The Journey to Getting a Perfect Coffee Darkening

In this video my dad is trying to get the coffee darkening perfect, but after many attempts Kyle must step in to get show how it's done. What Kyle does is awesome!
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[@joshwisor7399]

I am really liking the contrast between your dad learning, and your very high end work. It adds some extra learning situations to your videos. Keep it up!

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thanks for the feedback Josh, we appreciate that.

[@VickyShawcooksalot]

A great homeschool dad. We all know when it's time to turn the tables. Should hear my son lecture me on history. LOL

[@rickhall5399]

I had great success with 800 grit 7 oz of dark roast in one quart of distilled water boil the coffee then cool down to room temp then etch for 4 hours , worked awsome.

[@aidanfordsword6954]

Oh nice!

[@syrenaan252]

Perfect! I was looking for this video!

[@Brutschlachter]

I love the discussion part about the process!!

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thank you Matze! ~Team Royer

[@Philter-Coffee]

very late to the game but studied chemistry years ago. what i think is going on is down to finish - coffee wont really "stick" to steel, what it will do is oxidise. it is important to preface this by saying that an oxide layer prevents oxidation - thats why you can take a carbon steel knife from a hundred years ago, buff the blade and be back to fresh steel, rather than a patina all the way through. how quickly, uniformly, and the thickness of that oxide layer is what gives variation in colour, durability, and every weird thing we see on the surface. the reason that a finer finish would preventing the colour darkening is to do with surface area. on a microscopic scale, the more refined a finish, the less surface area it has. the oxide layer will still form on a fine finished surface, but will be significantly thinner, and therefore have a much smaller impact in colour. ferric chloride eats in to the surface at a varying rate depending on temp, the movement of the solution and tiny currents in the solution from differential heating and cooling, Even on a homogenous billet of steel you will find that the surface is rough, and will have different areas of high and low spots on a microscopic scale. that is all to say, once you have buffed the blade after the initial ferric chloride etch, it may be worth giving the blade a quick 10 seconds back in the ferric before a rinse and into the coffee. it will etch one steel far faster than the other, and key the surface, increasing the surface area for the coffee oxidation to work on similar to the way you talked about micro-abrasions with steel wool. the ferric will do it on a chemical level, where as steel wool relies on the hardness of each strand and how uniform the steel wool is (which varies with each strand as it work hardens, gets abraded away etc), and an abrasion resistance difference between the two steels used in the damascus.

[@philipdunn7538]

That's some beautiful steel. Good job Mister Royer. And looking at the geometry of that blade, I can tell it will perform outstandingly day in and day out. Double thumbs up!

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

thanks Philip, I haven't done a lot of damascus but Im pretty tickled with what I've done so far. I keep digging in order to get it better next time. Theres always room for improvement no matter who we are. Thanks Again! ~ Jeff

[@ryanpearson3337]

Beautiful blade. Gotta love that pattern!

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Love it! This particular patter allows you to reveal the art hidden within the steel. ~ Jeff

[@lucaskeeley8200]

Pinky up Kyle, good chug sir!

[@IronMountainAxeandTool]

great video guys! we are lucky to have a mastersmith taking the time to share techniques. My new favorite channel! Would love to see more closeups of the process as it happens. Like how you were mentioning the difference between not having to sand the 15n20 after the coffee and how it maintains a greater level of chatoyance. I understand, but I wants to see!!!! hahaha well done

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thanks keep watching we'll do it again. ~ Jeff

[@timjackson5555]

Nice! Trying this after I forge a blade from my billet made Saturday.

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thanks Sick’m tim Dad

[@danheffernan6395]

Love Dads vids!

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Hey thanks my friend. Cheers from the Ozarks. Be safe and be careful. Dad

[@michaelanderson8042]

Well, Poppi, showed us once again that sometimes the best innovation comes from a mistake. I remember from the previous Video, Poppi was folding it the wrong way? Great Job. I like all the Damascus stuffs that I see. It's all about : Experimenting and Documenting.

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thanks Michael Totally agree. Well said. Dad

[@randygwheeler]

Would have liked to see blade close up before and after coffee

[@mjkknives9483]

Cold coffee with blade soaked over night works great.

[@mattwyeth3156]

With the hot coffee etching do you add any electricity to assist in the etching process

[@IIDASHII]

Beautiful pattern, gents!

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thanks I am sticking with this one for a little while till I get my mojo consistency. Then I will move on to a more challenging pattern. ~ Jeff

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Awesome work Mr. Royer, your attention to detail and pursuit of excellence is pushing me to do the same. I know the difficulty of consistent trial and error, but the effort paid off! P.S. The old hobbit remix! Loved it!

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thanks for the encouragement Sam. One of our personal and company goals is to encourage others along the journey. If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together! ~ Jeff

[@lsubslimed]

Wow, looks better than a hot blueing cycle? I didn't know that was possible lol. I definitely gotta give this technique a go sometime. Props for keeping at it too! I'm looking forward to seeing it all finished up :)

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thanks Paul, we are still working out some of the fussy little nuances of getting it just right. ~ Jeff

[@spanierjuan]

congrats to the success

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Thanks Spanierjuan! ~ Jeff

[@Human_Evolution-]

What's the ratio of distilled water and ferric?

[@tbkustomknives8907]

Before I etch my blades in ferric chloride, I degrease and clean with asetone for a good 5 mins and once I dip it in streaks of grease (I think that’s what it is) shows up and stops parts from etching and looks like scratches going with the strokes of the cloth I use to clean it. This shows up and i have to re hand sand to get rid of the marks that look like course grit scratches but there not. So how do you clean your blades before etching in ferric chloride and also the coffee

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Hey RT Good one 👍🏻 1000 -1500 grit, acetone, dawn dish soap, water, then quietly into the etch. Pretty much the same for coffee accept no sanding. Cheers Team Royer

[@grubkiller4616]

I always get weird colors (tho I usually get more blues and purples) on my steel when I do heated coffee I wonder if I just get it too hot.

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

I'm not sure about the blues and purples but I know we have had continually issues with yellow on the 15n20. We started recently to cold darken anywhere from 6 - 10 hours checking in on it every hour. Having more consistent results. If you get it worked out give us a shout out and we will give it a go. ~ Jeff

[@mwblades6553]

So to confirm the process Kyle; take it to 1000 grit, buff it, 0000 steel wool over entire surface, and then into cold coffee for as long as you need to make it black?

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Yes that's the gist of it. We are working it, working it, working it to get it just right consistently. ~ Jeff

[@trevorjenkinson1333]

This video felt like a reality tv show, loved it! Definitely trying higher grit and steel wool on my next etch! Is Mr. Jeff going after a J.S. or M.S. stamp?

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Hey Trevor, honestly not that I'm aware of currently, but I might could be convinced otherwise, Kyle has said some of my blades are Journeyman quality. what do you think? ~ Jeff

[@trevorjenkinson1333]

@@KyleRoyerKnives I think you could you get journeyman this upcoming year mr. Jeff! Just 6 knives and you get a fancy stamp and the next step up is getting your title of Master Bladesmith!

[@johnnysmythe7767]

👍👍😊

[@ngamokai]

I etch in cold coffee, works well.

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

👍🏻🔥☕️⚔️

[@BradGryphonn]

It's night time here. Watching this one now and my knives are still in the coffee solution. I made a video even!

[@dalibortrkulja9582]

i love when people ask, oh why is a knife so expensive, can u do cheaper

[@TheMaverickq]

Is it grounded coffee or instant?

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Instant

[@SatanSupimpa]

They're taking the hobbits to Isengard /watch?v=7dgHebJTfho

[@derekcraig3617]

Woodworkers call it a bookmatch instead of 'mirrored '

[@Imdor]

Well, I feel like a fool now, just spent ages polishing everything up to 1 micron paste.

[@KyleRoyerKnives]

Copy that. Raise your hand if anyone hasn’t done things like that 👍🏻☕️🔥⚔️ Keep Forging On my friend Dad

[@cesarmichel6956]

Try to etch with Coca Cola 😜