Damascus (fading / mineral oil)

M

mafoofan

Joined
Jun 30, 2023
Messages
3
Hello! I have a new Damascus bladed Sebenza 31. February 2023 production. Bought new from authorized dealer.

It came new with slight fading around the thumb lug. I compared to one other brand new knife with the same specs and saw the same fading. Is this normal on a new knife? Seems like very little touching would cause fading if these are new knives—maybe some handling at the store or at the factory.

Second, I followed advice online and used pure mineral oil on the blade, applied with a soft cloth. After some very light rubbing, some grey/black appeared to have rubbed off the blade and onto the cloth! Would mineral oil take off some of the oxidized steel? Or am I rubbing off some other coating on the blade?

I might be imagining, but the blade seems ever slightly duller and lower contrast after applying the mineral oil—though the fading around the thumb lug is gone! Weird.

Lol what is happening to my knife?
 
I would think they would etch and polish PRIOR to installing the thumb stud, but if they did it after, they would have taped around the thumb stud, causing the difference. OR, it was fine when new but using the thumb stud rubbed the etch. Maybe Larrin Larrin would know.

PS: I have bolsters in Mokume that have rubbed off a bit over time, and Mokume is a kind of Dama.
 
The fading around the thumb stud definitely happens due to thumb rubbing while opening. I’m surprised you found it like that out of the box. It does happen fairly quickly in use.

The black oxide rubbing off? The mineral oil itself isn’t the cause, but I’m not surprised some fresh oxide rubbed off on the cloth. I suppose a new blade has some loosely adhered oxide on the surface.

Reality is the darkness does fade a bit with use. If it’s a user, enjoy the process. It will still look fantastic after you’ve rubbed the new off. If it’s a safe queen, just realize it will change slightly with you handling it.

This thread is the best documentation I’ve seen for Damascus users. It’s a fun read.

Damascus EDC, the start of a journey: Est. 2017 (w. April 2022 update).

Hey all. On August 1st I started carrying my Raindrop Damascus 21 daily, and plan on carrying it through to the end of December. 5 months of solid carry. The knife has already started to show some wear on the blade as well as lots of snail trails on the slabs (that never seem to show in...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
rishma said:
The fading around the thumb stud definitely happens due to thumb rubbing while opening. I’m surprised you found it like that out of the box. It does happen fairly quickly in use.

The black oxide rubbing off? The mineral oil itself isn’t the cause, but I’m not surprised some fresh oxide rubbed off on the cloth. I suppose a new blade has some loosely adhered oxide on the surface.

Reality is the darkness does fade a bit with use. If it’s a user, enjoy the process. It will still look fantastic after you’ve rubbed the new off. If it’s a safe queen, just realize it will change slightly with you handling it.

This thread is the best documentation I’ve seen for Damascus users. It’s a fun read.

Damascus EDC, the start of a journey: Est. 2017 (w. April 2022 update).

Hey all. On August 1st I started carrying my Raindrop Damascus 21 daily, and plan on carrying it through to the end of December. 5 months of solid carry. The knife has already started to show some wear on the blade as well as lots of snail trails on the slabs (that never seem to show in...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
Click to expand...

Anyone else experience black oxide coming off with mineral oil?
 
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