'Blade' magazine suggests mustard for your blades

Originally posted by verax
I wonder how durable the finish is.
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It's as durable as rust. ;)


I'm not joking, btw.


Ever picked up a rusty piece of steel and tried to beat the rust out of it? You will remove a lot of the surface rust, but the deeper stuff is on there for good. Or until you grind it off.

The nice part of this finish, is that the more you use it, the better it gets. :D
 
"Aardvark
Come now, DD. Everybody KNOWS you're only supposed to lick them!"

So, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Khukuri, Mr Aardvark?

1, 2, 3, OOach!

Seriously, I have an Okapi folder I could try this with.
 
Originally posted by verax
wonder how durable the finish is.
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I'd guess as durable as any of the acid patinas.
The sealant using wax or oil is very important,
just like when you use bluing on metal.

Don't know if it will stand up to chopping wood without getting worn off.

We'll have to try it.
 
Originally posted by pendentive
However, I think you would want the randomness effect, as the above method will look amateurish rather than aged.
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Depends.

I think someone could do it in an artistic manner using masking and feathering along with stylus/brush.
Depends on what design one tried to accomplish too.

I could not do it,:rolleyes:
but I'm sure the potential is there for someone to surprise us. :cool:

-----------------

For the rest of us, the random pattern is easy and beautiful in
its own right if not overused/abused.

BTW, I think I'd call the look of the random pattern a 'frost-like' appearance.
At least the first application alone.
 
Seems that this isn't really an acid etch like we discuss from time to time.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to call it controlled rusting?
(promoted by the vinegar/mustard components)
:confused:
 
Seriously, I have an Okapi folder I could try this with.
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That is seriously weird. I have the exact same thing in my pocket, and that's exactly what I thought of, too.

Re licking: stay away from the bevel and the point. And don't get your tongue caught in the cho. The closed chos are especially hard to get out of.
 
Well, I got in from work an hour ago. Saw Dan's scan on the mustard treatment and ... since I'm doing this to Dan's (Pen's) Moose Knife. I figured I'd let you guys know how it's proceeding.
I had to go get some mustard (french's) since all I had was Kosciusko and Grey P. I figured the mustard seeds may or not enhance this job.
I wrapped the handle and choil with blue painter's tape and washed the blade in soapy H2O. Dried, Brushed it a bit with 4o wool and applied mustard.
Great tip re THIN layer, DD :)
I smeared it on, then stippled with the tip of my fat finger. ~ 8 or 9am I'm gonna wash, take mediocre pics and see what it's about
:) :)
Tom
 
How is Bill going to explain to the kamis that
people are putting food on their blades
in order to make them rust.

:rolleyes:

Crazy people.
 
I'm afraid to try. I might want to eat the blade and my teeth (the few I have left) are already about to fall out.
 
Originally posted by hoghead
Whatever happened to just using the khuk and letting this (rust) just happen naturally?
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WHAT?? And leave well enough alone?? In this place?? Come now...
 
Well, I did one iteration last night on a knife made from a Ericson blade that I had convexed and taken to a pretty decent polish.

I like. Ready for 2nd, third application.

I scrubbed the blade with steel wool and washed with isopropanol, scrubbed again with steel wool, and rinsed again.

Applied a thin coating of finely ground prepared mustard--actually used some hot russian-style mustard (gotta buy some cheap stuff!!) and let it sit for a couple of hours till it pretty much dried on. Added a little more to fill the gaps. Couple more hours. Washed it off, dried carfully, there was no orange color, polished lightly with steel wool, and lightly stropped the whole side of the blade with green compound.

It's a light grey with a fine, darker grey random pattern that looks pretty good. The surface still appears smooth and shiny, and both the final sanding scratches and a few deeper ones that I didn't get out are nearly invisible.

My Okapi is next, and I shortly will be doing second coat on the little Ericson blade.

As mentioned, thin application seems key--
 
Ahh, I can just see it now, "is that the Big Mac blade finish?", "nope, Burger King Whopper", "oh yes, I can see the difference now, Special Sauce makes a different pattern". You guys are killing me.

Sarge
 
I once made a small belt knife for a young soldier out of Swedish high carbon steel. The lad wasn't too persnickety about maintaining it, he'd just rinse it off, wipe it dry, and stuff it back in the scabbard. If not near a water source, he'd even skip the rinsing off part. I saw that knife several months later, and while it had no rust on it, it looked for all the world like a piece of damascus steel.

Sarge
 
"...looked for all the world like a piece of damascus steel."

If subsequent mustard treatments fill in the pattern a bit, instead of just making the darker parts even darker, I think (hope) that's where this blade is headed.
 
BTW, here are Ray Richard's directions for how he does it(to go with picture I posted at beginning of thread). I stole this from another thread in shop talk forum:

"Take regular yellow mustard you use on hot dogs and dab it on the blade so that it peaks. Don't rub it on dab it. Then you let it set for a day or so and wash it off and do it again. I cheat! After I dab it on I'll take a hair dryer or hot air and dry the mustard out so that it stays on the blade better. I'll then etch the blade in FC and water for about 1 minute. I'll then netralize it and wash it off. You may want to repeat the process a second time. I'll do this after the first heat treat. I'll stick it in the over for the second heat treat and it will darken it out even more. Make sure you wash it off before you put it in the over. If your using the kitchen oven also make sure the wife isn't home...."

Knives I'm handling right now are all stainless(just some ones I picked up from TKS) so can't try this out. But I have an old one I made from a file in the butcher block in kitchen that I might try mustard finish on(though I can't cook it then, as I don't want to have to redo handle when cooking kills epoxy)
 
Originally posted by firkin
Sarge, I swear that I 'member someone writing about mayo on the shop forum.
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Firkin, I've brought up the Miracle Whip and Mayo finish here long ago, like some other things, it ain't nuthin new.;)
And maybe a couple of times since.:)
I got the suggestion outta one of the old Green River Knives info pamphlets seems to me and tried it on my 1st Green River Knife.
Then later on I used it on my Red River Blades made by Cold
Steel.
The first time I used it I thought I had ruined my knife blade as it was fugly the next morning, all grey and black with several other nasty colors thrown in between them.:barf: However upon wiping it off the finish came out really nice.
Be cautious if you use this method on any carbon steel blade that has been etched as it will cover up the etching if it isn't very deep.:rolleyes: :(
 
Originally posted by Yvsa .......Firkin, I've brought up the Miracle Whip and Mayo finish here long ago, like some other things, it ain't nuthin new.;)
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New to me!

I'll do a search.
 
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