What is anodization?
Anodization is “an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts. The process is called anodizing because the part to be treated forms the anode electrode of an electrolytic cell. Anodizing increases resistance to corrosion and wear and…can also be used for a number of cosmetic effects.” In a nutshell for knives, anodizing turns titanium cool color
Titanium Anodizing Process
- Clean and prepare workspace
- Disassemble knife as necessary
- Clean parts with Simple Green in an ultrasonic cleaning machine (optional but recommended)
- Rinse clean parts in water (wear gloves to ensure no oils are transferred to the parts)
- Dip knife parts in Whink for 15-30 seconds to remove any prior anodization
- Prepare a Borax electrolyte solution in non-reactive container
- Put a piece of non-rusting metal into the solution and connect the negative electrode to the metal piece
- Suspend the knife parts in the solution from a non-reactive wire (we used titanium)
- Choose voltage based on desired color (see chart below)
- Turn on voltage machine
- Connect the positive anode and wait until amperage stabilizes
- Disconnect anode and turn off power supply
- Confirm anodization success
- Rinse to clean off the electrolyte solution
- Reassemble your knife!