Infi Patina?

Makael

Makael

Loving wife, kids and life.
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Question, I've read how resistant Infi steel is to taking a patina. While building a sheath the blade ended up with a stain.
Harness leather with a hair on hide insert. I wet the leather and inserted the knife so it could dry and form around the scales. I wrap all of the knives with a heavy duty seranwrap and warm it to get a good protective barrier before hand so there is protection on the blade. The next morning I pulled the knife out and noticed moisture around the leading edge. I took the seranwrap off and there was the stain. I used some 0000 steel wool but made no difference. I applied some polish and that did end up removing the stain. Im not sure how it happened but maybe the dye used on the liner mixed with water stained the steel? I did notice it did not stain the sharpened edge, just the sides.
15533079550237761522009688486719.jpg 15533079798866868501169794751986.jpg 15533080379902215948194837242648.jpg 15533080624762312519232945331685.jpg 15533080956809195156098098509802.jpg

After polish
15533138843217612635786857559833.jpg 15533139281591664971696538644681.jpg 20190322_081600.jpg IMG_20190322_081753_206.jpg
 
One thing that I have found to help protect when wet forming is to apply a light coat of Paste Wax. Allow the Wax to dry and look for areas that you might have missed with the wax then wrap with saran wrap or other protective outer protection.
 
Busto said:
One thing that I have found to help protect when wet forming is to apply a light coat of Paste Wax. Allow the Wax to dry and look for areas that you might have missed with the wax then wrap with saran wrap or other protective outer protection.
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Good idea
 
Busto said:
One thing that I have found to help protect when wet forming is to apply a light coat of Paste Wax. Allow the Wax to dry and look for areas that you might have missed with the wax then wrap with saran wrap or other protective outer protection.
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I’ve done the same thing using Vasoline: thin coat on the blade and then some on potential seams of the seranwrap. Since doing that I have had no issues with corrosion when wet forming sheaths (in either 1095 and SR101). That sheath looks great, BTW.
 
Satin INFI is very resistant to oxidation and staining. The coarser finishes not so much, in my experience. The old competition finish with CBT from around 2008 was notorious for rusting in the grooves of the CBT. And BBDC blades very quickly pick up a light shadow of blackish oxidation from even minimal use, or often just with age. Doesn’t hurt performance, just not pristine to look at.
 
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as said - really nice! I like that insert, really trick move.

I was going to say something about that stain but it's not related to my experience. With the CBT blades, and mostly after I've stripped them, that edge with all the "micro grooves" I'll call them behind that edge, it requires quite the effort to get all the decarb (black layer) out of them but that's nothing to do with what you saw. Glad you were able to polish it out- that had to provide a small heart stoppage at first :eek: ~ But she looks amazing! - It almost looks to me like some kind of silicone element maybe? It's really strange that pattern, like no pattern at all? Makes me think it could've came from the seran wrap itself? like maybe a release agent that's on it? like what keeps Saran wrap from sticking to itself? End of the day she's perfect is all that matters though ;)
 
Great looking sheath.

Wow, thats a pretty impressive stain for INFI.

One time I stripped an original ASH 1. It had something like a sand blast finish under the coating. It wasnt Double Cut, likely only "single cut" (like they did the sand blast, but not the glass bead blast, to give the coating some grip on the surface). Seeing that rough surface, I was worried it would rust, so I decided to do a mustard patina. Coated it in a nice pattern, and let it hang for 24 hours. Came back, washed it off. Know what happened? Nothing. Nothing at all, except for a barely noticable change in the way light played off it. I was shocked. I recoated it, left it for 3 days. Same thing. Washed it off, no change to the steel. INFI is definitely pretty picky about oxidizing, and mostly it just doesn't unless there's decarb.
 
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Nice!!

I've noticed the machined finished naked knives are the most apt to to this.

I did have a mirror polished INFI take on a blue color after slicing hot BBQ meat....stayed for a few days until I cut some more hot BBQ then it dissapeared forever....

I've had INFI "rust" a time or two....right at the logo, when I had it wet, in the sheath all day... on a multi day canoe trip in the summertime....

Only lasted long enough to wipe my thumb accross it, and it was gone......


Also, when I electro etched a logo before stripping... used salt water and a battery!! Came off after rinsing and wiping.....
 
Very Nice work there man! I like you you shaped the window for the inlay.

Now, the harness leather has an additive "stuffed" in the leather to make it a bit more resistant to weather. I have no idea what they use, and neither does the supplier evidently. Only the tannery knows and they do not talk very often. Its one reason I don't use it often, just in case.

Moreover, I don't keep the knife in the sheath any longer than I have to, no more than a few minutes and wipe the knife down afterward. I'll end up doing this several times through the drying process in order to sharpen up the molding and check the fit as the leather dries. Over night allows the leather to "sweat/vapor" and get into the plastic wrap. Also the temp difference inside the sheath can cause vapor to collect on the blade if it is cooler than the leather. Those micro grooves love to hold water vapor, think how water holds onto a rough surface but beads off of a polished one. Dealing with high carbon steels like 1095 can be a race to keep the oxidation to a minimum while wet molding the leather.

I love talking leather, can ya tell? :p
 
leatherman said:
Very Nice work there man! I like you you shaped the window for the inlay.

Now, the harness leather has an additive "stuffed" in the leather to make it a bit more resistant to weather. I have no idea what they use, and neither does the supplier evidently. Only the tannery knows and they do not talk very often. Its one reason I don't use it often, just in case.

Moreover, I don't keep the knife in the sheath any longer than I have to, no more than a few minutes and wipe the knife down afterward. I'll end up doing this several times through the drying process in order to sharpen up the molding and check the fit as the leather dries. Over night allows the leather to "sweat/vapor" and get into the plastic wrap. Also the temp difference inside the sheath can cause vapor to collect on the blade if it is cooler than the leather. Those micro grooves love to hold water vapor, think how water holds onto a rough surface but beads off of a polished one. Dealing with high carbon steels like 1095 can be a race to keep the oxidation to a minimum while wet molding the leather.

I love talking leather, can ya tell? :p
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Ive used harness leather quite a bit. Ive got a Buck 104 with 5160 steel sitting in a harness leather sheath as a test. I stripped the paint off with zero oil or wax on the blade. So far there is zero oxidation.

On this Busse sheath I lined the interior with a thin layer of leather, I dyed the liner as well. I put the knife back in last night and everywhere the leather touched the steel had a patina. I used polish again and it removed it. Im guessing the dye is getting into the grain of the steel. Lesson learned on dyeing the liner. I will end up scraping this sheath due to it.

Here is my test knife. So gar so good. 100 percent harness leather.15534466655425816007408343586513.jpg 15534466903717823330382931822447.jpg
 
Looking for info on Harness leather. Havent really found anything negative. So far so good on the sheaths I've done. But the dyed leather on this one had a different result.

Tandy
These sides feature superb strength and workability for riding tack, outdoor gear, linemen’s belts and weightlifter’s belts. Specially tanned with oils and waxes to repel water like no other leather can. This leather can take a beating and still last for years.
Weight/Thickness: 10 to 12 oz. (4.0 to 4.8 mm)
Average size: 21 to 22 sq. ft. (1.95 to 2.04 sq. meters

Wickett and Craig
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Wickett & Craig "Traditional Harness" Veg Tanned Leather Side - Russet

The Tannery: Wickett & Craig of Curwensville, PA, USA (est. 1867)

  • Traditional Harness: Quickly becoming one of Wickett's top leathers, traditional harness is known for its unique blend of waxes, oils and tallows, which are hot stuffed into the leather to bring out the true beauty of the leather and its grain. Utilizing a traditional process known as jack glazing, the oils are brought to the surface which creates a glossy finish that does not hide the leather's natural grain.
  • Wickett & Craig "Traditional Harness" Leather is among the highest end vegetable tanned leathers in the world. Crafted in the USA, Wickett & Craig is known for quality, durability, and rich finishes.
  • Traditional harness can be used for leather goods, belts, bags, high-end accessories, equestrian gear, and much more.
  • A beautiful top side with rich color that easily stamps and tools if desired.
  • The back side is refinished and 'gum pasted'. The gum paste gives an incredible waxy and smooth texture
 
leatherman said:
Very Nice work there man! I like you you shaped the window for the inlay.

Now, the harness leather has an additive "stuffed" in the leather to make it a bit more resistant to weather. I have no idea what they use, and neither does the supplier evidently. Only the tannery knows and they do not talk very often. Its one reason I don't use it often, just in case.

Moreover, I don't keep the knife in the sheath any longer than I have to, no more than a few minutes and wipe the knife down afterward. I'll end up doing this several times through the drying process in order to sharpen up the molding and check the fit as the leather dries. Over night allows the leather to "sweat/vapor" and get into the plastic wrap. Also the temp difference inside the sheath can cause vapor to collect on the blade if it is cooler than the leather. Those micro grooves love to hold water vapor, think how water holds onto a rough surface but beads off of a polished one. Dealing with high carbon steels like 1095 can be a race to keep the oxidation to a minimum while wet molding the leather.

I love talking leather, can ya tell? :p
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Huge props to Dwayne here for helping out a fellow leather sheath maker, especially considering that he makes his living off sheathes.
 
Makael, the blade is obviously ruined, you can send it to me for proper disposal. Am happy to pay for the shipping.
 
INFI will stain lightly. I found that certain plants will stain the blade, but not deeply. I have never tried to do what you did, but I can imagine that chemicals from the tanning processes might leach out when wet. I'm happy that you were able to remove it. Its a great steel though, when I compare it to 3V I prefer INFI. Its more stain resistant, very durable, but still relatively easy to sharpen.
 
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