Lemon Juice for Patina finish?

Kumdo

Kumdo

Joined
Mar 7, 2000
Messages
1,048
Last week Paracelsus was kind enough to help me with a concern I have with my custom Mineral Mountain Full Penetration. It is my understanding that the blade will oxidize over time (I like that look), and I want to create an even finish. Paracelsus suggested coating my 5160 spring steel blade with lemon juice.

A friend of mine who is a part-time antique collector, told me that lemon juice will REMOVE oxidization (although he admitted that he may be wrong).

Now I'm REALLY confused. Can anyone shed some light here?


[This message has been edited by Kumdo (edited 10-18-2000).]
 
Kumdo, you have good timing.
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I used lemon juice on a couple of my blades just last weekend.

The first is a Fred Perrin La Griffe in 1095 carbon steel. I submerged the whole knife (all metal) in a bowl w/lemon juice for about an hour. The result is a fairly even gray patina everywhere except along the hardened edge. The lemon juice really brought out the temper line, with the hardened portion turning an almost iridescent blue, somewhat like being anodized.

The second knife is a small HI Sirupati with an 8 1/4" blade of 5160. Since I didn't have a container that would fit, I wrapped the blade in paper towels, saturated them with lemon juice, and placed it in a plactic bag for about an hour. Although the blade also turned gray, the result was was nowhere near as even. The finish is mottled, almost marbleized, with some sections much darker than others. Also, the iridescent effect appears throughout the blade, not just in the hardened area.

All in all, I'm very pleased with how both turned out. The nice thing about this method is that it should be easily reversible, using metal polish, if you don't like the look. Of course, YMMV.
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Good luck!


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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
You guys rock! Very helpful and thorough explanations and suggestions. I plan on doing "before and after" pictures of my little lemon juice experiment (the knife should arrive next week). I will post my findings and results on this forum if anyone's interested.

Thanks again,

John
 
Brian,

One more question: Did you clean your blades before appyling the lemon juice? What did you use? From one of the previous threads, I got the impression that if the blade isn't thoroughly cleaned it will get splotchy.

Thanks,

John
 
John, I use Tuf-Cloth/Tuf-Glide to protect my blades. There may be a better solvent for removing it but I used what I had on hand -- lighter fluid -- and it seemed to work. I also used a gray Scotch Brite pad on each blade to dull their bright finishes a bit before applying the juice.

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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
Richard,

Why? I mean, do you have any specific reason for thinking its best to let it develop over time?
 
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