Acid Etching My Spyderco Endura 4

A documentation of my first time Etching a knife, I used ferric Chloride I bought on eBay on my spyderco endura 4.

Step 1: Preparation

Start by disassembling your knife, using a T8 torx head for the pivot screw and a T6 for the rest - this size is pretty hard to come by but you can get them on amazon for less than £3. I used a flat head screwdriver and that worked but it did chew up one of the screws, luckily I could still take the knife apart.
Next take some nail polish and paint the areas you don't want to be etched (all contact areas - pivot, lock etc...) then if you choose to use the nail polish to paint a design. I didn't at first but I cant remember what I was thinking at the time. Use a cloth and some lighter fluid to remove any last grease from the blade before Etching.

Step 2: Etching

So my first tests, using 40% concentration ferric Chloride for 30 minutes I took the blade and clip out of the acid. I wanted a very dark, stone washed kind of effect but after sanding lightly with 1200 grit I was left with a matte grey all over which I was not happy with. I sanded it down as good as I could get it and started again. (you can use the acid a bunch of times before it loses its properties so there was no problem there)

Step 3: Attempt 2

I chose to do some nice stripes for the second attempt, I learnt that Etching isnt as obvious as I imagined and it only looks good on a surface with a comparison, so after sanding down the old etch to 1200 grit I applied nail polish on the contact points and painted on my design.
Lighter fluid and a rag to clean the blade and clip then back into the acid, this time I took the clip out at 45 minutes, this was not enough time, I'm guessing because of the type of steel but the etch was very faint. However the blade I left in for an hour and that worked perfectly.

Step 4: Polish, Reassemble and Resharpen

I took out the blade and clip, used acetone to get rid of the nail paint and looked at my results, the looked alot deeper than last time and the contrast was much more easily seen, sanding and buffing makes the contrast even more clear and I thought it looked great.
I then resharpened the edge up to mirror polish and oiled the pivot area.
I would recommend this as an easy knife customisation and I will be doing it alot more in the future, thanks for reading and good luck!

Comments

[Kona-chan]

does this work with a stainless steal blade with black coathing?

[milo_baker]

you would have to remove the black coating

[Kona-chan]

that's kind of a problem, it won't even scratch

[milo_baker]

should do if you get some sandpaper or a file

[Kona-chan]

the knife broke a while ago, the blade broke off the handle and my mom made me throw it away :/ maybe gonna buy a black sable soon

[mhood6]

what do you use for the acid? can you use a salt and water solution with an electric current?

[milo_baker]

I believe so but I've never tried, usually people use that technique when etching small, precise logos on their knives

[JuriM]

reggaeblodfireclart

[JuriM]

bumbarass man

[JuriM]

chode

[ewautvanwassenhove]

that's super cool! Do you think it could work on surfaces that you can't dip in the acid? like a dobro with a steel body? like then wipe over it or something?

[milo_baker]

thanks man, as for your question I would say probably, try it on a small scale first but I can't see a reason why it wouldnt work, let me know if you do and how it went

[loony1]

Why exactly the zip ties?
The acid etching turned out real nice. I like the tiger stripe pattern.

[milo_baker]

thanks bro

[CorgiCritter]

You snag them on your pocket and it opens the knife as you pull it out. The mod is known as the Ghetto Wave, since it's a homemade version of the Wave Shaped Opening Feature.

[DIY Hacks and How Tos]

Those etching effects look great.

[milo_baker]

cheers

[Bobby T]

Great results there lad. Did you test the blade in the first time, or did you use a test metal part

[milo_baker]

thanks, unfortunately i tested the blade the first time, using another piece of steel would be a lot smarter

[Diesel Weasel]

Just a quick warning: Putting zipties on a knife like that can be illegal. Please check your local laws.