Thanks guys. I was hesitant to do it, but, I got this one in a trade and it arrived with a light patina and more rust than anything. I used wd40 to remove some of the rust, then an old school magic eraser (at least 10 years old, the kind that removes rusting) and really scrubbed the blades to a satin finish. Then it was polished with rouge, the white version for all around metal.
That left it in the shinny condition you see in the 1st pic. It was nice, but there were some polish streak from over heating the blade. So that is when I figured to try the forced patina.
I know, I know, let it happen naturally. I will on my other carbon blades, but this was fun to play with and see what would happen. Here is the way I remember doing this (should have kept notes, huh, lol)
1) Both blades open and stuck directly into an old tater and left over night. (don`t know if it matters if the tater is fresh or old, but this one was old. Didn`t want to waste a good`n for dinner, lol)
2) In 24 hours, I had splotchy patina and alot of rust. It was fugly. So I used the wife magic eraser (the white cleaning type) and lightly removed the rust, then rinsed in soapy water.
3) Cut open a fresh orange (wharnny works great for this) and squeezed all the juice into a narrow glass.
4) I topped off the glass with white vinegar, maybe a couple table spoons. Enough, that when the SBJ was open with both blades into the mix, it would go half way up the bolsters.
5) Wait 1 hour, checked it. Looked much better and a lot more natural (even though it was forced, lol).
6) Every hour I would check the progress, and when I did, I would use the wifes magic eraser to rub down the surface to even things out. And each time, rinse the pivot with warm soapy water.
7) Repeat until you are happy with the color....the longer you go, the darker it got. I went about 6 hours in the fresh orange juice and vinegar bath. AND after I was done, the next morning, it was even a shade darker, so keep that in mind if you try it.
8) Your bolsters will get rusty too. When you rinse ever hour, it won`t all come off, but I think it helps stop it from getting worse. They are stainless, not rustless, lol. You`ll have to polish them. Another final rinse with soapy water, then cleaned and dried with pipe cleaners. Then oil the joints and I hit it on the Sharpmaker a few times, and stropped back to a nice 40 degree edge.
The springs are SS so they won`t take on any color. Same with the pivot pin, its SS too.
Would love to see how this would work on a D2 from Queen?
Mr. Menefee, I don`t own any customs, but if I did, they wouldn`t get a bath either, lol.
