Has anybody tried putting a controlled patina on his bare steel blade?




I don't have a bare, non-stainless blade to try, yet. I used white vinegar on this steel dowel pin the other is untouched. I soaked one end inthe vinegar for aobut 24 hours then flipped it and soaked the other for 24 hours - thus the line in the middle. With each hour of soak it became darker. I used windex at the end to stop the process. I think that this will somewhat protect the steel from rust similar to gun bluing - or at least better than bare steel. I plan to try this to my DMDC when it arrives as all my blades now are either coated or stainless. While I don't think that this is a replacement for a well-oiled blade, it may perhaps help if I forget to keep it oiled once in a while.

-mike

my Jim Rehrer custom

before



after
mustard then tabasco

the tabasco is resposible for the dark spots
after

There was a patina thread here along time back.
I modded a schrade with a mustard patina and new handles.

I wonder if WD got a picture of the sword at Blade West last year with the spotted mustard finish, Most butiful thing ever!

I screwed up a Bailey knife cutting fruit. Now the hamon is really hard to see. Oh well, I bought it as a user so I guess that's the way it goes.

I like gun bluing better.

Is this actually a durable finish? I have a gloss blue CZ and all the contact points look mirror polished, with the bluing completely gone.

Aside from Brass blacking, I haven't experimented much with these different techniques, but it interests me. I'm going to have to try something just for the heck of it.

Vance, I like the way the Tabasco left the darker pattern on the blade, almost looks like some of those cool Camo blades. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I had a friend who used to boil carbon steel blades in bleach to make them look old and pitted. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

I've etched several kukuris using vinegar. I have a couple of small custom fixed blades that have also taken on a patina, but it's hardly controlled. It was just a byproduct of making sandwiches.

I accidentally got a patina on my large CS Carbon V Twistmaster when I used it to cut my steak Quesadilla at Taco Bell.

My YKLE as bit on it because it has been used as a steak knife before, worked quite well <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

LOL