Iron with wax protected polished steel edge

[Rod Hughes]

 

[Alan Longmire]

I don't know of anyone using carving wax as a resist, but yeah, using a resist of some form (nail polish, melted crayons, actual etching resist asphaltum varnish, spray paint, and so on) is very common.  On the other hand, when I want a polished edge with a gnarly wrought spine, I usually etch the whole thing, then polish the edge back with Flitz or Simichrome.  Fast, easy, and you don't run the risk of hitting the iron with sandpaper.  

[Rod Hughes]

Thanks Alan, Flitz and Simichrome are not brands we know in the UK but I'm sure I can work out an equivialent and give that a try.

[Scott McManus]

On 1/1/2020 at 10:02 AM, Rod Hughes said:

Thanks Alan, Flitz and Simichrome are not brands we know in the UK but I'm sure I can work out an equivialent and give that a try.

 

Hi Rod, you can get flitz on eBay in the UK, and I've used autosol (available in Halfords) to polish hamons although that is still quite an aggressive polish. I believe flitz is finer.

[Rod Hughes]

Thanks Scott and Alan,

 

Yes, I ordered some Flitz from Amazon and coincidentally used some last night to finish off a sword for a client. It is definitely finer than UK autosol and will certainly be going in my finishing box.