Knife 39 – Hunting – Larger Skinner – Etching with Ferric Chloride

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Knife 39 – Hunting – Larger Skinner – Etching with Ferric Chloride

Knife 39 – Hunting – Larger Skinner – Etching with Ferric Chloride is still one of my favorite designs. It’s a simple yet elegant. It a great looking knife in a very simplistic way. A traditional old style knife.

• This one was made from 3/16” 1095 steel.
• The handle is Cocobolo with an aluminum added spacer and firework.
• Brass pins

I did this knife with all hand grinding (except for final hand sanding). I finally figured out how to grind straight and completely horizontal. As the knife curves, pull the handle end away from the belt ever so slightly. It only takes a little practice to get this right.

I made an aluminum spacer for this knife. After some fussing around I wound up epoxying the aluminum spacer to the blade. After the epoxy had cured, I was sanding it back flush and one side popped off. I found the other side easy to remove. I decided not to use the aluminum spacers for this knife because of this.

Etching

I wanted a dark etch on this knife so I set up with some Ferric Chloride. I used the Ferric chloride straight. After a 15-minute soak it came out with an even light gray color.

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Etching with Ferric Chloride

To make the containers for the ferric acid I took 2 pieces of 3” PVC and plugged one end and added a cap on the top. I found this sand blast medium barrel perfect for a base for a bit more stability. Clamping it to the wall or a post will work as well. You just do not want it to be tipped over.

I have Used it full strength. Some knife makers suggest diluting it. It will take some experimenting to determine which works best for you.

The second container is for a baking soda mix to neutralize the acid after etching is complete.

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