How to reveal your damask steel blades?
Reveal the patterns of Damascus steel (blades or other knife parts) consists of showing the shades and motives of the different steels that compose it.
This process is soaked by soaking your damask steel blade in revealing chemicals that are easily found in trade (iron perchloride, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid). It is strongly recommended to proceed with the revelation stages in a well-ventilated room and away from all machines, tools or metal parts because the very aggressive emanations due to treatment can cause the oxidation of metals. Similarly, remember to wear adapted protective equipment!
It is necessary to distinguish 2 types of Damascus steels that will be revealed with different acids:
- Damascus Carbon Steel: Iron Perchloride, Iron Perchloride, Gator Piss
- Stainless steel Damascus: Iron Perchloride More
The revelation of the motifs remains a very technical step that requires the entire attention of the operator.
Phases of neutralizing the effects of acids will be necessary using soapy water, dishwashing fluid or saturated water baking water.
Prerequisites for Damascus Revelation Operations:
- The pieces must be clean, dry and perfectly degreased.
- The blades must have suffered a suitable heat treatment.
- The blush wife must have been done almost definitively and only a slight finishing polishing will eventually be necessary.
For the revelation of folding knife blades, it is preferable to protect the mechanical parts that are subjected to friction (blade heel in contact with spring, axis or plates).
The acid will slightly dig the most tender metal, which can have an impact on the setting of your knife and its operation (alignment of the blade, fluidity of its mobility on the axis and the turntables).
This protection will be quickly and easily made by applying a specific varnish or ... nail polish to let dry completely.
Bath preparation for the revelation of your Damascus steels.
The first of things will be to get a container preferably in glass to be able to follow and control the process without taking out the room of its bath.
Of course, this container will have to be large enough to completely immerse the room.
The perchlo + for the revelation of the stainless steel damask is directly ready for use in liquid form and therefore does not need other manipulations.
In the same way, the Gator Piss is ready for use for the revelation of your blades in carbon damask and damask with inclusion of copper or bronze.
The preparation of the bath for the revelation of carbon damask is made by diluent of powdered iron perchloride in water at 500g for 1 liter of preferably demineralized water. :
Caution: Never pour water directly to the iron perchloride powder but always add the powder gradually into small quantities to water to limit and control the chemical reaction.
Preferentially, outdoors by wearing suitable protective equipment (gloves, mask, glasses, etc.)
Once the powder is fully diluted in the water, let the preparation rest for a few hours, without closing the container, so that the mixture cools and becomes homogeneous.
Revelation of your Damascus Steel Parts:
At this point, it is not useless to remember that the revelation of the Damascus steel is to cause a chemical reaction that will dissolve the softer metal by revealing patterns and random or cleverly calculated shades of the assembly.
The process should therefore be mastered by the process by regularly controlling the progress of the treatment.
The pieces to be revealed are perfectly clean, degreased and dry, the zones subjected to a mechanical friction are protected by a varnish that will be allowed to dry: it is time to proceed to the revelation.
Immersing completely the pieces to reveal in the bath and observe the chemical reaction.
Depending on the concentration of the water / iron perchloride mixture, the revelation of the patterns will be more or less fast and it is advisable to regularly check the result by leaving the pieces of the bath and cleaning them.
As long as the desired result is not achieved, plunge the pieces again in the revelation bath.
Once the revelation arrives at a satisfactory stage, the effects of iron perchloride neutralize by dipping the damask parts in a container filled with saturated water in baking soda.
It only remains to clean the pieces, possibly give them a slight soft polishing to revive their shine and ... admire the work!
With a little practice, the techniques for revealing your ground carbon and stainless steel motifs can be improved by strengthening the bath concentration, for example, or by heating it in a water bath to speed up processes. It is more careful, however, to start modestly, if we start in this art, before perfecting its technique.
Tip: A quick immersion of your damask in the iron perchloride will increase the shades of black (simple round trip in the bath).
Here is a video of demonstration of the revelation of Damascus steel "How to reveal Damasteel ? - Tuto Eurotechni »: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE-hmopllAs
