I finally decided to patina my Trail Master!

M

mastiffhound

Joined
Dec 27, 2013
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345
I'm just so tired of cleaning small rust spots off of my TM. So I picked up a gallon of white vinegar and decided to just get on with giving it a patina. I'll try to get a pic or two up when it's done.

I cut the top off of a Coke 2 liter and rinsed the inside out with alcohol. I then crushed the bottle a little to make it so I didn't need to use a whole 2 liters of vinegar. The TM has been sitting in there for about an hour, I'm not sure how long I should leave it though. I guess I'll see? Anyone else do this that could give me a pointer or two? As always thanks for the help in advance!
 
I have a boat load of Mora's that I've done. I just squared off the spines for a fire steel then an over night soak in plain jane vinager . Then a rinse and a wipe. A bit of the corrosion comes off but the blade is now darkened considerably. I have soaked old found axe heads in some cider vinegar which really ate the corrosion off in 2-3 days. I no longer strip coatings and only patina if it is the best option.
 
Cool! Can't wait to see the before and after,I may go that route too. Resharpen is necessary after?
 
M31943 said:
Cool! Can't wait to see the before and after,I may go that route too. Resharpen is necessary after?
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My moras were still very sharp. They really darkened sitting in a long narrow fluted wine glass full of. Vinager over night tip down
 
Sorry it took so long, I just got busy. I left it submerged for 3 hours. Then I cleaned it off with a rag and cold water twice and put it back in for another 1.5 hours both times. I then cleaned it with cold water, then soaked it with alcohol to displace as much water as possible while rubbing it down with a dry microfiber cloth. Lastly, I oiled it up with weaponshield which seemed to stick better and run much much less than before. I then ran it on the sharpmaker just to clean up the edge grind. I know it's a crappy cell pic but it's close to what it actually looks like:D


 
nice job.

im not a fan of forced patinas myself. prefer steel color and wax to stop corrosion, but yours came out real nice.
 
G. Scott H. said:
That's great for just vinegar. It looks about as dark as I usually get with ferric chloride. :eek::cool:
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Yeah, I've seen others that didn't get this dark. I have two theories so far, either the vinegar (brand/concentration/impurities) and/or the finish made the difference.

I used wally worlds great value brand in the 1 gallon jug. I had so many spots so many times show up on the blade that it was making me bonkers. I'd then scrub the blade down to get rid of the spots, but my OCD would kick in and I'd have do the whole blade to be uniform.

I never used anything more than 400 grit sandpaper and scotch brite pads, which really smoothed the finish. Maybe with the smoother finish the patina applied more evenly? I will say that if I hung the TM with the blade facing down the weaponshield would run off in a couple of days with the bare steel. It's the only steel that I've put it on that would just let it run. Some would still stick but it would mostly be streaks. Now it's staying put, another plus for doing a patina I guess.
 
Nice! Would love a close up of the blade but understand the limitations of your camera.
 
Using TurtleWax (or other car waxes) is an old trick for use in jungle environments. Use a hair dryer (NOT a heat gun) to warm the steel and open the pores, then apply wax.
 
Mike Sastre said:
Using TurtleWax (or other car waxes) is an old trick for use in jungle environments. Use a hair dryer (NOT a heat gun) to warm the steel and open the pores, then apply wax.
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yep. yes Sir. it is a jungle down here in the swamps. it's not a one time deal though it's a constant keep up when used concept. for storage last a long time and works as logn as prepped well without corrosive fingerprints on the metal before waxing, etc.

course i read once best way to keep rust at bay is using the knife and cutting stuff.:)
 
Mike Sastre said:
Using TurtleWax (or other car waxes) is an old trick for use in jungle environments. Use a hair dryer (NOT a heat gun) to warm the steel and open the pores, then apply wax.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, appreciated. One of my other hobbies is metal detecting. I have old iron axe heads, knife blades etc. that I have preserved with a special type of wax used in museums. After the item has been cleaned up, in various ways, there is a cold water rinse then an oven bake at 200 degrees for two hours to remove any traces of moisture. Then one or two applications of this wax. My pieces have remained stable for years. I get great pleasure out of looking at a fur trade axe head from the 1780's when I read journals describing drowning's in rapids, Indian and bear attacks, to get these items to their lost, dropped in the snow, or purposely buried for storage, locations.
 
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