Designs

[Dani Girl]

I am looking for the opinions and imput from wiser better engravers. I have to start this knife on Sunday. The tracing paper is actual size. . Pen for scale. I am unsure which design is better. Am I doing alright with designs suiting knife shapes... is that just practice... thank you.

Oh and I was thinking about doing some selective bead blasting or masking and then blackening the 416 stainless steel. Does anyone have experience doing that?

Danae

 

[mitch]

the asymmetric one. by a mile. or kilometer. or whatever the expression is down under. a couple things- i'd recommend ALWAYS avoiding a symmetric layout unless it absolutely cannot be any other way. and never try to force one upon an asymmetric canvas. also, at first glance i thought the other design was a study pic by Sam Alfano. honest to God. your work has really come a long ways.

 

[monk]

i agree with mitch. trying to use symmetry in shapes such as this-- well, it's close to impossible to get the eye to accept such a design, no matter how well cut. the only way around that would be to make a very narrow symmetrical design, and have it go "parallel" to the bend of the blade. leaving a rather large amount of the blade untouched. jaho

 

[colinskelly]

I also agree, I like the asymmetrical design.

In regards to the selective bead blasting, I have a couple of things I use regularly. I've used melted wax to cover gemstones. Apply the wax with a hot tool or wax pen. I used jewelers buildup or injection wax for lost wax casting. Do a test first to determine that the type of wax will stand up to the media. I was using glass bead media. For easy clean up put the item in a freezer for a couple minutes. The wax gets brittle and flakes off easily. For straight lines or gentle curves I like painters masking tape. It doesn't leave much sticky residue. For more intricate masking I like fingernail polish applied with a small brush and clean up with acetone. Again do a practice run to determine if it will hold up to the blasting media. Lowering the air pressure can help if the masking agent gets blown off. Most of my experience is on high polished metals so if any touch up is needed I'll use a fine rubber wheel or small lap and appropriate polishing compound with the micro motor or flex shaft.

Good luck, thanks for sharing all your progress, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Colin

 

[Dani Girl]

Graphic chemicals hard ground would be less likely than nail polish to flake off I think. The knife maker has the bead blaster and I have the job of masking it up and sending it to him. He might have to pinch his wife's nail polish if anything starts flaking off

Right... symmetry stays on daggers. I did one recently and was so happy with it I wanted to try it on this. The other design is easier on the eye somehow... and it leaves the customer a big blank area if they want to scribble their name on it or go crazy with bulino or something. I just couldn't decide if the basic idea was any good or not.

 

[Marrinan]

The very best and most wear resistant mask will come from the tomb stone cutter and they are now almost exclusively sand blasted not cut. Also glass blasters have excellent frisket in both sheet and paint on. very tough stuff to beat. Fred

 

[Eugene Carkoski]

the top would be better for a rounded surface go with the second one.

 

[monk]

dani girl: go to www.laserbits.com. they sell a very thin, translucent mask. it works well for lasering, as well as for the type blasting you want done. it's very bright red whilst on the roll, but very transparent when pulled off the roll. www.micromark.com sells a liquid version that also works well. easily applied with a small camel or roohair brush. it peels off easily when you're done. not sure of shipping regulations/fees. you may find such similar materials in your area. do they make roohair brushes ? just a demented question from an equally demented engraver !

 

[Dani Girl]

What's laserbits got it listed under?

 

[Dani Girl]

Work put in today.

 

[Dani Girl]

I am worried that bead blasting after fine line shading would be too damaging... has anyone tried it. Have you blasted it then shaded it... is it better to only use that method on coarsely shaded larger designs. I was thinking of etching it instead with some ferric... haven't experimented with that much... or just leaving it. But it would be cool to give it some kind of contrast. Thanks everyone who's posted and given me tips and input. Thank you all

 

[SamW]

In the distant past I did some electroless nickel plating and before plating the engraved items were blasted with 320 grit aluminum oxide at 20 pounds pressure to knock off the "chrome plated" look. Stipple or bulino style shading stood up well to the treatment as shown here...

PS...any blasted surface will be more subject to marring which will stand out. And such marring will show up in the plating as well...what went into the tank is what came out of the tank.

 

[Dani Girl]

Thanks SamW. That looks fantastic. Has anyone else tried french grey... bead blasting.. sand blasting... it's really fascinating to see all the great ideas people have to make the work even more interesting

 

[monk]

I am worried that bead blasting after fine line shading would be too damaging... has anyone tried it. Have you blasted it then shaded it... is it better to only use that method on coarsely shaded larger designs. I was thinking of etching it instead with some ferric... haven't experimented with that much... or just leaving it. But it would be cool to give it some kind of contrast. Thanks everyone who's posted and given me tips and input. Thank you all

dani:some people even blast with powdered cornstarch, baking soda, and such. there's even a company i've seen that sells "soda blasters". don't know if these powders would serve your needs, but they surely would do no harm. as for the ferric chloride, be mindful, that stuff can be much more aggressive on a surface than you might think. i use it on copper and brass now & then for a deep,quick, background removal. the stuff is not good for ones' lungs or skin.

 

[monk]

What's laserbits got it listed under?

dani : i have 2 rolls of the mask. enough for several lifetimes. send me yer snail mail address, i'll give you a roll.

 

[Dani Girl]

Wow, thank you Monk. The only postage option that company gave for overseas was $100+ snail mail will be much cheaper.

Thank you thank you thank you

 

[Dani Girl]

I plan to play with some Ferric Chloride before too long, anyone got safety tips, any rubber gloves and a full face respirator with chemical filters like this one?
http://www.bunnings.com.au/3m-tekk-protection-half-face-spray-painter-respirator-_p5820584 which is what I have?

 

[Dani Girl]

Thanks everyone for your help and guidance.

Sam... hope you don't mind how much my style resembles yours. Your work looks perfect to me so I tend to pick up a lot of what you do. That and the countless hours spent staring in awe and wonder.

I have engraved it now so no one will notice any resemblance anymore.

 

[McAhron]

No need for a respirator for ferric. I would recommend going to Bladeforums and reading up on using ferric,many many articles in the makers forums. Plain nitrile or rubber gloves are fine. You will also need an acid neutralizer. Ferrics very mild,if it gets on your skin it doesn't burn you like heavier acids.

 

[Dani Girl]

Well. We got her finished in time for the show. I look forward to having a go at some selective bead blasting... etching... French grey on a future piece. Learned plenty of tips and how too so I can be more ready to do it later.