New Knife: forced patina vs. natural

[Ernie1980]

I have done both, and personally think that natural is the way to go! Case CV steel takes on an interesting patina, and in my experience doesn't seem too prone to rust.

 

[Ryouchijtx]

I've done both, either because one started to show spotting and for natural just because it's 'character' as others have said. Having a matte forced patina works best in 01 imo but with folding knives you have to be careful not to start some grit or rust

 

[mnblade]

Even if you force it initially, using the knife under any wet/acidic conditions (food, etc) will still change and or completely replace it over time. So, the 'natural' patina will come anyway, and it'll constantly change ... Patina simply happens, whether you give it a boost or not.

I couldn't agree more. In time, all well-used carbon-steel blades will look the same, no matter how their initial patina happened. My grandad grew up in south Georgia but moved to Miami in the '20s and spent most of his life installing glass for a living, and fishing in the Keys and hunting in the Everglades for fun. ALL of his knives were carbon steel, and he was a "forced" patina, "stick-'er-in-a-potato" kind of guy. This old Dexter was his:

Does that patina look bogus or "un-earned" to you?

... a forced patina early on can reduce the occurance of rust-spotting (& subsequent pitting, if the spots are not dealt with) on Case's CV blades. I've noticed this with three of my CV knives ('75 stockman, Sod Buster and a Peanut). The blades I've let be (Peanut), without a forced patina, will pretty quickly spot up with small specks of rust, just from handling or in-pocket carry during humid seasons. The rusty spotting needs to be cleaned up, which usually scrubs off some of the 'natural' patina anyway, if any is there. The blades on which I forced an early patina (w/vinegar & hot water) have resisted the spotting to a much greater degree. Both my '75 stockman and my Sod Buster ride in my pocket everyday, and it's been extra muggy this summer; no issues thus far and no need to scrub off any patina in chasing the rust spots (and I don't oil the blades; only the joints). The most obvious advantage in forcing it is, you can pre-empt much of the 'natural' rusting that might simultaneously come with a 'natural' patina over time.

Again, this has been my experience too, especially with Case's CV knives.

The concept of 'cheating' the patina is pretty ambiguous anyway. Many claiming to 'let it happen naturally' will also quickly go out of their way to cut up some fruit or steaks with the new knife in the deliberate pursuit of the 'natural' patina; so it'll still be 'rushed' or 'forced' to some degree.

Yep. Even when I "force" a patina, my method is just to wash the blade well (hot soapy water), get it very dry, then eat an apple over the course of an afternoon, cutting it into many pieces and letting the fruit juice dry on the blade. So, am I a poser forcing a patina for aesthetic reasons, or just a guy cutting fruit?

-- Mark

 

[Primble]

Do it any way you like.

If you vinegar it or opt to cut up a lot of foods that cause it, you are still consiously forcing a patina - it just takes longer to get to a nice even patina, using the later.

 

[5K Qs]

Congrats on your new Sodbuster Jr, lee12! :thumbup::thumbup: I have the same kind of knife and enjoy it very much.

I started using mine for kitchen duty soon after I got it, and within 2 weeks it had substantial patina. Here's a photo of the Case Sodbuster and a Spanish sodbuster after about 2 weeks of shared kitchen duties. The Spanish knife was supposed to have a carbon steel blade, but turned out to be stainless, obviously.

Here's a comparison shot of the chestnut bone Sodbuster Jr with a chestnut bone swayback jack. The swayback has a very even, uniform patina; I don't know if it was "forced" or not, but the swayback patina is definitely much lighter in color than that of the Sodbuster Jr.

Based on what I've observed (mostly in photos of others' knives), the "fast forced" patina using, say, a vinegar bath results in a more uniform patina than one gets by letting the patina develop "naturally" ("food forced").

- GT

 

[choombak]

Its more of a personal preference, than anything else. It is also fun to see how patina develops experimenting with different foods as you go along. Similarly, I don't like faded jeans, I let them fade naturally. ;-) If you are careful, rust can be prevented - patina or not.

 

[Easyrider]

I keep my carbon steel blades looking natural with metal polish. The way the blade looks naturally when it came out of it's container when brand New.

 

[arizonaranchman]

I let my knives age naturally over time. It doesn't remain looking the same though, it changes with exposure to things through use. Also in summer heat exposure to perspiration in your pocket plays a significant role in changes to the patina, eventually turning a dark grey.

 

[Balrog99]

My case was used on steak. For 40 years it was nice and polished. Not anymore!

 

[stezann]

Eventually, cleaning/drying the blade through the years, and keeping an eye against rust spots, the patina will even out to a beautiful velvet-like grey.
One of the main factor for eveness is the microstructure of the steel, which should be omogeneus in the first place, and free of decarb.