First attempt at etching

[Kmaddock]

Next step was the etching
I pm'ed mariusgmioc after his recent post on etching to ask about the solution he used
I work in a lab so getting the natal solution he talked about was no problem.
I mixed up 500 ml of methanol with 20 ml of 70 percent nitric acid to produce a 4 percent solution.
I decided to rub on the enchant as I did not have a container deep enough and I did not want to use up too much solution as it can be hazardous to store.

In making up the solution it got slightly warm but if you add to much nitric the reaction can go too crazy and degrade the alcohol, giving off red fumes.
I was prepared if the solution degraded with 5 L of water to hand to dump the solution into

Gloves, goggles and lab coat were worn.

I washed blade with acetone to de grease it.

Then I rubbed the solution using a cotton swab and left to sit for 10 seconds

Then flushed with water in a sink

And dried with tissue

The process was repeated 3 times

Para film was used to protect the handle, this is a lab product like cling film

I could see the pattern emerging in 3 or 4 seconds

Nothing fancy compared to what I see on this forum but definitely a laminate blade, I think!
Results on the next post
Regards
Ken