how do you keep your blades nice and shiny?

xtonesterx

xtonesterx

Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
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hello guys. i recently purchased a brand new never used GEC Tom's Choice two bladed barlow with saw cut amber bone and within one day of using it it had already started to produce a lovely patina. i love a patina on my high carbon blades. to me theres not a better blade finish than a hard earned natural patina.

i see others posting pics of the same knife and a lot of the time the blades are always shiny and spotless. i was wondering how they are able to keep their blades like that? is it just making sure they are consistently oiled? or is there a way to take the patina off? just wondering if there is a method i dont know of. even though ive been carrying traditionals off and on ever since ive been into knives i still consider myself new to this world.
 
Polishing is the easiest way to do it. Some Flitz/Simichrome will remove oxide (patina) easily, and using it fairly regularly will keep it shiny. A more polished finish will resist oxidation (patina) longer, and carbon blades with a mirror finish can go quite a while before they'll show much coloration at all (depending on use, of course). Blades with 'satin' or coarser finishes will oxidize much faster, and it'll be a lot more obvious when it's happening.


David
 
I like to use a product called Eagle One Nevr-Dull to actually polish the metal up. You can get it in the automotive section at Wal-Mart and it lasts forever. Works excellent on chrome, aluminum and brass but you can use it on silverware or any other metal surface. Then I wipe it down real good and I prefer to use Breakfree CLP on my blades but if it's a blade that will be used for food I would just keep mineral oil on it.
 
We don't.

eyebrandstockman2.jpg


- Christian
 
I stuck my recent Peanut purchase in a banana for 30 seconds to start off the patina, but the Case Stockman with the CV blades that I bought at the same time got a coat of Tuf-Glide and mineral oil on the joints. It's an continuing experiment.
 
I have found that carbon steel will keep its original finish much longer when the blade is not used to cut food. Patina is still inevitable but perhaps some of those photos are posted by those who don't cut food with those knives.
 
Folks, we all have our preferences. Preferences are opinions. They are not absolute, but vary by user.

In this case, some folks want their non-stainless blade to stay shiny. There is nothing wrong with that. It's a preference.

We got lots of threads on patinas. Nothing wrong with a thread about shiny steel.
 
You might try a product like break free clp to prevent rust and patina. Don't cut anything acidic like fruit or meat. Use flitz to gently polish the blade.

It's definitely more work than keeping stainless shiny that's for sure.
 
You will probably find ( as to what has been mentioned before ) that the knife hasnt been used to cut food-especially Potato or fruits etc, and even if they didn't cut food the blades on the GEC Patina up real quick, so it would mean constant use of Flitz or a good Mineral oil after every use.
I think-as it is in my case ( as I haven't been out too much to use a knife ) they probably haven't put them to decent use yet.
 
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This is a GEC Northfield Harness Jack Burnt Stag knife that I got in mid-November 2010. This picture was taken new out of the tube.

gecnfharnessjackburntst.jpg


This is what the knife looked like after helping a local rancher butcher some pigs exposing the blade to blood, pork, and later some vinegar.

gecnfharnessjackburntst.jpg


I didn't especially like the way the blade/knife looked so I polished the blade of the Harness Jack with a Flitz metal polishing cloth. This is how the knife looks now. Much better for my taste. Some patina but not the heavy patina it had.

gecnfharnessjackburntst.jpg


This is a close-up of the blade after polishing.

gecnfharnessjackburntst.jpg


I sometimes jokingly say; "I like the taste of Steak & Eggs and RemOil in the morning" but I generally don't use my knives for food-prep, etc. I do have some though that I use for hunting/shinning and I do leave a patina on them.

So, for me it depends on the knife and what I use it for.

Shiny knives in pictures when new - not so shiny (but still shiny) after use.

I hope this post made snese. It does to me but; Hey!!! I'm an old guy.:rolleyes: More importantly, I hope it was useful to you.
 
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puukkoman said:
Nevr-Dull works great (the cotton wadding stuff).
Click to expand...

Yep this is the product i was talking about. I'm always kinda surprised that I don't hear it talked about more on here. I would be curious to see a comparison of it versus the Flitz product that everybody talks about. I can get the Nevr-Dull local and I don't find it lacking or I would just order up some Flitz and give it a shot but don't want to waste my money if it isn't any better than the Nevr-Dull.
 
I carry a Case CV knife pretty much every day (Small Texas Jack). The blades stay relatively shiny unless I try to cut up food. Sliced an apple with it for lunch one day and bang, instant patina, even though I rinsed and dried it off immediately afterwards.

When I got home that day I buffed the blade by hand with some jeweler's rouge on a soft cloth and it came right off. I put some Eezox on the blades for a protective barrier. Since then, I take a Case SS blade (Slimline Trapper) along when I want to cut apples.

I now have some Simichrome polish that works about as well as if not better than the jeweler's rouge for that purpose. I also use Renaissance Wax to keep the handles and blades protected. It just takes a few minutes once a week or so to keep it maintained.
 
I have quite a number of knives now; too many probably, but I don't carry many of my knives more than a couple of days running most of the time.
And I don't usually use them on food. Thus, most of mine don't develop a patina quickly and I do try to keep them clean, and protected from rust. I don't worry about whether or not they are going to develop a patina naturally. When they do, fine. If they don't for a long while, that's okay too. I won't let them rust, but patina isn't an issue and I don't get uptight if it develops on my blades. One other thing that affects my ability to have a blade with a dark patina is that I have quite a number of Case Tru-Sharp knives in my usual rotation, further diluting my carbon blades opportunity to develop that grey patina.

An example of two carbon steel knives that I carry some, the S&M has had more use and pocket time than the boy's knife and you can tell it by looking at it. The S&M still does not have that much staining. It got what it has from cutting steak at a local restaurant.



Modoc (the other Ed), your knife looks great in all three photos.


Ed J
 
Don't take them out of their wrappers:D Works every time. That's how I keep em shiny.
 
jkulysses said:
Yep this is the product i was talking about. I'm always kinda surprised that I don't hear it talked about more on here. I would be curious to see a comparison of it versus the Flitz product that everybody talks about. I can get the Nevr-Dull local and I don't find it lacking or I would just order up some Flitz and give it a shot but don't want to waste my money if it isn't any better than the Nevr-Dull.
Click to expand...

The abrasives make the difference, depending on what you intend to clean or polish.

Flitz and Simichrome both use aluminum oxide as the abrasive, which is harder and more effective for actually abrading (therefore polishing) the hardened steel found in knife blades. Nevr-Dull isn't always as effective on some steels, and I think it's due to softer abrasive (probably silica). The paste formula of Flitz/Simichrome also makes both useful for stropping or use on other substrates, which can't really be done with the wadding of the Nevr-Dull.

If using it on hardened steel knife blades for polishing to a higher finish and/or sharpening/stropping, aluminum oxide-based polishes are more effective. Nevr-Dull and Brasso, in particular, were formulated mainly for polishing softer metals (gold, silver, brass, aluminum, nickel, etc.) and are safer on those, because the abrasive isn't as aggressive and won't needlessly remove excess metal. This is also why they're safer for use on chrome-plated items, which might be stripped by harder abrasives. The 'safer' implication for use on softer metals also implies they won't be as aggressive on harder metals, like knife steel. The oxides of iron ('patina' and red rust) on steel knife blades are softer and more easily removed/abraded away than the underlying steel itself, so sometimes the 'gentler' abrasives will still work for cleaning up oxidized blades. But the limitations of Nevr-Dull and Brasso and similar polishes can more easily be seen when used on higher-alloyed steels, like modern stainless, which contain harder carbides that aren't as easily abraded/polished. Aluminum oxide abrasive is more effective on those.


David
 
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