Wootz surprise on one of my blades!

[BBJW]

How did you use the lime juice? Soak? How long? Or did you just rub it on and use elbow grease?

bbjw

[FenrisWolf]

Originally Posted by BBJW

How did you use the lime juice? Soak? How long? Or did you just rub it on and use elbow grease?

bbjw

I mixed just a dab of dish detergent into the lime juice to reduce its tendency to bead up on the metal, then applied it using a cotton ball as a swab. I kept movingit around the surface to allow the lime juice to work. It took about 20 minutes to bring the pattern up to the point you see. A longer soak may bring up the pattern further.

Since then I've ordered some of the ferric chloride that others have recommended; I haven't tried it yet, apparently distilled water is supposed to be used to dilute it for best results.