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- Apr 13, 2004
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So, after much thought, I decided to try and do a forced patina on my Fall 2011 Knoboganzaaaa Satin RMD Bowie variant. This is the first time I've tried this with the Swamp's SR-101. I decided to go ahead and try for a nice, even gunmetal grey by submerging it in a warm white vinegar bath.
Here are a couple of pictures of how it looked upon arrival (with and w/o flash):
(click for slightly larger versions)
I filled a large skillet about 1/2" full of plain white vinegar, and put it on the stove at about medium-low heat. While the vinegar was heating up, I carefully washed the knife with dawn dish soap and hot water, dried it, then wiped it down with liberal amounts of Acetone. This removes any oils anywhere on the blade, helping assure an even oxide layer on the metal. I did NOT let the vinegar get hot enough to boil; just to the point where there were just tiny little bubbles at the bottom of the pan, and a wisp of "steam" would come off of the surface every so often. I let it sit and heat thoroughly for about 15 minutes, then carefully slid the knife in. As soon as I put it in, the blade began fizzing like Alka-Seltzer does in water, just not nearly as much. I carefully used tongs to grip the handle and turned the knife over every few minutes to assure an even soak (even though it was fully submerged). After soaking for about 12 minutes, the blade had a pretty dark, charcoal grey colored layer of carbon all over it (sorry, forgot to take a picture of what this looked like). I removed the knife from the bath, immediately took it to the sink, and rinsed it in warm water while scrubbing the metal with a wet paper towel. Pretty much all of the carbon was removed, however, now the blade had a pretty even light grey matte finish on it. Perfect!!!
I felt that it turned out pretty well, and was happy with the results. I immediately put the knife to work for about a week of kitchen duty. It was used to cut meats and all sorts of fruits and veggies. I treated it just like my other kitchen knives; using it and letting it sit for a little bit before rinsing and cleaning it off. It didn't take long before it really began to take on a different patina. Here are a few pictures of what it looked like after a bit over a week, taken a couple days apart each. The main difference is the third picture was taken after slicing up a couple of lemons for iced tea. The lemon juice really has an effect on this metal.
The color is pretty hard to get right with the camera. In general, the pictures show a much more orange (almost rust colored) tint than the eye sees in real life. There are some areas where it does have some of this color, but it is not nearly as dark colored as some of these pictures make it appear. Interesting effect though...
I had planned to get this thing into the mail to Leatherman yesterday for a custom sheath, but I didn't finish moving hay bails at my Aunt's horse property until later in the afternoon than I had planned, so I didn't make it to the PO. Oh well, it will go out Monday now, and it gave me a chance to give it a NICE, wicked convex edge!
Leatherman had better be careful how he looks at this blade so it doesn't bite him! 
I took these last pictures today outside, and they show the color and effect of the patina MUCH better than the previous pictures. Much more like it looks in real life. Anyway, that's it! This knife is an AWESOME slicer now, and I will be using the snot out of this one!!! From the factory, the tip was not especially sharp (and the edge was decent, but not to my standards), but now it is like a needle. I am EXTREMELY pleased with this blade, and I think this Bowie variant will go down as one of the best knives to EVER come out of the Swamp! Excellent work guys!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
Here are a couple of pictures of how it looked upon arrival (with and w/o flash):
(click for slightly larger versions)
I filled a large skillet about 1/2" full of plain white vinegar, and put it on the stove at about medium-low heat. While the vinegar was heating up, I carefully washed the knife with dawn dish soap and hot water, dried it, then wiped it down with liberal amounts of Acetone. This removes any oils anywhere on the blade, helping assure an even oxide layer on the metal. I did NOT let the vinegar get hot enough to boil; just to the point where there were just tiny little bubbles at the bottom of the pan, and a wisp of "steam" would come off of the surface every so often. I let it sit and heat thoroughly for about 15 minutes, then carefully slid the knife in. As soon as I put it in, the blade began fizzing like Alka-Seltzer does in water, just not nearly as much. I carefully used tongs to grip the handle and turned the knife over every few minutes to assure an even soak (even though it was fully submerged). After soaking for about 12 minutes, the blade had a pretty dark, charcoal grey colored layer of carbon all over it (sorry, forgot to take a picture of what this looked like). I removed the knife from the bath, immediately took it to the sink, and rinsed it in warm water while scrubbing the metal with a wet paper towel. Pretty much all of the carbon was removed, however, now the blade had a pretty even light grey matte finish on it. Perfect!!!
I felt that it turned out pretty well, and was happy with the results. I immediately put the knife to work for about a week of kitchen duty. It was used to cut meats and all sorts of fruits and veggies. I treated it just like my other kitchen knives; using it and letting it sit for a little bit before rinsing and cleaning it off. It didn't take long before it really began to take on a different patina. Here are a few pictures of what it looked like after a bit over a week, taken a couple days apart each. The main difference is the third picture was taken after slicing up a couple of lemons for iced tea. The lemon juice really has an effect on this metal.
The color is pretty hard to get right with the camera. In general, the pictures show a much more orange (almost rust colored) tint than the eye sees in real life. There are some areas where it does have some of this color, but it is not nearly as dark colored as some of these pictures make it appear. Interesting effect though...
I had planned to get this thing into the mail to Leatherman yesterday for a custom sheath, but I didn't finish moving hay bails at my Aunt's horse property until later in the afternoon than I had planned, so I didn't make it to the PO. Oh well, it will go out Monday now, and it gave me a chance to give it a NICE, wicked convex edge!
Leatherman had better be careful how he looks at this blade so it doesn't bite him! 
I took these last pictures today outside, and they show the color and effect of the patina MUCH better than the previous pictures. Much more like it looks in real life. Anyway, that's it! This knife is an AWESOME slicer now, and I will be using the snot out of this one!!! From the factory, the tip was not especially sharp (and the edge was decent, but not to my standards), but now it is like a needle. I am EXTREMELY pleased with this blade, and I think this Bowie variant will go down as one of the best knives to EVER come out of the Swamp! Excellent work guys!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
Decisions decisions...Does the whole process affect the edge at all?
