After reading a post suggesting mustard could be used to mark metal I gave it a try. I had an old knife kicking around from my sailor days. It served me well (and still does) so I decided to adorn it with the name of the ship we sailed on. I smeared some dijon mustard on it with a Q-tip and used an engraving speed of 1000, power 50.
I am totally impressed with the result however a few attempts on different metals did not fair so well. This particular metal obviously reacts well with whatever chemicals are in the mustard. The result feels as good as any commercial marking I’ve ever felt.
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Ya know, I’ve had a jar of Grey Poupon for years just so I could answer the question from the commercials…now maybe I’ll have a legitimate use for it.
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Haha, there you go.
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That makes a much darker mark than I was expecting…good test. 
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Wow! I haven’t tried metal marking yet, but you’re making me want to. I wonder if it works with plain old American mustard…I think I threw away the (long-expired) dijon in my last fridge-cleaning frenzy.
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That looks just as good as the stamped Japan, great work!
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I tried the mustard and vinegar thing when it was first suggested in the forum. Had success on some grades of steel and not others. But honestly my attemp wasn’t a valid test. I don’t know that I tried the same metal without the mustard or vinegar. Might have worked without the condiments.
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I also had different results on different alloys. I’m guessing the difference is the carbon content.
I did achieve a decent mark with just a wet paper towel on one try.
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I’m guessing it will. Have a go at it.
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Well thanks but actually the word Japan is engraved into the metal.
I agree, it must be the carbon content.
May 21
I also had different results on different alloys. I’m guessing the difference is the carbon content.
rpegg:
Might have worked without the condiments.
I did achieve a decent mark with just a wet paper towel on one try.
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Not bad at all. The only thing I’ve used mustard for on a blade was to actually give it a patina. High carbon will give some interesting patterns if you smear some yellow mustard all over it and let it sit for a few hours
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That looks good!