De-rusting and etching Damascus gun barrel

[Dmitry]

Originally Posted by Iain

Antler technique sounds intriguing. New one to me!

Me as well. I sometimes use sharpened pieces of wood, but antler makes sense. It's softer than steel, but harder than rust. Sometimes I coat the surfaces with BreakFree CLP penetrating oil and let the item sit for a week, before I "take the knife" to it. My feeling is that the oil will sufficiently penetrate and soften the rust in that time-span.

[RDGAC]

Bone would likely be easier to get; antler isn't exactly easy to acquire here nowadays, it seems. I'm tempted to see if I can find an old antler walking stick and trim the handle off, but a lot of these are probably plastic nowadays.

In either case, I will (eventually) get round to this, I promise!

Thanks for the tip re: 3M papers, Dave. I think I'm familiar with them as "wet 'n' dry", used to use them for getting a nice, shiny finish on brass controls on steam engines (under advice, might I add, for anyone wincing). I've considered them but think I'd prefer to try the bone/antler trick first, since it seems even less likely to damage the metal. However, I've used wet & dry for some polishing in the past, and it is, as you say, highly controllable.

Best,

Meredydd