Knife etching is for the lazy. Artistic metal etching - knife blade Stylized drawing on a knife blade

Hello, dear readers! Today in this article the author of the video will tell us how you can apply any image to metal yourself at home in a fairly simple way.

To begin with, I suggest watching the video of this homemade product, which is presented below (it consists of two parts):

So, as you already understand, today the author will tell us how you can easily apply any image to any metal, which can no longer be removed in any way. We will apply the image to metal using the etching method. This method is similar to the engraving method, but it does not require any attachments or burrs.

So, let's begin.

For ours we will need the following components:
- the metal on which we will apply the image (in our case it is a knife);
- scotch;
- self-adhesive wallpaper or glossy paper;
- plasticine;
- cotton pads;
- saline solution (you can make it yourself very simply: mix in half a glass warm water one spoon of salt);
- wires with crocodile clips;
- power supply or battery from 8 to 12 volts;
- one sheet of A4 paper;
- iron;
- laser printer.

Let's get to work.
First, take the self-adhesive paper and carefully peel it off from the glossy paper:

Now you need to carefully glue this glossy paper onto an A4 sheet with tape or in our case “self-adhesive” like this:

Now on the computer we select the image that you want to see on the metal and if there is an inscription there, then it should be made in a mirror form. Print the image on a glossy sheet:

Next, using scissors, you need to carefully cut out our drawing, without touching the image itself, so as not to blur or erase it:

Now we apply our stencil to the knife and try to do everything the first time (so that you don’t have to move the stencil), since the image will have streaks:

Now you need to take the iron, having previously set it to the second setting, and very carefully iron our stencil for one minute:

Now, while our knife is still hot, we take cotton pads and gently iron the stencil, thereby “pressing” the paint into the metal:

After the knife has cooled, you can peel off the paper (do this slowly and very carefully):

As a result, you should end up with something like this:

Now you need to take tape and paste the knife around the image so that the saline solution does not get on the entire surface of the knife and the etching is neat:

Now we cover the image with plasticine to make a “bath” like this, which will not allow the saline solution to pass through:

Pour a saline solution into our “bath” (about three teaspoons):

Next, we move on to the wires... we connect the “plus” of the battery to the knife:

We connect the second “crocodile” to the “minus” of the battery and now we only need to touch the saline solution:

So let's get started. the saline solution will begin to boil and turn black, which means an etching reaction is in progress. You should keep the wire in the saline solution for no more than 30 seconds, since in the case of prolonged etching, the image will not be clear enough:

Next, you need to disconnect the wires, pour out the black liquid from the “bath” and remove the “bath” itself along with the tape:

For some, the mention of engraving on a knife evokes associations with award-winning registered edged weapons, for others - pleasant memories of the counters of hunting stores, where “Bear”, “Boar”, “Boar” and other knives with animals skillfully depicted on the blades lie in wide rows.

Hand engraving is on the verge of extinction at the beginning of the 21st century. If you want to get a knife with an engraving self made, it is best to look for a master at a thematic fair. True, you will have to pay fabulous money - more than for an ordinary custom knife. Hand engraving significantly increases its value.

Moreover, it cannot be said that engraving made with the latest technology is inferior in beauty to hand-made - the latter, perhaps, is now nothing more than chic. Let's look at the old and new schools of knife engraving.

The main purposes of engraving today, as well as tens and hundreds of years ago, remain the identification of weapons (for example, putting the emblem of the manufacturer or the name of the master on the blade) and personification (inscriptions of dedication, symbols, patterns, drawings, sacred signs, etc.).

Basic archaic engraving techniques

Incisive engraving

The first of three types of engraving that we will talk about today. Its historical name is bulino, after the name of the main cutter used in the Italian school of engravers. Of course, now it is used to implement it large quantity tools, but the principle itself remained unchanged: the master conveys the texture of the depicted object and the play of light and shade, cutting the surface of the metal with pressure of varying strength and at different angles. Moreover, working with a thin needle is even preferable here than with a regular cutter: it allows you to more accurately depict small details that are common in hunting themes - for example, the texture of animal skins.

Once upon a time, the cutting technique was used mainly to decorate guns (this is how it happened historically), and then it was mastered by masters of knife art, and so well that it is now associated, first of all, with bladed weapons, and not with firearms. It is applied mainly to metal parts of sheaths and handles: bolsters, crosshairs, rivets, etc. Although occasionally this type of engraving is used on the blade holomen themselves.

There are three types of this technique: dotted, linear and mixed - from the names it is clear what one or another type looks like. Each master decides for himself personally which technique to work in, but for the most part he has to combine them.

Planar engraving

If you have come across real hunting knives more than once (especially the old type, and even those made in a single copy), you have probably noticed how often floral patterns are used when engraving them. This is no coincidence: once upon a time, each depicted plant had a deep sacred meaning. The lotus symbolizes immortality, the laurel - glory, the oak - power, the palm tree - peace and victory, the vine (pictured below) - the sacrament of communion. It was precisely these ornaments that were most often made using the technique of planar engraving: there was no particular need to create the texture of the same wool or feathers in them.

What is its difference from the previous type? If in the first case, grooves are cut out on the surface (in long lines or dotted lines), then here we create two or more planes, using different pens to achieve the correct shadow effect. For example, an inscription or ornament will seem to protrude from the surrounding surface or, conversely, will be recessed into it.

In the production of edged weapons, such a technique on blades is less common, as a rule, for decorating the device and sheath.

Plate engraving (chasing)

Embossing is half sculpting a rough shape, half finishing the workpiece with the help of hammer cutters (bolshtihels, flachshtihels, spitzshtihels). True, now it is almost impossible to find it; it has been almost completely replaced by casting. Exceptions include, perhaps, the original weapons of the peoples of Transcaucasia.

In the photo below you can see how a roughly cast tiger head is transformed into a highly detailed image on the pommel of a hunting knife.

The head of a tiger on the pommel of a knife: in the first two photos - a newly cast mold, in the last - processed by cutters

For incisive engraving (all three of its types), craftsmen use a diamond-shaped cutter, also known as a grabstichel, as well as a spitztichel with a cross-section similar to a triangle with rounded edges, a steel needle, dyes and auxiliary tools - pencils, whitewash, magnifying glasses and microscopes, a sharpening stone, steel ruler. For other types - the same, but with a wider range of gravers.

As for the materials themselves for engraving, a variety of steels and alloys are suitable (however, here you need to take into account the degree of hardening of the coating on which the work is done), titanium, aluminum, as well as non-ferrous and precious metals.

Performance technique

1. Before applying a design to the surface, the master first grinds and polishes the surface, then coats it with white.
2. The drawing is applied with a mechanical pencil with a lead no thicker than 0.3 mm in cross-section*.
3. The master uses steel needles to outline the contours of the future design. Now the white can be removed.
4. At this stage, the engraving work itself begins: with precise movements, the master carves out the desired ornament with dots or lines. For planar engraving, the background is also processed - with special notches that visually add volume. For embossing, the background, as they say, is lowered and processed with a pearl cutter.
5. To emphasize the contrast, varnishes or oxidizers are used to darken the carved grooves, and with the help of polishing agents, areas not touched by the engraving are highlighted.
6. Burrs that arise during operation are removed using grinding devices with the finest grain that can be found.

In fact, of course, there are several other ways to transfer a drawing to a surface (using plastic film or tracing paper), but drawing with a pencil is the most common option, especially for cutting techniques.

Interesting and useful information about old school engraving

• Engraving, whatever one may say, violates the integrity of the product; if it had corrosion protection, it should be restored. Most engraved products are hardened - this makes the steel more resistant to corrosion; If gold and silver incisions were made during engraving, then after hardening they will look even more beautiful.
• After engraving and hardening, the product is often coated with printing ink - it enhances the contrast of light and shade.
• Most truly worthwhile hand-engraved knives (that is, elite edged weapons) are created by members of the Guild of Gunsmiths, and the products themselves are classified as objects of cultural value by the Ministry of Culture. On November 1, 2002, the State Duma adopted an amendment to the law “On Weapons”: along with civilian, service and military weapons, a fourth category appeared - weapons of artistic value.
• Engraving is also divided not into three, but into two types: line engraving (which in this article is divided into incisive and planar) and armored (plate or embossing).

The modern market for engraving services for edged weapons

From the previous chapter, it probably became clear that real engraving, which was still more or less practiced in the 90s and which was already quite expensive, has now practically disappeared - due to the fact that for much less money you can get even not individual, but more technical and affordable solutions.

All modern methods allow you to apply perfectly even inscriptions, emblems, logos on metal in a short time, trademarks of any complexity, and some are also quite complex drawings such as color portraits and landscapes.

Laser engraving and laser sublimation

This engraving is done everywhere and literally in 15–20 minutes: usually, even in small towns, there are a couple of points where you can leave a knife and in half an hour get it back with the desired inscription, emblem, design, and so on.

The prevalence of the method is facilitated by the relative cheapness of the equipment and the small amount of space required for its placement. General principle the action is as follows: a laser (light) beam evaporates part of the metal so that this trace becomes visually noticeable; the most powerful lasers cut through the metal completely - this is already ultra-precise and ultra-thin laser cutting. True, this equipment itself can be either simple and limited in scope of use, or more multifunctional.

CO 2 laser engravers are just in the budget category. Most likely, this type of equipment is located in the shopping center nearest to you, where, among other things, they print on mugs and T-shirts. These engravers do not have a particularly strong beam, and they work mostly on wood, plastic, leather, etc. - that is, in our case, on hilts and sheaths. True, they also quite successfully engrave using a special coating, if one is applied to the metal parts of the knife, for example, on enameled brass. Such engravers received the CO 2 marking due to the fact that the long infrared radiation they use is produced by carbon dioxide molecules.

A completely different type of radiation is found in engravers of the YAG, vanadate laser and fiber laser categories. Their operating wavelength is designed to work with metals of the highest strength and hardness. The most powerful (and at the same time transportable and allowing for high-resolution drawings) is the last type, a fiber laser.

Look how different laser engraving is from any archaic technique: here the dedicatory inscription and the Kolovrat seem to have been written in light paint rather than carved out.

These lasers are good in their niche, but they cannot produce color images, because they work exclusively with the evaporation of metal. To apply color to a steel surface, you need a laser sublimation method - a printed transfer is placed on the metal or handle material, which is evaporated by a laser. As a result, the transfer pattern remains on the surface forever. Actually, this is the same technology that is used to create images on mouse pads, mugs, and T-shirts.

Mechanical engraving

Modern mechanical engraving on metal is reminiscent of the old techniques that we talked about, however, it is done, again, not by hand, but by machine. The program guides the cutter according to the pattern that is given to it. The diamond tip works on the hardest materials; For polishing or working on stainless steel, special attachments for milling cutters are used. They not only allow the formation of relief surfaces, but also create carved artistic miniatures on the blade.

At the junction of modern and archaic engravings, there is also manual mechanical engraving - it also uses a rotating cutter (the tool itself is called a pantograph), but it is guided not by a computer, but by a human hand. This is also not a very common type of work, although it is also cheaper and faster than the same traditional cutting technique.

What is good about this type of engraving is that it can work on any type of metal (any hardness and purity), unlike a laser, which is often limited in its scope of use. The price remains almost the same, however, a master working on a mechanical engraving machine has to study much more - and the specifics of working with various materials, and pressure, etc.

Sandblasting engraving

Externally, finished products with sandblast engraving are most similar to knives made using the old flat engraving technique - like the previous type, it is voluminous (unlike those made with a laser), and even more voluminous, since the metal is cut deeper here.

A stencil is placed on the metal, cut (depending on the complexity and capabilities of the customer and the engraver) manually, on a plotter or with a laser; then the abrasive blasting machine accurately and directionally sprays abrasive powder onto the surface - of different fractions and with different pressures. By changing the indicators of the last two characteristics, we can change the depth of the image and its resolution.

This engraving is also done on other hard materials from which the knife is made - for example, on a plastic or bone handle.

Artistic electrochemical etching

Another way to remove metal particles and form patterns on its surface is electrochemical etching using an electrolyte liquid and the use of an electrode. To understand how this is done, you need to go back a couple of decades - to the times when acids were used on their own, and not as an electrolyte.

The old school of etching already knew how to fake the pattern of Damascus steel - so if you come across a cheap knife with a pattern similar to Damascus, do not rush to buy it, it may be a fake. Such patterns were made using the so-called masking technique, when the part of the blade that was not subject to etching was covered with varnish, and the remaining part was exposed to acids; For of stainless steel Lapis was used.

After this came the era of ultraviolet irradiation of the blade, on which a pattern was drawn with a special conservation varnish; After this, the design appeared in caustic soda. Then the craftsmen learned to use not varnish, but a film specially made for this, which, of course, made the work cleaner: such films can be ordered in specialized stores, and they are still working with them.

All the master needs besides this film is an electrolyte (orthophosphoric, hydrochloric and sulfuric acids) and sources of constant and alternating current. This method is suitable when the pattern on the steel is repeated (for example, we are talking about metal marking). Under the influence of current, the electrodes tear out metal particles from its surface; This pattern can be made with any depth.

Electrochemical etching is also called galvanic etching, since the current source is a galvanic battery. It is noteworthy that modern way safer for health, since etching occurs quickly due to galvanization and harmful acid vapors simply do not have time to be released.

Applying a design to a knife (by etching). By order.

The young man brought a folding knife. He said: “I want...”.
Khochukha meant:
— remove scratches;
— harden (if necessary);
- polish;
- polish;
- sharpen;
- apply an inscription or design to the blade.

Initially it was a Magnum folding knife. Quite a well-known and “promoted” brand. This is what it looked like when folded.

Photo of the other side of the knife.

This is what the Magnum looked like in the open position.

View of the second side of the knife.

We begin to fulfill the customer’s wishes. Let's disassemble the knife.

There are much fewer parts in a folding knife than in an automatic knife. This has a positive effect on its reliability. In addition, the knife has its own brand and is made more accurately than the Chinese “nonames”. Sanding is cleaner. Heat treatment of the blade, in my opinion, is not required. The blade of the knife has sufficient hardness. But adding a couple of Rockwell units to a folding knife, and thereby increasing the fragility of the blade, is unwise. Therefore, we do without hardening and immediately proceed to coarse and fine grinding. This process is described in detail in other articles on the site. For example: or How to improve a Chinese-made knife (part 2).
There are plenty of photos with comments there. I'm just posting the results.

In the photo the blade is already polished. This is necessary for further etching of the pattern. The better the polishing of the steel, the less scratches there will be. That is, during etching of the design, the acid will not seep through the unevenness of the blade or poorly polished marks under the protective coating. In addition, high-quality polished steel resists corrosion better.

Next stage. We come up with a design that will be on the blade.
I came up with an eagle, the customer came up with a memorable inscription, then I came up with fire, and the customer came up with a panther... Sketches, drafts, email, telephone dialogues... Quite a long and fascinating process... As a result of joint ideas, a fiery eagle was invented.

We outline the blade with a pencil, aim with a drawing and...

... in time we draw attention to the fact that the side of the blade is not the same. The photo shows that next to the hole for the axial screw, there are two more holes of smaller diameter. They are needed to attach the pocket clip to the body of the knife. It will cover the design in this part of the handle. An eagle on a blade is flying somewhere. Here is an image of this “somewhere” that the clip could have closed. Well, at least I noticed in time... The drawing should be done on the other side of the blade.

We cover the “right” side of the blade with a protective coating. This is a tricky varnish with a tricky name. Inexpensive, but quite decent quality.

After the varnish has dried, scratch the eagle design over it.
But before that, let's practice on paper again. I draw without carbon paper and various devices. The hand trembled a little and the drawing was ruined. We would have to start all over again. Therefore, it is better to practice. Besides, I noticed my mistake again in time. The eagle's beak is longer and more angular. And on the back of the head there is a small tuft. In the previous drawing (on the wrong side of the blade) I lost sight of this... It was not a proud fiery eagle that could have settled on the blade, but an angry scorched dove.

We completely cover the blade with construction tape and varnish, so that the acid will etch only the design without spoiling the wedge itself. Then we’ll send the blade into a jar of acid.

I did not take any photographs of the etching process. Firstly, it was necessary to take off the rubber gloves (nobody canceled the safety precautions). And secondly, while you are jumping around the can with a camera, you can miss the right moment and the acid will “eat up” too much, the pattern will turn out to be too deep and loose inside the grooves. Here is the result of the etching. The blade has already been washed and cleaned.

But the photo shows one of the flame petals (closer to the tip) with a yellow coating. Before etching this blade (stainless steel), I etched brass with the same acid. Dissolved copper from the brass sat on the steel of the blade. The photo is not very good good quality, but visually the effect was quite beautiful. I don’t understand why the copper shrank on only one petal... If anyone has encountered such a curious effect and can share their thoughts, I would be very grateful. It would be very beautiful if the tips of all the petals of the flame had the same golden hue. I will experiment...

Now we etch that “somewhere” on the handle of the knife where the eagle is flying. The fiery element into which he strives... Or returns... I didn’t ask him.
The process is similar. Degreasing, applying varnish, drying, scratching with a cunning scratcher, etching, cleaning. Here is the result.

Now, using very fine sandpaper, we remove the copper coating from the blade, grind the blade, grind the spine of the blade, grind the handle, grind the entire knife around the perimeter. In the future it will look something like this.

We polish the wedge, the handle, the knife itself around the perimeter and in general everything that can shine.
Let's see what happened.

We partially assemble the knife. Straighten the cutting edge. We reduce its angle. Sharpening. Making the knife vicious and sharp. If you go back a few images, you can see the difference between the cutting edge before and after sharpening.

We finally assemble the knife.

We bring it “to the razor”.

We admire the polishing of one side of the knife.

Let's look at the reflection in the picture from the other side.

We fold the knife.

Let's compare what it is like now and what it was like before.

All.
The knife is ready.
He shaves his hair.
The wish is fulfilled.
The customer is satisfied.

To the editorHomiusnot only articles from our readers about in various ways repair. Some reviews are striking in their ease of performing unusual work, which at first glance is impossible to do at home. And today we present to your attention one of these articles, which was sent to the “Stories” section by Sergei Borisovich Kasatonov from the city of Yakutsk. In it, he talks about the simplest method of transferring a design onto a knife blade and etching metal without any chemicals.

Recently I became interested in such an activity as etching various designs on metal. After all, even a kitchen knife can be made exclusive if you put in just a little effort. However, if etching of a highly artistic drawing is required, drawing experience and a steady hand will not hurt. The initial application of it will not be a problem, but preparation for engraving by electrolysis will be quite problematic for some people. But, in order not to frighten in advance those who want to understand the whole technology, I will begin my report on the work done.

Everything is quite simple here. In addition to the knife itself, it is enough to have a regular laser printer and some other tools and materials in the apartment, namely:

• a small amount of alcohol;
• ice water in a basin;
• iron.

Naturally, the blade of a kitchen knife should be thoroughly washed and dried. The best way to cool water is to use ice.

We begin to apply a pattern to the steel blade of a kitchen knife

First you need to find a drawing on the Internet that can be placed on the blade. In any graphic editor, it should be reduced to such a size that it fits on the blade and printed. Use scissors to cut out the image.

Next, a small amount of alcohol is poured into the saucer, sufficient for the printed image to be completely immersed in it. The drawing should lie in the alcohol until the paper is saturated. This will be noticeable in the image that appears on the back of the sheet. Don’t be afraid to keep it in alcohol - nothing bad will happen to the drawing, even if it sits in a saucer for a day, it won’t flow or blur.

Using an iron: this requires caution

The part of the blade to which you plan to transfer the image must be poured generously with alcohol. After this, carefully take the piece of paper with the image and place it on the knife blade with the printed pattern facing down. At this time, you can still correct it without fear of smearing it. What you should take into account here is that once you start working with the heating device, you won’t be able to correct anything.

When the pattern is laid out as needed, we begin to warm it up with an iron turned on at maximum temperature. When performing this work, you should be extremely careful not to move the sheet. The fact is that even slightly heated paper, if you move it, will smear the image, ruining it.

Warming up is carried out for 3-4 minutes until the sheet is completely dry. In this case, it is better to overdo it, warming up the blade longer than to stop working with the iron when the paper is still half-raw.

Cooling the blade and removing unnecessary paper

When the alcohol has completely evaporated and the blade has warmed up, it is necessary to cool it as quickly as possible. It was for this purpose that I had a basin of water, which was cooled with ice. The knife blade is lowered into ice water for 20-30 seconds. It is necessary to monitor the paper, waiting until it is completely saturated, now plain water. After this has happened, we begin to slowly move our finger along it. The paper rolls and peels off.

In this case, there is no need to rush - there is a high probability that the blade has not cooled completely and the design will be damaged.

What will happen in the end: how high quality will the drawing be?

If everything was done correctly, the drawing will be no different from the one on paper. At the same time, the quality of the image does not depend on its complexity and the number of small details. If etching is not important, then you can leave the drawing as it turned out. Of course, such an image is not very resistant to aggressive cleaning agents and high temperatures, but in the absence of such factors it can last up to six months. I decided to leave this image of a tiger as simple drawing.

As for etching, for your first experiments with metal it is better to choose something simpler, especially if you have no artistic education or experience in metal engraving. But the article would be incomplete if I didn’t talk about how to etch metal so that the design will never be erased. I will talk about this using the example of another kitchen knife and a simpler image - I did not have a good relationship with art education, unlike technical and exact sciences.

What you need to etch a design on metal

To etch any image on metal you will need:

• water with table salt dissolved in it (3-4 tablespoons per 0.5 l) in a glass jar;
• power unit ( Charger) from any phone or other gadget;
• 2 pieces of wire;
• nail polish, preferably colorless;
• a regular bolt or metal plate that will fit in a jar.

It should be noted that the speed of electrolysis, and therefore the appearance of the pattern on the metal, will depend on the output current of the charger. The higher the adapter current, the less time it will take to operate.

Preparing metal for applying a relief pattern

First, the entire blade must be varnished. It doesn’t have to be nail polish; a composition for coating wood is quite suitable. But here it is worth remembering that feminine chemicals dry out almost instantly. Considering that the metal will need to be coated in 2 layers, this is a serious reason to use a quick-drying composition.

The design, if it is not too complex, can be applied after the varnish has dried. But, if it is necessary to etch an image similar to what I applied to the previous knife, it is better to use the transfer method using an iron and alcohol, and then coat the steel with colorless varnish.

For etching on one of the kitchen knives, I chose not too complex Arabic script. It was applied after the varnish had dried, after which the coating along the lines was removed. In other words, I just scratched it with a needle. I note that the edges of the strips need to be carefully trimmed - during etching, electrolysis will eat away unprotected areas, which means that all irregularities will remain on the metal without the possibility of subsequent correction.

Power connection: electrolysis etching principle

Power is supplied to the elements as follows. A wire with a bolt at the end is lowered into salt water and connected to the negative output of the charger. A positive charge is applied to the blade itself. The principle of electrolysis is as follows. The varnish coating does not transmit electricity, but the area of ​​​​the metal where it is absent reacts with salt water under the influence of voltage. As a result, the metal is corroded exactly where there is no varnish.

Many will be interested to know that in this way you can even apply a pattern with copper. To do this, a similar preparation of the blade is performed. The difference is that the polarity of the connection will be reversed - plus on the bolt, and minus on the knife. Instead of salt, you need to dissolve copper sulfate in water. In a similar way, you can either apply an image or completely cover the part with copper.

Etching: some nuances to consider

When power is applied to the wires, it will become clearly visible how electrolysis occurs. Gas bubbles will begin to emerge from areas of the blade unprotected by varnish. It is this process that “gnaws out” metal particles. It is necessary to carefully monitor the temperature of the charger - it can rise sharply. To avoid failure of the adapter, do not keep it turned on for more than 15-20 seconds, giving a break of at least 10 minutes. This way, the work will be extended, but at the same time you will maintain the functionality of the charger. In total, etching a small design takes about a minute of constant work. It turns out that in 3 passes the image will be ready.

The photo example shows how the inscription appears on the metal under the influence of the electrolysis reaction. After the work is completed, all that remains is to clean the unnecessary varnish coating and polish the blade.

During operation, a dirty-brown oxide layer will form on the surface of the jar. This should not scare you; the process involves such deposits.

The final stage of the process, cleaning and polishing the blade

Upon completion of the process, the power is turned off and the wire is unhooked from the knife. To remove the varnish coating, you can use a stationery knife or regular acetone, which will easily do this job. Polishing is carried out on sharpening machine with a felt circle. Of course, this work can be done manually, but in this case it will take much more time.

As for the unevenness of the drawing strokes, they do not always interfere. For example, when applying Arabic script, as in my case, they even give a certain charm to the inscription, as if it was made several centuries ago. But if the image requires precision, like the tiger previously transferred to a knife, you should scratch each line extremely carefully. Of course, this work cannot be called simple; attention to detail and perseverance are required, but the owner will be sure that the design will not be erased from the blade, regardless of the aggressiveness of cleaning agents or temperature.

Final part

Do-it-yourself engraving like this will add something unusual. kitchen knives. They will turn from ordinary consumer goods into exclusive products that will surprise your friends and acquaintances. And given the fact that not a penny will be spent on performing such work, the owner is guaranteed satisfaction from the drawings applied by electrolysis.

I would like to hope that readers will adopt the methods of working with metal that I have described. If any of the above remains unclear, I will be happy to explain. You just need to write about it in the comments to the article. There you can also express your opinion about what you read. I will be glad to hear anyone - I treat criticism quite adequately, of course, if it is justified. I will try to respond to every review as quickly as possible.

The Homius editors invite home craftsmen and craftsmen to become co-authors of the “Stories” section. Useful first-person stories will be published on the pages of our online magazine.

Local method of etching a pattern on metal

Hello! Today I want to talk about another method on metal. This is an etching method. Let's say you already have a wonderful shape, and now you need to decorate it with some “cool” design. You can draw the picture yourself, or download ready-made ones on the Internet and print them on a printer. We will also need regular tape to make a sticker. It is important to take good quality tape. The higher quality the tape is, the easier it will be for you to work with it. Cut a strip of tape and stick the prepared design onto its sticky surface, image side down. Now rinse off the paper hot water. The design will be printed on the tape.

By the way, applying an image for etching with is only applicable with a design printed on a laser printer. A design printed on an inkjet printer will wash off along with the paper. Rinse off the paper as thoroughly as possible. You can use a toothbrush for this. Now we just have to wait until it all dries and continue working.

Let's take our pride and degrease its surface. We will degrease with alcohol. If you don't want to spend so much " useful product“For some kind of degreasing - use acetone, or any other liquid that can degrease the metal surface. Now carefully glue the tape to the place of the blade where you want to see the design. Glue the tape very tightly, without air bubbles, smoothing it over the surface of the blade with a cloth.

The next step is to cut through the design. To carefully cut through the outline without scotch scuffing, use the following method. Take an awl and heat it on a gas burner. Carefully burn the outlines of the design. Well, you probably used a wood burner when you were a child? So this is almost the same thing, only we will burn on metal.

By the way, the thought occurred to me that instead of using the method of etching and heating proposed by the author, I should use an awl, actually a wood burner, with a fine tip. This will be easier than rushing to the gas burner every time to heat up the cooling awl.

So, we burn through the outline of the drawing and remove all unnecessary things. It turned out something like this.

Now we need to remove traces of glue.By the way, we first need to make a special device for etching on metal. For this device, you need a power supply from 4 to 9 volts and a pair copper wires. You can use any phone charger.

To remove the adhesive from the tape from the metal surface, place the negative wire on a knife, and the positive wire on a cotton wool soaked in a strong saline solution, and start blotting with the cotton wool. The glue should curl up.

That's it, having cleared the pattern of glue, we proceed directly to etching the pattern on the metal. To do this, we change the polarity of our device, that is, we attach the positive end of the wire to the knife. Place a piece of cotton wool in a piece of bandage and, after soaking it in a saline solution, apply it to the drawing so that it completely covers it. We lay the negative wire on top and secure it with tape. We plug in the power supply and wait for twenty-five minutes. Be careful during the etching process and step aside during this time. Because with this, poisonous chlorine gas is released. And although it is released in fairly small quantities, it is still better not to inhale it.

If the quality of etching does not suit you, repeat the procedure again with fresh cotton wool. Naturally, it will take you much less time to re-etch.The result is this image.

All that remains is to thoroughly rinse and clean the surface of the knife. That's it, the work is finished, and by etching we got this image of a bull on the surface of the blade.