Mustard Finish

Doug,

Here is how I have had good results on carbon steels (no stainless)...Just "dob" it on randomly with a cotton ball, or even your finger in a random pattern. Let it set for 15-20 minutes then wash with dish soap and hot water. Dry it well, then do it again, and again, and again until you get the finish you are looking for.

Be aware, this finish is sort of like they say about "beauty"........ It is only "skin-deep".

R.D.
 
What Robert said.... but I leave it over night and only do it about three times. It is tough to get off when you leave it that long but a little soap and elbow grease works fine.
 
The vinegar in the mustard acts as an etchant. I did this O-1 blade a long time ago with a horseradish mustard patina. I dabbed it on with my finger tip randomly but overlapping, hung it up overnight, and then cleaned it off, oiled, and rubbed with super fine steel wool. This was before I had my stencils for my maker's mark

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--nathan
 
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Wonder why it patinas everywhere the mustard isn't when you put it on in stripes like that? I had the same results on some old carbon steel kitchen knives.
 
lol kidding or serious?

if serious ;) yes you can use catsup, although the patina may do different things since you have both vinegar (i believe) and the acid from the tomatoes
 
anything along those lines will work. horseradish, mustard, catsup, heck even straight vinegar. One one blade I experiemented with, I took a paper towel and wrapped it around the blade and soaked it in vinegar. Then I took my finger and moved the saturated paper towel around and wound up with some pretty cool designs.
 
What finish should the blade be around before going with this appearance or does it matter? And about how long would the finish last?
 
I used a scotch brite pad on the blade first. However even with that the first inch or so in from the tip had already started a bluish tint patina, kinda like gasoline on water blue, and that area didn't darken as much as the rest of the blade.

The steel is forged 1095.

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I left the mustard on for three hours. Also if one doesn't like it or tire of it it can be rubbed off with a scotch brite, however the color goes away pretty quickly but the little etch lines at the edge of mustard lines goes a little deeper. These can still be seen even after the color is gone when I slowly move the blade angle while viewing it in the light.
 
the patina, when coating the whole blade is pretty resiliant to alot of things. it will scratch off if you are cleaning your blades with scotch brite pads, but if you take care and clean gently, the patina will stay and continue to darken with use.
 
I think it would take more or more quickly on a brushed rather than mirror finish. What's most important though is to get the blade clean and oil free. Dishsoap or brakecleaner both work well for that.
 
GrizzlyBear said:
Wonder why it patinas everywhere the mustard isn't when you put it on in stripes like that? I had the same results on some old carbon steel kitchen knives.
Click to expand...

My thought is that there needs to be some oxygen present for the reaction to occur. If you daub the mustard on too thick, it won't patina anywhere but on the edges of the mustard or in areas where it's applied unevenly. I always use a very thin layer for patinas.
 
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