Reddit mentions of MG Chemicals 415 Ferric Chloride Liquid

Absolutely there are ways to bring up the pattern. You can do this!

The professionals use Ferric Chloride and I recommend you do too. It's easy, it's (relatively) safe (compared to the other methods), and it produces a nice finish.

You will need; a bottle of ferric chloride solution, a new kitchen sponge, some 0000 steel wool, baking soda, gloves, and some masking tape.

First, put on some damn gloves, this stuff eats metal, don't let it burn your skin too.

Clean and degrease your knife.

Next you're going to want to mask off the cutting edge of your blade. If you use super thin tape you can get damn close to the edge and have it be almost unnoticeable. Like automotive pin striping thin masking.

Take the ferric chloride solution and mix one part FC to three parts water in a glass or ceramic bowl. This is your etching solution

Next you will want to simply wet the sponge with the etching solution and rub it along the blade, taking care not to get it on the cutting edge. You masked it off, but let's not test the mask alright. Typically knife makes do a full immersion etch then sharpen the blade, so the edge isn't really there until after the etch, but for a home done cosmetic upgrade we will only apply the chemicals to the flats not the edge. Anywhere the solution touched will be eaten by the chemicals. The carbon steel will be eaten first and turn black, the nickle steel will last longer and stay shiny.

You will begin to see results in a few moments, but the longer you leave it sit, the deeper and more lasting the etch will be. Too little and it will wear quickly, too much and it eat into the steel. I know a knife maker who does one hour full immersion etching and the pattern is VERY aggressive, almost like your fingerprints, you can feel the layers. Too much for a prized kitchen knife. Fifteen minutes of exposure tends to be very pretty. I would guess that 5-10 minutes of exposure will produce a nice cosmetic etch on a blade. When you see what you like, add some baking soda to neutralize the acid, and wash it off.

Being able to see where you are in the etching process moment to moment makes it east to know when to stop. Full immersion etching doesn't really unless you're constantly pulling it out.

Immediately after the etch, the knife will be matte in appearance from all the microscopic pitting. You're going to want to gently gently gently buff that up to a good sheen with some steel wool. Too much and you'll wear right through the pattern again. You could also use 600 grit sand paper and wet sand it to bring up the sheen.

To cleanup, you'll need to add baking soda to the etching solution before disposal. Hold on to the concentrate FC solution, you'll probably want to do this again someday.

It may seem like there's a lot going on here, but it's not really difficult.

I bought this one off of Amazon for $20, and it was exactly what I needed.

Don't forget to buy some paperclips/wire to hang it on, nail polish to cover up the important bits (pivot hole, threads, detent, lock faces), nail polish remover to remove the nail polish, and a container to put it all in. I used a large mason jar for that.

Amazon

Here is the mobile version of your link

I'm just going to assume this may interest you.. I really only use 2 things.. Photo gloss paper from office depot with a laserjet printer:

https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/394925/Office-Depot-Brand-Standard-Photo-Paper/

And etching fluid in an old plastic tupperware container:

https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Chloride-Etchant-Solution/dp/B008UH3SAE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1550866951&sr=8-3&keywords=ferric+chloride

Print off your circuit (I use Fritzing to make my circuit designs) onto the inkjet paper.. It adheres pretty well.. Transfer with an iron and a roller.. It takes 3-4 minutes and should get so hot that the paper kind of sticks to it.. Peel off the paper, I usually have to run it under water to get all the paper off.. You should be able to rub on it w/o hurting the transfer once it gets to this point..

All you'll be left w/ is a mask.. There'll be some spots that didn't transfer.. Just use a black sharpie to mask those spots in..

Drop it in the fluid for about 6-12 minutes.. It only takes enough to barely cover the board.. And that amount of fluid can do 3-5 boards. Close the tupperware and shake it like one of those old pictures people talk about..

Drill your holes w/ a dremel.. Boom.. Done.. I have probably done 20 or 30 of these and they're a pain in the butt, but you can have them done in an hour and know if your design works before sending off and wasting money.

I called my city disposal team and they said that it's safe to dispose of in the drain with lots of water.. Alternatively, you can soak paper towels with the material after it's spent and throw those out.. I wear a vapor mask, goggles and gloves when I use the ferric chloride, but I think I go overboard.. Just gloves and goggles are probably fine. Always make sure you're in a well ventilated area..

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I wear nitrile gloves while sanding, and the blade went right from sanding, to a cotton cloth, to the bath. The steel is O1 from Jantz, so I trust that, and the bath was made using this.

I haven't sanded it other than a water and cloth rub down, because I am still debating if I like the look.

Ferric chloride. It's really easy.

https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Ferric-Chloride-Liquid/dp/B008UH3SAE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XofFmA8wT3E

> ferric chloride acid (which you might be able to get online or from computer supply stores)

I've gotten it from Amazon. This is the one.