Get A Deep Even Black Patina On 1095 Carbon Steel

Thanks! That one is from a maker that sells occasionally here - Václav -MacWasil- Dokoupil. He made this one custom for me based on a very similar knife he posted in one of the Maker's threads. The scales are stabilized buckeye burl. He's awesome to work with and his knifes are beautifully done (I have another one from him on the way as we speak). Here's his page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MacWasilKnives
 
Say for instance I received a knife with a mustard patina I don't like. Would I be able to use this process without removing the old patina?
 
CROWEMAG said:
Say for instance I received a knife with a mustard patina I don't like. Would I be able to use this process without removing the old patina?
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Would that happen to be a 73? ;) Just wipe it good with alcohol to de-grease and it will just get as dark as you want it.
 
I recently tried a patina with a mixture of acedtic acid and basalmic vinegar on my Northwoods. Came on grey and smoothed out well enough with a bit of silver polish. Problem was that it 'ran' the moment I started cutting stuff. It didn't stay put! Smeared and patterned. Was rather annoying.
 
I just tried this with mixed results. Cider Vinegar did nothing for me. No reaction. Must have been the brand thing or something.

But pure distilled vinegar worked like a charm. The knife you see was straight out of the tube, shiny new when I started. I heated a small mason jar of 1/2 water and 1/2 distilled vinegar for 1 min in microwave until very hot. I washed the blades with rubbing alcohol, then dipped the blades, and within a few seconds you could see bubbles coming off the blade from the reaction. Held them there for about 45 seconds as they bubbled, then immediately rinsed with water.

Then used a q-tip to wipe the backsprings and bolsters repeatedly. The Q-tip cools very fast so this is much slower going, and I would guess the steel in the bolsters and liners is not as high carbon as the back springs and the blades, another factor making it a slower reaction.

In the process I definitely got some rust in the liners and the joint. Interestingly even the steam, which is vinegar evaporating along with the water, works to start the corrosion. I found for the back springs I could just rest the knife on the cup of hot vinegar and the steam would do the work (second photo). You'll know when the back springs are going because they will corrode faster than the other steel and become dark stripes. (third photo)

The silver polish did indeed remove a lot of it and leave a nice dull gray, I probably polished and repeated the process about 3 times on the blades. Then I rinsed the whole knife with water, used a hair dryer to dry it well, and applied oil to the joint. Then did the blade on the 83.

Fun little project.

ps. STAY AWAY FROM DYED BONE COVERS! I hit a corner of my dark red scales and it went pink instantly. You can see the spot in the second photo where the knife is on the cup, at the top of the left side. That's not the lighting, that light patch of bone is from brushing it with the hot vinegar. It was instantaneous (and I learned my lesson).

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Cool thread - I had heard of these forced patina but did not know this is how people were getting these super smooth and even patinas.

Like some have mentioned, once you start using your knife (assuming you do use your knife) and cut some food, that patina constantly changes. Heck, just opening and closing it changes the patina on some of my knives (maybe from oil on my fingers?).

I'd think tying to maintain an even patina is harder than preventing it from happening? Unless you use some of the tricks mentioned in this thread on a regular basis.
 
Did another bit if patina-ing tonight, and did a video documenting what I did and how I did it, if anyone is interested. It is a fun little project! I also tried it on A2 tool steel (Bark River), and it seems to work pretty well too.

https://youtu.be/BTUJxv8KxIY
 
Acadian said:
Cool thread - I had heard of these forced patina but did not know this is how people were getting these super smooth and even patinas.

Like some have mentioned, once you start using your knife (assuming you do use your knife) and cut some food, that patina constantly changes. Heck, just opening and closing it changes the patina on some of my knives (maybe from oil on my fingers?).

I'd think tying to maintain an even patina is harder than preventing it from happening? Unless you use some of the tricks mentioned in this thread on a regular basis.
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Yes it changes daily depending on use and exposure. For example if it's been a hot summer day and the knife has been in my front pocket. The sweat exposure makes dramatic changes even to the bolsters. It wears off again within a day or so as it evolves daily. I just let it age and change as it will. It has no effect on the usefulness of the knife.
 
arizonaranchman said:
Yes it changes daily depending on use and exposure. For example if it's been a hot summer day and the knife has been in my front pocket. The sweat exposure makes dramatic changes even to the bolsters. It wears off again within a day or so as it evolves daily. I just let it age and change as it will.
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Same here - it's like a surprise ever night/morning :)

arizonaranchman said:
It has no effect on the usefulness of the knife.
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yeah I knew that - other than adding a bit of protection to the blade.
 
Just did mine with Heinz Pickeling (7%) vinegar. Boiled it up, turned it down, and allowed my blade some time in there....could not have been easier.
Cost 5 dollars
 
I remember that pic, thanks for the post and info! I am glad this came back up to find
 
I'm glad I found this thread. I've got one I patina'd with white vinegar, but I see some idea's I might want to try to improve it.
I'll post what I've got thus far.
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Just bought a ESEE Camp Lore w/scandi grind. It's my first scandi and first 1084 without a coating, figured I'd do a forced patina. I used the apple cider method described here but I didn't rub the blade with a cotton ball, I just let it set in the cider for 15 min on the stove. I used some baking soda to neutralize and then ran it under cold water. Here are before and after pics, I used Mother's Mag Polish afterwards. As you can see, it didn't darken up much. Strangely the spine came out much darker. I'll try again and this time rub the blade with cotton balls.


 
Finally got around to trying to get a better patina on my Camp Lore knife. The wife is away for the weekend so I got the kitchen to myself. I heated the knife and cider vinegar up and then rubbed the knife with a cotton ball, which I didn't do last time. I didn't like the result. It was streaking. So, I just turned up the heat and let it simmer for about ten minutes and then took it out and rinsed it with some boiling water, let it dry, wiped it off with a paper towel, oiled it and wiped it some more until the black stopped coming off on the paper towel. I like the result much better. I wonder if the streaking was because of the steel? Anyway, here's a picture, I plan on taking it out next weekend when my son and I go out mushroom hunting, he's taking me to his favorite spot! Now to air out the house, I'll probably catch hell from my wife this afternoon for stinking up the house.
 
I tried this a while back, but after a bit of carry, I noticed that the black wears off when I cut through cardboard and it also started wearing off the exposed part of the blade in my pocket. Maybe from rubbing against the cloth? I think the OP's knife looks amazing, but I doubt it would stay that way if I was using it. I ended up flitzing everything off and keeping my knife shiny looking. I don't use folders for food very often, so a high polish is easy to keep up.

Some nice looking knives here though!
 
draggat said:
I tried this a while back, but after a bit of carry, I noticed that the black wears off when I cut through cardboard and it also started wearing off the exposed part of the blade in my pocket. Maybe from rubbing against the cloth? I think the OP's knife looks amazing, but I doubt it would stay that way if I was using it.
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I'm not surprised the black from this process would wear off with use of the knife. Here's my version of the process I learned from Bob (BigBiscuit) to get a nice, even grey patina:

Start by rinsing and wiping the blade clean to remove any oils.

Heat apple cider vinegar in a small glass in the microwave for one minute (has to be deep enough to submerge just the blade in it).

Submerge the blade in the hot vinegar and leave it until it turns black (usually takes a 3-4 minutes). I use a chip clip that holds the knife and rests on the edge of the glass to hold it in place, so I don't have to stand there holding the knife steady.

Remove the blade once it has turned a deep, even black and rinse thoroughly with water to neutralize the vinegar. Then I dry the knife off (don't forget to get the water out of the well and the joint!).

Next you take a rag/cloth and some oil (Bob recommended WD40, I use Ballistol) and wipe the blade down thoroughly. You'll see the black oxidation coming off on the rag (which is why I'm not surprised that it would come off in your pocket, or with use). You'll end up with a nice grey patina.

Here are a few that I've done this way. Maybe not as visually stunning as the black, but hey, I like it.

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Bob did the patina (and the EO notch) on this one:

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