How do you prevent patina?

FOR THE LIFE OF ME, I do not understand why anyone would not want a fine patina from use on any high carbon steel blade !! As the old timers said " the steel is cured when it is black." And I assure you, if done correctly, it will then NEVER ever rust, period.
 
IMHO It's nearly Fall, time for hunting and picking up Acorns. :D

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Please Wil, do tell us newbies, what is meant by "done correctly"? I just received my large stockman in CV a couple of days ago, and would like to hear your input.
 
555 said:
IMHO It's nearly Fall, time for hunting and picking up Acorns. :D
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What does deliberately flogging what I consider to be a 'common stainless' knife have to do with a specific thread discussion of patina on a 1095 steel blade?
 
It's actually a thread about PREVENTING patina on carbon steel blades. No reason to mention stainless steel at all.

If you have any suggestions on how to prevent or remove an unwanted patina on carbon steel, those would be on topic.
 
Easyrider said:
The title pretty much says it all. How can I prevent patina from forming on my GEC 1095 blade steel?
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You really don't. A better question might be how you manage patina. The best why to prevent patina is to buy stainless.
 
The best way to prevent patina is to only use the knife on paper and plastic, and to not carry it at all if it's hot enough to make you sweat. Anything even slightly acidic or salty will cause patina. Coating the blade with wax will help, but I wouldn't want to do that if I were going to use it on food, which is the main thing that causes patina.
 
I don't want to steer the thread down the wrong path, and I would never presume to tell somebody else how to use their tools, but here's my opinion on the matter:

If I were to buy a 1095 blade and concern myself with preventing patina I would think that it would greatly reduce my enjoyment of using that knife. I love the fact that I can whip out my Tidioute and use it without too much thought, wipe it on my jeans and continue on my day. If I was trying to prevent it from forming a patina I'd be considering every thing I cut with it to determine how it was going to affect the blade and whether or not it was worth the effort it was going to take to repolish. I don't think a knife like that would be in my pocket very often. If it was in my pocket I'd probably be finding excuses to not use it. (ie. It's less hassle to use my teeth than to have to shine up my blade again or some such thing) For these reasons, if this was important to me I'd probably go stainless.

Sorry for the longwinded response. I didn't want to post "buy stainless" without giving my thought process. If you do decide to get 1095 please let us know what you did about the patina and how it worked out for you. I'd be interested to hear about your experiences.
 
black mamba said:
The best way to prevent patina is to only use the knife on paper and plastic, and to not carry it at all if it's hot enough to make you sweat. Anything even slightly acidic or salty will cause patina. Coating the blade with wax will help, but I wouldn't want to do that if I were going to use it on food, which is the main thing that causes patina.
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What good is a knife if you have to treat it like it's fine china or crystal? I would think that a pretty knife solely becomes a fashion accessory if stains and scratches prevent the owner from actually learning to use it. Likely this is good news for the fashion/custom crowd-makers only because none of the buyers will ever over-work or over-use one of their products.
 
I agree with you 300Six, my point was to show how difficult it would be to prevent patina. You can remove it, but prevention is pretty hopeless.

For me it is either embrace the patina or go stainless. Anything else is more work than it's worth.
 
This is my #15 Radio Knife. I use it a lot - a whole lot. It has 1095 carbon blades and no amount of rubbing with flitz, semi-chrome, or the like is going to remove the patina from the blades or steel bolsters. It just isn't - I've tried a couple of times. That patina and the pits aren't going anywhere.



Couldn't figure out how to spell semi-chrome (seems like it ought to have 18-wheels spelled like that) so I gave it a shot. My excuse for spelling and grammatical (SP) errors is senility (SP?) and old age.
 
300Six said:
What does deliberately flogging what I consider to be a 'common stainless' knife have to do with a specific thread discussion of patina on a 1095 steel blade?
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I like 1095 and do have GEC and Case etc. in carbon. I'll carry the nice ones for Sunday go to meetin days. And when the conditions turn and the environment & weather turn everything wet, I'll carry the right tool for the job and carry Stainless when I want to carry a nice looking pocket knife. Back in the day they just called it common sense.

I still carry other carbon bladed knives in harsh conditions, but they have grown a patina over time and are working knives to be used.
 
I did not expect some of the strong responses. My 1095 steel bladed knife does not get used for food, not because of patina but because I used the same lubricant on it as I do my firearms. I am not inclined to ingest any of that stuff. My knives generally has an easy life with most cutting activities being opening mail, retail product packaging and "dead heading" my Wife's rose bushes. The occasionally cardboard box gets cut up to fit in the recycling bin. I live in a rather dry climate so the patina is taking time to discolor my knife but it has started.

The individuals that recommend a stainless steel knife may be correct that it is a better option for me. I am looking VERY hard at a Northwoods Indian River Jack with 154CMP steel. Similar size to my GEC #73 and the Indian River Jack has powdered steel with excited me greatly. I have had a VERY good experience with S30v and S35v, both of which are powdered steels.

Thank you everyone; I will try the metal polish routine and if I am not happy with that then I will go get a stainless steel bladed knife.
 
jc57 said:
It's actually a thread about PREVENTING patina on carbon steel blades. No reason to mention stainless steel at all.

If you have any suggestions on how to prevent or remove an unwanted patina on carbon steel, those would be on topic.
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Well it does. Carrying stainless in the wet season will prevent a patina forming on the well oiled carbon knife sitting at home in the drawer. I'm speaking from experience here.

Sorry about the play on words and forget that other areas of the country can't relate to Fall being a time for hunting, Acorns falling from the trees and the start of the wet season after a dry hot Summer.
 
My comment wasn't really aimed at you per se, Nickels, just trying to get the thread back on track since it had turned into the knife equivalent of a caliber war for some reason. I always felt it was somewhat rude to ignore someone's question by implying it was a foolish question to be asking in the first place. I would have assumed that those who prefer patinas would have just passed by the thread rather than dumping on the poor guy asking a question.
 
I love my steel blades and a bit of discolouration, or even rust spots, here and there only gives them history and a source for conversation. In the bush if you carry a sandwich baggie with a vegetable oil dampened cloth with which to wipe down the knife once in awhile the whole works will last much longer than you do.
 
IMHO a new knife and the new knife look is like buying a new car, you want it stay looking that way as long as you can, when it's your show piece/pride and joy, and like the car, it can be a challenge to keep it that way, and dang near impossible if it's your everyday driver. The ones that stay in showroom condition over time, rarely leave the showroom or garage and never go to the Mall. :)
 
A Dremel, a polishing disk, and Flitz/Simicrome will remove a patina that hasn't actually etched into the metal. If need be, use fine steel wool or extra fine sandpaper to get all that "ugly dark" off the blade. BUT keep this in mind: Removing the patina makes the blade more prone to rust and corrosion, which is why my carbon blades are all patinated.

If you dislike the mottled patina you get from random usage, most often via food prep, you can clean the blade back to bare, shiny metal (final degreasing wipe with lighter fluid) and then force a relatively even patina all over it. I've done this in a few minutes by dunking the blade into hot vinegar, watching for good "color," and rinsing under cold water. Done.
 
This is a thread about carbon steel and how to maintain it.
It needs to stay on topic.

Certain posters need to take a deep breath and relax. Traditional is about friendly discussion. Not challenging each other or getting in each other's face or making snide comments about those who like some other facet of traditional cutlery.
 
As pointed out, "patina" is normal & natural for 1095. However, leaving a blade in a condition such that the food/material has a chance to eat into the blade is not cool IMO. True patina takes time. Leaving material on the blade to etch it on purpose, well, just be careful. I have purchased several 1095 knives that were said to have "patina". When I removed the blotchy patina, there were etched pits in some of the areas. I don't find that attractive or practical. I have found that a damp cotton cloth patted in some "Barkeeper's Friend" and gently rubbed with the grain (if any) of the blade will remove the patina nicely without visible scratching. It seems to be a little less aggressive than Wenol or Flitz or Brasso. Just be sure not to get any into the springs or pivots, and be sure to wash the blade with soap & clear water and lubricate & dry. Mineral oil is good. For my non-food blades, Rem Oil or Ballistol, used sparingly, work for me.
 
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