Hi guys! This instructable is about how to easily etch some picture or text on a knife or another metal thing! Also there is a video with all process of preparing and etching, LINK.

Step 1: All You Need

Knife or other metal thing, printed picture or written text, light carbon paper and pencil. Tape, as thicker as possible. To cut your drawing you need a soldering iron or warmed awl, and for the last step I use black permanent marker. Etching equipment: notebook power supply, nail and cotton, and some glass of salty water. Lets go.

Step 2: Drawing a Picture on Metal

At first you need a picture. Scale it as you need and print it. If you want to etcch some text, just write down your text on a paper. Place carbon paper on metal, then your drawing, and then fix them all with tape. Carefully stroke drawing by pencil. Remove them all and attach tape, maybe in two layers.

Now very carefully stroke lines with soldering iron, melting the tape. Another way to make it is using nail polish. You can scratch your picture by any sharp tool. No matter how, bit you need to create protection surface on all metal, and the lines of your picture must be without the protecrion.

Ok, next step!

Step 3: Preparing the Etching Equipment

Connect negative wire to nail, ordinary this wire is black or blue. Another end of nail is winded with cotton. It is like a cotton swab. Connect the red, positive wire to your etching metal.

Sverd Industries

Mate you really should connect a load on the power supply to avoid completely shorting it out. Depending on the voltage of your supply just attach a computer fan, light bulb, or a power resistor.
It should go between the positive lead and the contact point on the metal piece you're etching.

Step 4: Etching!

Turn on your power supply and start to etch. There will be releasing a chlorine gas, so do it under vent or outside. The etching process is very simple: sop cotton in salty water and slowly stroke your scratched drawing. Sometimes clean the surface. Also, the more powerful your power supply is, the faster etching process will be.

Step 5: Finishing

Two minutes later you can rip off the tape and clean the surface, so your picture is almost done. Just stroke it with marker to make it more contrast and sharp.

Step 6: Another Way

Also you can make filled pictures, using a sharp knife and get big etched shapes instead of lines. It is an interesting way to make keychains.

Step 7: Afterword

This method allows to make very deep etched pictures, they will never wear away! I used this method to make these pretty meme face keychains, they are with me since 2011, every day they rub with keys... But I made them of stainless steel, they are super strong!

Introduction: How to Etch a Picture on a Knife