Blue Blue...not black blue - question

[Daniel Koster]

What kind of steel would one choose and what kind of process....to end up with a blade that is blue - literally. Not gun-blued, but Blue.

I've seen it done somewhere, but can't seem to find the references.

Any suggestions?

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

Blue like this? Nitre bluing salts!

 

[Daniel Koster]

that would be nice, yes....

know anybody who offers this type of bluing as a service?

 

[fitzo]

Chuck, what temp was that done at? What are the steels? Thank you!

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

The Steels are Bob Eggerling Mosaic damascus. I'm not sure of the steel mixture and i know that he does not have a pattern name. Lots of nickel in it though. This color was achieved by bringing the blade to a mirror polish, washing with soap and water to remove any oils and imersed in the nitre salts that were brought up to 600 deg.

Let me know if you need any other info.
Chuck

 

[fitzo]

Thank you, Chuck. The only other thing I would ask is, what was the residence time in the salts?

 

[Jason Magruder]

Any of the simple carbon steels will blue well. 1080, 1095, 01, w1, mild steel, etc...

Nitre salts are the way to go. You can buy them from brownells for I think around $50. You'll also need some sort of container and a steady heat source.