Patina

Sharpski

Sharpski

Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
784
Hey guys I bought a new estwing Campers axe nothing special but and I noted after about a Half year of light use it does not habve the patina my estwing hammers have. They are much much older and have a great patina and my campers axe is jealous.

What have you found to be the best way to to put a patina on an axe? No smart a$$ coments like...."time". I am much more of a knife guy but dont like patinas on my fixed blades so i dont let that happen but i have heard of guys using mustard, katchup, vinager And more. Anyone have success with putting a nice patina on an axe before?
 
Vinegar, or mustard (same thing as vinegar but you can paint pictures with it))))) Wrap the head in paper towel and soak the paper towel.

Regards

Robin
 
Vinegar works very well. Like Pipeman said, douse a paper towel in vinegar and wrap it around the exposed steel. It'll even give it that nice wavy pattern of the towel :thumbup:
 
Depending in the metal u have a few options. If younger the metal hot( not fire red or anything) then hit it with wd40 that will give a patina to it. It will be light but there. Other techniques mentioned above work as well. I haven't tried the oj one but will have to, just so my wife can ask me what the hell I am doing.
 
Sharpski said:
Hey guys I bought a new estwing Campers axe nothing special but and I noted after about a Half year of light use it does not habve the patina my estwing hammers have. They are much much older and have a great patina and my campers axe is jealous.
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Is the head coated with lacquer? I think Estwing does that at the factory. So unless you remove it your axe won't patina.
 
Operator1975 said:
Depending in the metal u have a few options. If younger the metal hot( not fire red or anything) then hit it with wd40 that will give a patina to it. It will be light but there. Other techniques mentioned above work as well. I haven't tried the oj one but will have to, just so my wife can ask me what the hell I am doing.
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Between doing patinas in the kitchen, melting beeswax to treat knife sheaths, gluing up handles in the kitchen when it is too cold for epoxy to set up outside, my wife doesn't even ask anymore. :) All i get now is "that stuff stinks, can't you do that outside?" :)

randy
 
You definitely want to get rid of that coating first - it is thick! (I also wish I knew what adhesive Estwing uses on their stickers, you just about have to burn them off.)
 
I just checked and yea it does the hammer must not then. Makes sense now, well I may just choose to sand it off but not until I have a decent size chunk of time it will probably take a fair amount of time or maybe I will just deal with it I will see what I decided is easier I guess
 
cheap yellow kids mustard. squeeze it on any pattern you like stripes circles
waves
the patina helps to protect from rust

buzz
 
All good advice.

Personally, I don't care much for patinas that are patterned or drawn on. I've boiled heads in standard white vinegar with nice results. I also really like the "blue and bleach" method. I think the results are quite beautiful. This one soaked in bleach for about an hour. Just be warned that the bleach is harsh and permanent.

P1070450.JPG
 
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Sharpski, paint stripper might be quicker than sanding. I know it works good on whatever Kabar puts on the Becker knives.

and if you do the blue/bleach, do it OUTSIDE, please. the fumes it gives off are nasty.

randy
 
I use essy off oven cleaner to remove the tough urathane finish on rifle stocks.
I'm sure it'll take that varnish off and there's probably some under the sink.

Vinegar's cheap and works well for patena.
Soak it for a day, hit it with some fine steel wool and repeat untill the desired results are aquired.

Charlie
 
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RMJ Tactical said:
You definitely want to get rid of that coating first - it is thick! (I also wish I knew what adhesive Estwing uses on their stickers, you just about have to burn them off.)
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Hi there RMJ
Try old fashioned lighter fluid for sticker/label glue. I've used it for years and it seems to work on most.

Regards

Robin
 
Square_peg, sorry I didn't see your question and reply sooner. I am trying to sell my house and was tied up in negotiations. I soak the head for about 4-6 hours according to the depth of patina I want.

Howard
 
HandAxeProMan said:
Square_peg, sorry I didn't see your question and reply sooner. I am trying to sell my house and was tied up in negotiations. I soak the head for about 4-6 hours according to the depth of patina I want.

Howard
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Speaking of your house, Howard...are you safely distanced from the wild fires? My brother-in-law's brother and family had their house burned to a small pile of black rubble on a foundation the other night.

Stay safe.
 
Thanks for asking M3mphis. I'm about a 120 miles south of the fire. The people north of us are having it pretty rough. Our problems have a been from severe weather such as golf ball sized hail.

Howard
 
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