Gayle Bradley Patina

[Acetylene]

I know M4 can stain easier than some of the "stainless steels" and I have read the posts that complain about red rust spots after carrying all day. I have also read the posts that say they wipe the knife down occassionally and they look factory original after months of use. Now for the record, I am not complaing. I actually like a knife that shows some scars and has some stories to tell, but I thought I would post an observation that really surprised me. I went out to the garden this afternoon and saw a patch of yellowing leaves in my cantaloupe patch. I took out the brand new never been used before GB and cut about eight leaves from their straw-like stems. I did not cut the fruit or anything else, just the stems of the leaves. I looked down and saw some "sap" on the blade. The spot was about 1/2" x 1/4" in area. I walked to the garage threw the leaves the away, walked into the house and rinsed the blade in the sink, then wiped it dry with a paper towel. To my amazement the area that had the "sap" on it was stained a light grey color. I tried to wipe harder and it had no effect...the steel was stained by cantaloupe plant sap in a period of about four minutes. Wow! I had no idea this could happen that fast. I wonder just how acidic cantaloupe leaf stem sap is? I don't remember my high carbon knives turning that fast cutting lemons. Just an observation.