

That said, I'm pretty happy with the Naval Jelly.

Finer grit silicon carbide paper (wet or dry) is available at auto supply stores. Nice work so far!

Check your local walmart in the auto body repair section. They carry 3m (I think) in up to 2000 grit.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

I have, so far, been having a real bear of a time finding almost any of the stuff for this new hobby of mine. At least, finding it in a store where I can pick it up and look at it. I'll have to look for the Casey Plum Brown.

In my digging around, I also found a German company that makes etching pens in a huge variety, including some which put permanent glossy paint onto metal. Can't find a source to buy them though.

That said, I'm pretty happy with the Naval Jelly.

Yes, naval jelly is excellent, and far better than the substances which claim to convert or encapsulate rust. Even if they were all they say, you still end up with black stains.

A lot of the things you can use aren't in ordinary stores, because not enough people would buy them. Cold bluing liquid and Plum Brown would be available from a gunsmiths' supplier such as Brownells (www.brownells.com ). I am sure there are plenty of links on this site, but I have always found Jantz Supply (Jantz Supply for all your Knife Making needs ) really useful. Their handle materials are tantalizing but mostly too short for razors, but they have micarta in larger sheets. Despite what we hear about making your own micarta, the real thing, which is mostly made with thermosetting resins, is likely to be more durable.

The Brownells and Jantz Supply printed catalogues are well worth having, in order to let you browse for things you don't yet know you need.

A lapidary supplier is also useful, as they should have a range of fine powders in carborundum, cerium oxide etc.

Excellent! I'm a big fan of cross-pollination with crafts. If I hadn't been previously working with copper patinas I'm not sure I would've thought of vinegar to fix up etchings.

Down the road a bit, when I get more comfortable making scales, I might well poach Inventables for exotic materials. I think I need to see people walking before I learn Parkour, though.