antiquing a blade

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wwpete52

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Dec 5, 2008
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Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum and I know very little about knife making. I have made a few primitive knives out of old butcher knives but nothing to write home about.
I have a couple of "help me" questions.
I have one of those cheap primitive "Musso" style bowie knifes. I am wanting to "antique" the blade and brass parts. I have some muriatic acid and I have ordered a pint of the Stainless Steel Blackener 370 from Caswell Inc. I really want to make the blade and brass parts look old. It is a stainless steel blade. What would you guys suggest? Do you think I am on the right track with the chemicals I have? Thanks for your help.
 
Welcome to the forums :D

If the knife blade is carbon steel, a simple overnighter in mustard or a vinigar bath will antique the blade. you can even write or draw on it using a regular old sharpie, then place it in the bath and leave it over night. Then clean it with acetone and you'll have an etched/antiqued blade! Blackening it will look good to. The mustard or vinegar will turn it gray to dark gray from silver. if It's stainless then I have no idea how to antique it... The brass you can just not polish it. It will devolop a patina soon enough. (w/in a year...)

Jason
 
The stainless steel may create a problem. Back when I did a little stock removal I tried etching a temperline on a ATS 34 blade and it worked. I would suggest dabbing some mustard on your blade. Let the mustard dry complete and then etch it. It might work.
 
For the brass: Put about 1 cup of straight amonia in a plastic bucket. Thread a wire with a hook through a lid for the bucket. Hang your brass from the hook so that it is suspended OVER the amonia but not submersed in it. Put on the lid with the brass hanging from it and let the vapors work on it for 12-24 hours. When you take it out of the bucket, brush it lightly with steel wool to remove the powdery residue. You will get that beautiful old buttery look.

It works ever better if you beat up the brass a bit and the just hit the high spots with steel wool after the vapor treatment.

I am doing an antiqued knife now for a custom order. I'll post some pictures of it as soon as I can.
 
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Have any of you guys used Stainless Steel Blackener 370 from Caswell Inc.? It's suppose to be really great for stainless steel. Some folks use it for blueing on stainless steel rifle barrels. They say that it's incredible.
 
wwpete52 said:
Have any of you guys used Stainless Steel Blackener 370 from Caswell Inc.? It's suppose to be really great for stainless steel. Some folks use it for blueing on stainless steel rifle barrels. They say that it's incredible.
Click to expand...

Now there's an idea for experimentation. I need to look at that stuff to see how expensive it is or if it needs to be heated up like hot bluing.
 
Actually Stainless Steel Blackener 370 is applied at room temp. I think I paid $23 for a pint of the stuff. It is to be deluted in water so I guess a little goes a long way. I just ordered it Thursday or Friday.
 
ok, I finished the knife. The Stainless Steel Blackener 370 works good. I used Muriatic Acid first. I also stained the handle darker and added a pommel. I also stamped the "Texas" star on the guard in several places. I got the effect I was looking for. It's will be used in reenacting.
replicabowie.jpg

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replicabowiehandle.jpg
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If you use muriatic acid and stainless steel blackener 370 you don't have to use mustard or anything else.
 
The photos of the finished product is above.
You buy the Stainless Steel Blackener 370 from Caswell Inc. You can get the Muriatic Acid from any hardware store.
Degrease your blade and then rinse it in distilled water.
You place the blade in a bath of Muriatic Acid (50% Acid and 50% water). The Caswell folks say 2-5 minutes. I left my blade rest above the mixture so the fumes would etch and age the blade. I did this over night and turned it once. I then did the bath thing. Then rinse it again in distilled water.
You then place the blade in a mixture of Stainless Steel Blackener 370 and water. I'd say start with 1 part SS Blackener to 4 parts water. Let it bath in this mixture for 2-5 minutes. This is all done a room temp (no heat is needed). Then rinse it with water.
The instructions are included with the SS Blackener 370. It's good stuff. Some folks use it to "blue" their stainless steel rifles. Golfers use it to take the glare off of their golf clubs.
 
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