darkening etching, is it possible?

I bought a razor online and the seller threw in a free one if I paid for shipping. It was a sight unseen deal but he described it a having a rust spot. Well it showed up all a weird grey color. The seller was trying to do me a favor and soaked it in some acid. I cleaned if up with some metal polish. Well to my surprise there is some etching on the blade that reads Hamburg Ring. It is very faint but I was wondering if there is a stain or something that can be used to darken it? Or is it what it is?
Sorry no pictures as I sent it out to get honed.

Black sharpie and then a quick wipe with an alcohol pad if you just want to read it. For something more permanent jewelers ink like they use on high school rings.

If it's etching it's difficult but for engraved stuff you can force a patina on just the small area then sand off the raised area

Brianskeet said:

Black sharpie and then a quick wipe with an alcohol pad if you just want to read it. For something more permanent jewelers ink like they use on high school rings.

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Hey Brian I googled jewelers ink and couldn't find it... Can you provide a link?

Sorry hees, my rotten slang got in the way. It is actually kiln fired enamel. Handy because you can put it on and wipe it off till you get it just right then heat it when you have it just right. These folks carry it.

http://www.riogrande.com/

Brianskeet said:

Handy because you can put it on and wipe it off till you get it just right then heat it when you have it just right. These folks carry it.

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Wouldn't heating the blade be bad?

imatabor said:

Wouldn't heating the blade be bad?

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Doesn't have to be that hot. Nothing under about 300 degrees has any chance of affecting temper. There are cold systems as well for applying enamels Different brands different temperatures. I used to use a cold system that went on in two parts. A very fine powder that settled in the low places and then a wet top coat.

Would a cold bluing solution work to darken etching?

Yes absolutely. High carbon razor steel takes bluing very well. The thing is it is going to blue every bit of the steel it touches. The trick would be to only blue what you want to darken.

so applying Vaseline or some other form of barrier would be needed?

Almost any oil makes an adequate barrier. Step one of any bluing process is clean and degrease. Even fingerprint oil can mess up bluing. If you can control the areas greased vs stripped clean you can make it do what you want. Wax makes a nice stable barrier that doesn't run.

great advice, thank you

Glad I could help