How can I tell if my knife is really CPM 3V and not A2?

Surprising results.

I didn’t do this to prove you wrong I did it to simply see the effect on the A2.

There was basically no effect. There may be, perhaps the subtlest blue area but it is in the area to the left where I did not wash the blade. That makes no sense. In the photos the mustard patina effect , MPE, shows up much better. I can't really see this with the naked eye (no camera) but with magnification. Weird.
However I CAN easily see the rust dots on the A2 naked eye with or without magnification (see photos near the end of this post).

Lets back up . . .
To find out how much effect prewashing the steel has verses a surface with a film from months of sitting around and handling I did the following. I washed the half of the blade on the right with dish soap and rubbed and rinsed very thoroughly. Left the half of the blade to the left unwashed. I put mustard on the right half and most of the left half but saved the left most area from any mustard for comparison sake.

This is how the A-2 woodworking hand plane blade company describes the blade :

"Our A-2 Tool Steel is cryogenically treated, hardened to Rockwell 60-62 and double tempered."
here

The before photos :







Suited up :



The after photos :





Here is a control that I added after the above confounding results. The blade is obviously an Opinel
“Carbone” . . . basically plain carbon steel. We should see patina like crazy.
thirty minutes and counting . . . tick, tock, tick, tock etc., etc., etc. . . .

annnnnnd we’re back . . . let see how it tastes . . . er . . . I mean looks :


Funny . . . in the above photo I can see browning / patina. In fact just looking at it with the naked eye I can’t hardly tell this is there.

OK I changed tac. I scrubbed the surface of the blades with the end of a Norton 220 very soft stone that makes tons of mud. This took off the other finish / patina and freshened the steel to a raw state so that I could do my test I spoke of early in this thread. I ran the blade under hot, hot tap water and then held it and watched as the water evaporated off the steel. The A 2 did just what I spoke of and expected; once the water evaporated little fine pin prick dots of rust formed. The areas where the point of the knife is shows concentration of these dots / rust. When I have done this with plane carbon steel I get much more rust and a more even coverage as apposed to dots.



So

I took the Opinel “Carbon” and rubbed it well with the Norton 220 and wet it with hot water and let it dry. Did not react like the carbon plane blades I am used to. I’m not sure what those are without researching it, I only have one or two. I think they are O1 or W1 or such.

aaaaaanyway

the tooth pick points to the scrubbed and wetted zone and I am trying to show both as clearly as possible in the photos where they are overlapped here :



Finally here is the 3V scrubbed with the Norton 220 and wet with hot, hot water and watched until it dried. No rust . . . dots or finer.
 
Last edited:
Interesting! Maybe it takes longer than 30 min for mustartd. Been a while since I did it
 
Forgive the small and somewhat blurry picture... I had to goodle search to find it from when Incould post directly to knife forums. Here is an A2 Bark River Canadian Special that I once owned. I forced this patina with mustard and some various acidic fruit cutting

533926AE-E1DC-4D2C-92A5-44E8745F6534_zps0zdf8pir.jpg


It appears grey/blue in the photo, but in reality it had a rainbow effect. It reminded me of a rainbow trout. Grey/blue/purple/pink sheen with a bumch of speckles. It was beautiful. It was applied in one day
 
Forgive the small and somewhat blurry picture... I had to goodle search to find it from when Incould post directly to knife forums. Here is an A2 Bark River Canadian Special that I once owned. I forced this patina with mustard and some various acidic fruit cutting

533926AE-E1DC-4D2C-92A5-44E8745F6534_zps0zdf8pir.jpg


It appears grey/blue in the photo, but in reality it had a rainbow effect. It reminded me of a rainbow trout. Grey/blue/purple/pink sheen with a bumch of speckles. It was beautiful. It was applied in one day

Grey/blue/purple/pink sheen
I love that kind of effect. In the past I have only been able to get any where close to that on the plain carbon like on a Case CV or my Japanese kitchen knife.
Sounds like the perfect look for the Canadian Special.

This is my first time using mustard; part of why I gave it a try when you reminded me of it.
Judging from my photos should I have gone with more ? I know you said to not put it on too thick.
I was also wondering if some brands of mustard have more vinegar than others. And mine was quite cold out of the fridge (warmth would speed up the chemical change). I have no doubt it would work well if I knew how.

A couple of weeks ago I got some pretty serious patina without trying at all when I cut up roasted chillies, avocado and fresh lemon with my M4.
BlammO !
see photo
This was what I was expecting the mustard to do to the Opinel.
IMG_4410_zpsjobgcrh2.jpg
 
If it cuts and holds an edge, don't worry about it.
Being fine with paying for something you are not getting is always bad advice. Don't listen to it.

I'd do some of the things that have been suggested. In the summer where I live, a2 will rust if you look at it wrong. 3v not so much. I'd test it with water first and then move up to more acidic things.
 
Back
Top