Big Antiqued Bowie

J. Neilson

J. Neilson

Joined
Feb 6, 2001
Messages
3,621
This finish took awhile to become popular for me but, everyone seems to love it now. I'm doing a ton of blades with the boiled-mustard look. Here's a Bowie I just finished for a gent where all the fittings match the blade as well...

bowie_antiqued_ironwood_black_ivory.jpg


This Big Bowie has a 10" blade forged from 5160 high carbon spring steel, edge-quenched with an antiqued/boiled mustard finish. The fullered oval guard and threaded pommel have also been treated with the same finish. The handle is Desert Ironwood Burl with a throat of African Black Ivory wood and is separated by a brass spacer. The knife comes with a tooled leather blade sheath with strap and loop by Paul Long and has an overall length of 16".
 
Absolutely stunning! Very nice work here.:thumbup:
 
J. Your work is amazing...just posted a response to your beautiful vintage styled bowie and now I have to say I love this more modern interpretation! You are one gifted fellow!
 
Aw Yeah,

That is great. I love the blade finish and the contrast with the satin handle material.

Great, great stuff!
 
Love that finish.

Here is a question. I have used different mustards on 5160 to give patterned patina's, but what is Boiled mustard?

Boil the mustard then apply, or something?
 
Bigfattyt said:
Love that finish.

Here is a question. I have used different mustards on 5160 to give patterned patina's, but what is Boiled mustard?

Boil the mustard then apply, or something?
Click to expand...

Thanks bud, here's what I do...

Finish your blade to a random 400-600 grit finish. Then mix cold-blue gun paste (looks like a tooth paste tube) and plain yellow mustard at a 50-50 ratio. The coat the blade with this mix unevenly (leaving some high and low spots). The uneven mix will give you some contrast depending on how long you let the mix sit on the blade and how long you boil it. I let the blade sit over night and then heat Clorox bleach to between 150-200 degrees (please do this in a very well ventilated area with a respirator) and dip the blade into the heated bleach for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes pull the blade out and rub the whole piece down with heavy steel wool, you will see the blade rusting before your eyes. Once you've rubbed the blade down dip it in the bleach again for 2 minutes and repeat the steel wool rub. I normally do this 3-4 times. The more you do it, the darker your blade will be. After you get the blade to where you want it, be sure to boil the blade in baking soda and water for about 15 minutes to completely neutralize it. Now you've got a non-reflective blade that will resist corrosion and scratches.
J.
 
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