Etching wootz, opinion needed.

[A. G. Maisey]

I'm not going to say anything about wootz, I do not understand the material, and I do not know how to recognise the types nor how to etch & stain them.

But I do understand mechanical damascus and Malay World pamor. I have made quite a lot of both, and cleaned, etched and stained quite a lot of both, and I have been doing this with both recently made & historic material for a very long time.

The damascus I have made myself I have usually stained with ferric chloride, just the pre-prepared mix that is used for etching circuit boards. Yes, it can be difficult to achieve a satisfactory result with it. I apply with an old soft toothbrush, over the laundry tub, with the cold water tap running. I rinse off, dry, and reapply until I get the colour I want, then I paint on a slurry of bicarb of soda, let it sit for a few minutes, thoroughly rinse, dry with a lint free cloth, then a hairdryer. Spray with WD40.

On damascus I have used various other acidic solutions, but overall I have achieved the best results with ferric chloride.

On historic mechanical damascus, and on pamor --- which is essentially mechanical damascus sometimes with a nickel content --- I usually use laboratory quality white arsenic mixed as a paste with fresh Tahitian lime juice.

Let me be very clear:- I do not recommend that anybody without proper training and permits attempt to play with any kind of arsenic.

On just about any ferric material I am a big fan of white household vinegar. It cleans things beautifully and on some materials it will impart some degree of stain.