Carbon steel patina question for 01

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woodlore

Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
38
Mabey I am a little confused on carbon steel blades. I have a fairly new 01 steel Bushcraft knife, and it has what sort of looks like
grey dots on the surface. At first I thought it was rust spots and have been trying to re-polish the blade and I am finding that it is tougher to do than I thought. I guess my question is ,what is patina
look like ? I want to put a satin finish on the blade and am not sure
what grits of sandpaper to use and how long it should take. I worked on it for about an hour and it looks better , but not all that great yet. I also tried steel wool ,which polishes real well, but it still
is not getting through these blemishes. I hope that someone here on the forums has had experience with this and can give me some good advice on how to get a good finish on this blade.
Happy Safe New Year To All you Knife Nuts
Woodlore
 
I don't quite understand the grey dots . You seem to be confused between finish and patina. Finish is a texture determined by grit size or beadblasting etc. Patina is color acquired from use usually oxides. A carbon steel 1095 or things like O1 or D2 will stain or discolor in use to form a patina. Most of the stainless steels will never form a patina. Patina can also be faked with chemical treatment.
 
I know my description of this is pretty sad . I guess I would say that the blade has all these tiny little blemishes that seem to be right at the surface or right under it. I think they probably are oxide blemishes. Either way I just want to get a good satin finish on the blade and I dont have a lot of experience at doing that.
Come on all you makers out there,help a brother out.
Thanks for any info
Woodlore
 
Originally posted by woodlore
Come on all you makers out there,help a brother out.
Thanks for any info
Woodlore
Click to expand...


It's considered somewhat bad form to work on another makers knife, unless there is some reason it can't go back to the original maker.

Have you tried talking to the maker about this problem? Next, where are you located?

Rust is pretty plain to see, so I am confused as well about what you have on your blade. :confused:
 
Maybe a non-maker can help out here.

I have a little neck knife in O1 that has the same "grey dots" on it. They're just oxidation; nothing to worry about. Personally, I think they give the knife character.

A search of this forum will get you lots of information about finishing techniques.
 
The reason I dont want to send it back to the maker is that they are in England and I am in Texas. It took two weeks in shipping just to get the dang thing and if I send it back it will be gone at least a month or more. Its a Ray Mears designed Bushcraft knife hand crafted by Wilkinsin Sword. I ordered it through Rays survival school . So in a way there is also a middle man to deal with.
I had rather do it myself and put in a few hours of work than have to go through all this overseas shipping stuff and be without the knife for God knows how long. But if all else fails I just might have to send it back , but I had rather not. I have done some searches on the forums and come up with some pretty good threads on satin finishes.
I know I can do it ,but its always good to talk to the experts and get some help when trying something new.
One question I would like to ask is what grit to start out with.
These are not scratches I am trying to remove but sort of tiny blemishes that seem to be right on or right under the surface.
Once again thanks for any info guys ,I really appreciate it.
Woodlore
 
Originally posted by woodlore
.. One question I would like to ask is what grit to start out with.
These are not scratches I am trying to remove but sort of tiny blemishes that seem to be right on or right under the surface.
Once again thanks for any info guys ,I really appreciate it.
Woodlore
Click to expand...


Try starting at 400 grit. If the knife is flat ground, get something hard, and flat as a backing. If it is hollow ground, you will have to figure the radius, and make a backing block for it. You can use real thick leather as a backing for hollow ground also, you just flex the leather to the curve desired.

Place your paper on the block, spray some WD40 on the blade and sand in one direction only, or you will get little hooked 'turn around marks in the scratch pattern.

When the lube turns dirty, wipe it off, and reapply. It happens often.
If the 400 grit works on you marks, great, if not, you will have to step down to 220.

Once you get the marks out, go to the next higher grit, 400 to 600, and start over. Stop when you achieve the desired results.

The biggest problem will be at the front of the handle. I don't know what it looks like. If it is curved, you are going to have real problems getting a handrubbed finish. If it is flat, or has a guard, you will have less problems, but must be very careful.

Handrubbing usually takes place before the knife is assembled.

One other easy way, is to take it to a maker and have them run it on a scotchbrite belt. Instant satin finish.

There are a ton of makers in Texas, surely one would be close to you. :confused:
 
I've been playing with CS mini Pendleton .It stained right away which was strange because I have a CS stainless Master Hunter of the same AUS8 steel which never stained. I wondered if something was done on the surface to cause this so I polished it - no more stain ! I polished it by hand with 400 grit wet/dry paper and water. That's the easiest way . You could start with something coarser and work to finer till you get what you want.
 
Thanks to all for the help. I think I am going to try the process Mike Hull descibed and if I cant get it to the desired finish ill see if I can find a local maker and get some professional help. Sounds like it just mainly takes some patients and elbow greese.
One problem I was having when I was sanding already is ,how to protect the Birds Eye Maple handle while sanding with water or oil.
I tried masking tape but some of the sludge still made it through to the wood ,where the handle meets the blade. I was able to clean it off with steel wool . Any ideas on what to use would be real helpful.
It needs to be something that is not porus at all and wont let the sludge get through. I thought about using electrical tape or duct tape but then those always leave bad glue residue.
Thanks everyone for the advice....I am learning
Woodlore
 
Originally posted by woodlore
One problem I was having when I was sanding already is ,how to protect the Birds Eye Maple handle while sanding with water or oil.
I tried masking tape but some of the sludge still made it through to the wood ,where the handle meets the blade. I was able to clean it off with steel wool . Any ideas on what to use would be real helpful.
Woodlore
Click to expand...

Using steel wool on the front will only get you more out of pattern scratches.
I would just use masking tape. When you finish the blade, spray some WD40 on a cotton swab, and rub that on the front of the handle. If that doesn't take the dirt off, do the same with acetone. Clean the blade with dish detergent, and hot water. After that, coat the handle(including the front), and blade with carnauba wax(automotive will work), and polish with a soft cloth.
 
Thanks Mike. Over the Holiday I did polish the blade using the process
you described and it worked real well. Thanks for the help.
Woodlore
 
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