Knives and Potatoes

In England I did the opposite. My friends and I repeatedly pushed our knives into the ground to polish them.
 
Andrew Taylor said:
In England I did the opposite. My friends and I repeatedly pushed our knives into the ground to polish them.
Click to expand...

Andrew -

I didn't think the all-knowing all-seeing legal authorities allowed knives (or potatoes) in England because the citizenry wasn't responsible enough to be able to use them without damaging themselves or others? Or maybe I'm thinking of guns. Or maybe I'm thinking of Canada or Australia. Maybe just tiny knives and potatoes are allowed.

Thoughts?
 
Sledgehammer,
Not all the Old Timers coming out of Schrade near the end had carbon blades. Some multiblades may have had a mixture...or they may have been 420HC, and not marked as Schrade+. :(
We have discussed this several times over in the Schrade Collectors Forum with folks who once worked there.

For patina, as mentioned by folks here, lots of things work at different speeds and different degrees of success, in my experience. My personal favorite is "nuking" some vinegar in the microwave (a minute, or so...'til it's bubbling real good :D )...and then dipping a squeeky clean blade into the vinegar. You can watch it darken and it works in about 10 minutes. If you don't like it, hit it quick with Flitz or Mother's, and it comes off OK...just don't let it dry for too long, or it is what it is...:o

JMO.

Bill
 
El Lobo said:
My personal favorite is "nuking" some vinegar in the microwave (a minute, or so...'til it's bubbling real good :D )...and then dipping a squeeky clean blade into the vinegar. You can watch it darken and it works in about 10 minutes.
Click to expand...
Bill, Thanks for passing along that method. I used it on the A2 steel blade pictured below. It took on a dark grey patina that I like.

However, being of the "more is better" school of thought, I let the knife sit in the hot vinegar for about 40 minutes. Many tiny bubbles formed on the skin of the knife in the vinegar. So I would periodically give the blade a stir to get them off. Afterward, I let the vinegar dry on the surface of the knife, then scrubbed it off with soap, water, and a stiff nylon-bristled brush.

Okuden_STII_vinegar_boil_patina.jpg
 
Looking good...:thumbup: :thumbup:

Experimentation is certainly half the fun.

Next time, I'm using champagne to turn an Opinel....no, no, just kidding. :D

Bill
 
DGG said:
Andrew -

I didn't think the all-knowing all-seeing legal authorities allowed knives (or potatoes) in England because the citizenry wasn't responsible enough to be able to use them without damaging themselves or others? Or maybe I'm thinking of guns. Or maybe I'm thinking of Canada or Australia. Maybe just tiny knives and potatoes are allowed.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

when I was a yoof in the 60s things were a lot different. There weren't many foreigners around in those days, no yardies, no drugs, and the local bobby was a respected citizen who would clip you round the earole if you did wrong, or worse still knock on your door and tell your dad what you had been up to. I am in no way racist, but the powers that be let in the wrong people. I got my first shotgun in 1972, a 5 shot Browning Auto and a .22 rimfire carbine shortly after that. In 1973, I was given an old hand made sidelock 12G. The police suggested I sold the .22 to a police officer when I moved 600 miles away from the farm where I shot. In those days you walked into a hardware (ironmonger) shop to buy your shotgun cartridges. You just had to be over 18, and didn't need to show a certificate. Then after a couple of 'nutter' incidents where adults and kids were murdered by people who should have never got firearms certificates in the first place, the laws were tightened dramatically. That culminated in all LEGITIMATE handguns being banned and had to be handed in and compansation paid. The crooks and the drug dealers kept theirs. Shotguns had to be three shot maximum, and last year I was forced to buy a gun cabinet to keep my shotguns at home rather than in the safe of my business property next to my house. I hear that next year, you must prove that you NEED, and USE your shotgun to be able to keep it. After all those years, I have given all three of my shotguns away as commercially no gun shop wanted to buy them quoting 'uncertainty'. I also had a couple of replica blank firing guns, a S&W .357 Magnum that fired 9mm blanks, and a Walther PPK that fired 9mm ACP. Both banned, but I sold them at auction. Again, due to people misusing knives, lockback knives were banned from carry. I had a nice polished Buck in a waist pouch, consigned to my sock drawer. I also have other issues with the guvmint as a small business holder, so I talked with my feet, I moved to Canada. Stuff em, crooks and idiots the lot of em! Can you tell I'm bitter. :grumpy:

At least no problems with potatoes, well apart from the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849). That was the guvmint's fault again! We do have the best potatoes in the world though, King Edwards, Maris Piper, Marfona etc.
 
El Lobo said:
Next time, I'm using champagne to turn an Opinel....no, no, just kidding. :D

Bill
Click to expand...
Not champagne, but my special blend is instant coffee made with white vinegar, and adding panda bear pubic hairs. Lol that last part is hard to harvest.

Can't seem to upload the photo
 
Jedikahuna said:
Not champagne, but my special blend is instant coffee made with white vinegar, and adding panda bear pubic hairs. Lol that last part is hard to harvest.

Can't seem to upload the photo
Click to expand...
You do realize that you just dragged up a thread that had been dormant nearly 17 years, right? Have fun with your panda 🐼
 
Greyeagle said:
Howdy, When I was a kid myself and most everyone I knew would always stick a new carbon steel knife in a potato to take the shine off the blade. I am just wondering if anyone else ever did this. I guess it was a form of bluing the knife. I never knew why we did it but just went with the flow.
Grey
Click to expand...
Yes indeed. Potatoes and limes gave my Mora a nice bluish sheen. Especially around the cutting edge. It almost reminds me of a hamon.
 
My great grandmother told me when you got a new knife to stick it into a potato to season it. She said it so matter of factly, that I figured everyone knew.

She was born in 1894
 
Last edited:
Hmmmm. Try some cold blue on a degreased blade, dunked in bleach. Just don’t leave it in the bleach for to long... Amazing forced patina.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top