I know black, and I think OD are both laser-etched through the epoxy coating to bare steel, setting things up nicely for an acid etch. From photographs it appears that other colors might have a protective coating under the epoxy but on top of the etched logos and serial numbers. I realize it's a trivial matter, but I'm actually more concerned with etch-worthiness than color preferences. I typically default to black for this reason but would like to branch out to other colors as long as I can etch. I'm specifially asking about the ESEE 6 right now in case that matters. Thanks in advance.
It is my understanding that you can do any of the powder coated blades but not the tumble finish ones. I’m not entirely sure on the SV steel models. There is a multi page thread in the DIY sub forum that has lots of information. I would start there. The guys here have done some really nice work on their personal stuff.
Yeah I've only done one or so etchings . As @anrkst6973 said, if it has the powder coating it can be etched. As for the black oxide or stainless options they cannot be unfortunately, at least not that I've seen done and on the stock logos. On the serial number, I would etch it just in case something happened to it, you'd have the number.
Thanks for the repsonses. So can the owners/users of the Desert Tan, Dark Earth, Orange, and Obnoxious Limon green tell me about the black finish that makes logos and serial numbers stand out so well. It definitely appears to be black rather than the shininess of bare steel. Will feric acid eat right through this black paint (if that's what it is) and etch as normal? The only colored ESEE I've ever etched was my son's blue Izula, and it had bare steel inside all of the laser engravings.
The chemica;s used to etch leave the metal a bit darker, just like an uncoated blade will develop a darker patina. For electroetching, the deep etching itself is done with a direct current (DC) and to get a nice dark surface you can end with alternating current (AC)
Thank you KnOeFz for the explanation. I've always used Feric acid becuase it gives me predictable, uniform results withouth messing anything up. I've read that electroetching is faster, but I've never tried it. Based my epoxy coated, laser engraved knives (ESEE, Becker, Tops), and a friend who has a laser-engraving business, the base metal is left bare after the laser burns away the epoxy coating. Certain ESEE colors like Desert Tan, Dark Earth and Orange appear to have a black finish applied to bare steel because it's consistently darker than the logos of the Black and Olive Drab knives which appear shiny. It's not simply a camer setting issue with lighter colored blades because the sharpened edges still appear as they should. If feric acid will still much through this dark logo coating then I'll quit worrying. In the meantime I'm scratching the itch with an ESEE 6P in black. BTW, I always enjoy your "coffee break" photos from around Europe.
@Traditionalist Nice to hear you enjoy my coffee break pictures About the color of the etching... The effect is called Simultaineous contrast. A color can appear lighter or darker depending on its surrounding color. This link explains the theory about simultanious color contrast with some nice graphics to illustrate what happens.
Thank you for the additional reply and reminder about simultaneous contrast. I now remember learning about that phenomenon a couple years ago and it blew my mind. I somehow still forgot that it does in fact occur in real life! I’ll now proceed with the freedom of buying whatever colors stike my fancy.
