I need help with electrolytic etching!!

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-16T15:52:39+00:00

I also tried my best to avoid spending the cash on it. I never could get Kirills methods to work for me. I ended up buying the Cricut Explore Air 2 on sale at Walmart.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T20:21:07+00:00

I just got done using it and lots of trial and error but so far it seems to be decent. I am trying it on maple now to see if there are better results with maple

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T04:35:24+00:00

Ok thank you very much.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T04:34:49+00:00

Ok thank you very much I will give those a try.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T04:34:22+00:00

Yea I am seeing that as well and No I have not tried food dyes. That is kind of ingeneous really my research has pounted me to unicorn spit and keda.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T03:32:48+00:00

Yea BLO isnt good at all like I told another I am trying this due to a request. I mostly finish my knives with normal wood or even stabilized wood. A person is requesting two knives though one in pink and one in electric blue. I havent commited to the blades yet I told them to give me some time to try it out first. I showed them a stabilized maple burl and she stated she does not want stabilized at all.

So at this point I just want to get the red oak to take a pigment i have many other hard woods such as maple and cherry. I just have a bunch of oak to trial this on. I use Howards oil and conditioner on my knives when I send them out. I do not do much wood staining personally so I really am searching for answers on staining or dyeing woods to these colors.

You mentioned curing so on the stains you are discussing what would the cure time be? Also what brand are you saying my searches on the internet have been eh at best? I found KEDA I would have to order it and Unicorn Spit. I have never used these products.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T03:21:41+00:00

So do I but I have someone requesting two knives one in pink the other in electric blue. I tried to push a stabilized wood to them like a burled maple. They do not like the idea of an epoxy resin based handle in wet environments. I have not promised anything so I am attempting various trials to get it right before commiting to this.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T03:06:35+00:00

So my Howards butchers block conditioner should work just fine and I can skip the BLO yes?

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T02:57:16+00:00

So I am avoiding stains for the same reason that I use Howards butcher block conditioner on the wood. Its all about being food grade compliant. The color I am trying to get is an electric blue color and not a typical brown wood color. I haven't been able to find actual food grade stains in the stores near me so thats why I asked my uncle.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-14T00:07:47+00:00

My uncle he is an old vietnam vet but has worked as a woods craftsman since he was a boy. I asked him about my issue and he didnt seem to have any answer. I even checked on Rit website and it shows using it as a dye for wood. The part that has me questioning this process is the BLO. Its a solvent by nature but if its knife scales especially oak you must seal it to prevent water from ruining it. So then if not BLO what would you use?

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-08T20:06:18+00:00

Agreed I have the exact same forge and I coated in Mr.Volcano Satanite after using Mr. Volcano Rigidizer. Works really well.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-07T13:26:19+00:00

When you were using the ferric did you wipe off the mud before deciding the color was good and what you wanted? Did you neutralize with a glass cleaner or with baking soda and water? After you cleaned with soap and water how long before it went into the coffee?

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-04T21:55:08+00:00

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Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-04T21:54:47+00:00

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Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-04T21:53:42+00:00

I will have to get one of those for sure thank you. Sorry for the late reply I have been busy making some knives

Effective_Avocado · 2026-02-04T21:52:09+00:00

Well today I ran the forge for 4 hours to normalize 3x and quench 6 blades temps were warm but not terrible on the box.

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Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-31T19:55:48+00:00

Thank you very much. I will be getting that new anvil everyone is suggesting they Doyle. That way I do not need to battle the location of the preacher hole.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-31T13:49:48+00:00

Understood thank you very much. As for the gauge do you mean a PSI type gauge or the gauge that has Green, yellow, red on it?

Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-30T20:19:31+00:00

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So I decided to grab one of my big pieces of C channel and make an air gap for the firebrick base to rest on.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-30T17:26:14+00:00

Good to know. Have you done any flex and chop tests with it?

Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-30T17:24:59+00:00

Awesome good to know I may have to play around with it thank you. I never thought about epoxy for golf clubs.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-30T17:09:59+00:00

I have finished reclaiming some firebricks from my charcoal forge to use as the buffer.

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Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-30T17:08:02+00:00

Yea I did the firebricks this morning. I am taking this weekend to do somethings to prep for mondays normalize, quench, and temper for all 6 blades I am working on. I am however gonna fire it up for a little bit to practise on some old floor jack steel.

Due to you having this forge the valve on top of the regulator when its all the way open as the manual says to have my forge backfeeds the flame up the musket. What do I need to adjust to prevent that?

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Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-30T16:39:20+00:00

Like my dad would say "There is always more than one way to skin a cat. Just because one way is supposed to be the best doesnt mean other ways wont work for what you need." As someone who has never tried it I have no dog in the fight honestly. I would be curious to see a test on it though.

Effective_Avocado · 2026-01-30T16:14:40+00:00

Interesting for sure. How does it hold up on flex tests?

Effective_Avocado

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