A Stripped, Polished...and then Patina'd RC4

NDJeep

NDJeep

Joined
Jul 14, 2009
Messages
1,262
First off...I apologize for the crappy pic quality. Got a get me a new digi-cam...

I used yellow mustard for the darker angled lines and then apple vinegar for the overall darker patina.

I should have taken a BEFORE pic but it was an RC-4 with a stripped and semi-polished blade.

http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=281538

http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=281539

http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=281541

It's easily reversible...but I like it. It's very smooth. The patina must be a micro-film.

Thoughts?
 
lukacsmihaly said:
I'm seriously beginning to wonder why folks don't like the coating on their RATs anymore. :confused:
Click to expand...


I got mine in a trade already stripped.

So...I wanted some kinda protection and with it being a pure user knife I wanted to experiment.
 
NDJeep said:
I got mine in a trade already stripped.

So...I wanted some kinda protection and with it being a pure user knife I wanted to experiment.
Click to expand...

Sorry man, no pun intended. It's just there are more and more threads on this forum by people who strip their blades, even new ones. I can see the point to do that to a knife that has been used and abused and lost most of the coating....
:thumbup:
 
Just stropped it some afterwards...
It came SHARP from the trade and after patina I just did a few laps with the leather strop.

Here's how I did it for any that are interested. Ended up looking kinda "Damascasee".:D

The Mustard-
The method I used was to put a nickel-sized glob of mustard on one side of the blade and spread it all over the blade.

Then, using my index finger wipe off the excess from the blade at the angle seen...several times down the blade. Don't remove all the mustard, just the extra...using a very light stroke.
Repeat with the other side and then lay the knife on its spine with the edge straight up..
You can do that with the thick bladed RC-4....not sure about other knives.

Left it like that for 1.5 hours.
It resulted in very dark stripes which looked pretty cool I thought but I wanted to try vinegar too...and it ended up blending the stripes a little and darkened the metal areas that had no stripes.

The Apple Vinegar-
I poured enough vinegar in a tall cup to stand the knife up, point down, in the vinegar. I then heated the vinegar in the microwave in the plastic cup for 2 minutes.
I then put the knife in the cup, blade down, and left it for about 35 minutes.

Mine is a user and I didnt take the handles off...in fact, the blade of this RC-4 was the only part previously stripped and polished. The tang thru the handle still has the black RAT coating. Looked fine to me before and now with the dark patina the still-coated tang looks "right".

Overall...I like it. Looks like a "serious" user...which it is. The RAT RC-4 begs for hard use.
One cool bonus was, with the stripping the RAT logo on the blade and the Rowan word was invisible. With the patina those are now visible again.
 
I'm seriously beginning to wonder why folks don't like the coating on their RATs anymore.
Click to expand...
I bet it's because they are wearing off the original coating.

Nice job. Onion also works good.
 
Jeff,
I was wondering if you'd chime in. Hope you don't mind that I messed up your nice polish job. LOL:D

Love the knife, btw....it is damn sharp too with the convexing.

I figured being a true user I'd experiment some with it. Now...it looks even MORE ready for work, I think.

Later.:thumbup:
 
Ya that blade has a pretty wicked look to it now. It does say "I work for a living"
I like it. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the step by step. If my coatings ever wear off, I'll probably play around with a patina concocktion too.
 
It looks good. I have a few blades that have lost a lot of coating, I'm tempted to try this out. Maybe vinegar but no mustard though.
 
John, it looks great & happy you are using it! I wanted it to go to a good home and it has. The 1095 responds well to the convex edge and cuts like a monster. I plan on messing up your end of the trade, next Tuesday on opening day of achery season. :thumbup:

Again looks great!!!
 
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