how do you color a blade

[tanto_dude]

I have seen stunning knives of blue and green and red and I wanted to know, HOW DO THEY DO IT???? I dont expect to make knives color as well as they do but i wanna know. is it bluing, heat coloring, or something completely different, and how is it done,


thanks

 

[J.S. Carter]

the fine deep blues and yellow's browns and some reds come from heat coloring. Here is a chart that shows the temps for O1 these can be done in your home oven (575ºF for Royal blue by the way) another way is by Color Case Hardening which would be only suitable for guards/pommels and not the blade,

 

[fitzo]

There are certain colors that can be obtained by careful selection of the steel alloy and nitre-bluing. See Johan Gustafson's work amongst others.

There is also a bladesmith named Mardi Meshejian who has made san mai laminates of titanium with a steel core. The Ti can subsequently be anodized to obtain a variety of colors.