Patina on khukuris

[JOE68]

I have been wondering about the patina that will form on a khukuri.
Is it better to let it age naturally or should one "force" the patina to help it along?
Is there a tried and true method of getting a good "forced" patina?
All my other knives have just acquired theirs over the years, so the "forcing" a patina is a new thing for me.
Anyone who has had good results, can you tell me how and what you did?
Thanks in advance for sharing your info.

 

[Issun]

opinions differ on what you "should" or "should not" do, so thats hard to advise

I think an aquired patina is going to be better in that its going to feel like youve earned it, and the aquired patinas have a certain look to them that is very nice

the forced patina is nice for its quick rust resistance and for giving the knive that aged look, or if you want to go crazy, to give it a design
when I forced a light patina on my sirupati I tried mustard, apples, pickles and distilled vinegar. I ended up repolishing after mustard and apples, and pickles just didnt work, too much water, distilled vinegar worked beautifully at putting a light patina that had a consistant tone

the best looking forced patinas that I have seen that had a pattern were made from putting two slices of grapefruit on either side of the knife and the leaving them there with a 10lb weight on top for an hour or two

 

[C.S. Graves]

If I wanna force a patina, most often I'll brush the blade with a 1:4 ferric chloride/water mix.

Samsher (top), Bonecutter etched with FeCl (bottom):

Kitchen use is a good way to "earn" the patina, though it can take a while. My Bilton on the bottom here was used for food prep for several weeks:

 

[jdk1]

Here is my Tirtha WWII with a vinegar patina. I tried mustard, but it wouldn't take. The vinegar worked well and fast. Take care.

 

[shortwinger]

I once had a lady come to me to train her German Shorthaired Pointer. She was 89 years old and lived on the 10th floor of a high rise retirement condo on the beach in Ft Lauderdale. The 2 room studio condo was far too small to have such a large dog and because it was on the beach, she had no where to walk it to do its business. She was black and blue from head to toe because her condition made her bruise every time the dog just touched her skin. She wanted to train it to a litterbox so she didn't have to walk it!!! She also complained that the dog was too hyper! I asked her why she got that type of dog and in a morally elite snare she said; because I wanted it and can afford it! I gave her directions to the nearist Wal-Mart, told her how to find the kite aisle and gave her some general instruction on how to fly one! Life is just too short...

So to me, forcing a patina on a shiney kukri is like buying a pair of blue jeans with holes already in them? Why? Why buy a highly polished user kukri and then destroy the finish? Why buy a village kuk and then shine it up? People are just the strangest animals but lucky for me, I always seem to find ways to profit from it! Click here to enter Bill's Patina store!

I'm just kidding but its thirsty Thursday and I don't have a drink. Patina, don't patina or buy a German Shorthair! Its a free country (plus or minus the 41% tax) so whatever floats your boat!

 

[jdk1]

I can't speak to rust resistance, but many say the patina helps. I had a stain on my blade from palm juice, that prompted my foray into the patina world. I guess that palm juice was a natural forced patina! I like how mine turned out, but my wife liked it better shiny. I heard someone say cutting hot meat gave a good patina, but I imagine it takes a while. Of course, that doesn't sound like terrible work! My WWII was a blem as it was, so it wasn't a big deal. I'm not ready to try it on another yet. My suggestion would be to wait for one of Auntie's blem sales and pick one up for experimentation. They're usually priced right also. They're better called "gems" than blems. Good luck.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Patinas do help with rust resistance.

Whether to patina your blade on purpose versus letting it patina is up to you. If it's going to be a display piece, then of course, leave it shiny.

Personally I think that polished blades that are just allowed to patina from work look atrocious. You have this shiny blade, with one area that looks like it got dipped in a sewer.

I like the looks of a vinegar or citrus patina -- because it leaves a light patina, and then let the blade form its own patterns from use.

Although I've become wuite fond of the "true villager" look of the unpolished handles and the blades with the forge scale left on everything but the spine and bevel. Those, with the bevel patina-ing from use just have that old-world flair to them IMO.

But other than rust resistance, a patina is a primarily cosmetic thing, and as with all subjective questions of aesthetics, beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder.