doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Trial run of damascus B&W finishing

Yeah, probably right about finer grades. The coupon is a very fine damascus. I think Oscar mentioned it was tougher on really fine damascus.

Chuck, well done!

In the poison'd entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches' mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.

Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

Yipes, Yeti!

Chuck, I did not mean to discourage you at all. My experience was with a set of Parker B Grade Damascus barrels that a fellow ,who does lots of Damascus refinish, just could not get a decent finish to take. I guess the barrels were of an odd type.

Hi Yeti,

Is that a tested recipe? :-)

JC

Bill, your barrels look very nice. No I don't use the FC for rusting. It's used to bring out the pattern, just like barrels. The difference is, with hardend steel it comes out much easier than mild steel. I'd like to know why everyone only leaves the barrels in for 5 seconds? In my experience 30 seconds, or even a minute doesn't hurt. Maybe I'm doing it backwards. I etch befote rusting. I see where people are rusting , then etching. I'll have to re-read the copy of Dr. Gaddys instructions. Paul

Well, I answered my own question- I was doing the rust/etch process backwards. Probably because of the way I did damascus knives. It worked, but I have a nice pattern damascus Parker barrels that I'd like to redo. Think I'll try the "other " way and see how they come out. Maybe it'll be a bit easier. Paul

Chuck - I made an error in one of my earlier messages. The circuit board etchant IS still available from Radio Shack; you just have to look for it. For instance, only one store in my city carries the stuff. The other store managers just look at you with a blank stare when you ask for it. (there are 12 stores where I live, and only one had the material). I found it by googling "etchant," then clicking on the square, under "Radio Shack," for addresses where the material is in stock. I don't know if they will re-stock it any time soon, but I bought their whole supply (two bottles).

Paul - The 5 second etch came from Dr. Gaddy. He wasn't too clear on how long to etch in his articles, so I wrote him. The time is apparently not extremely critical, unless you leave the barrels in long enough to start fading the pattern. I'm anxious to see those Parker barrels. By the way, I believe Parker barrels came from the factory with a black-and-white finish. Many of them have rusted over the years to a brown-and-white.

Chuck - your latest test runs are really looking good. You may want to try a lacquer or varnish on them. Lasts longer than plain gun oil, and in my opinion, comes out contrastier. I believe Dr. Gaddy was using Behlem's spray lacquer and, as I mentioned, I have been using Tru-Oil stock finish, thinned with paint thinner.

Bill

Chuck,
Great job! I also had a set of Parker B barrels that did not refinish well. Maybe it is something about that grade of barrels.
Keep up the great work.
Chris

When we lost Oscar he was using logwood dye as a final coloring agent, it made a very small change but he was a purest. I found a bottle at Gander Mountain and did not have to fool around making it from chips.
bill