patinas

JW Knives

JW Knives

Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Messages
566
hey guys, I'm onto about my 7th blade that I have made (all from 1080) and was wondering about the methods to put a patina on them. I was hoping some of you that do it often could post a pic along with the method, just so we can all see the differences etc. I have heard of using mustard and grapefruits...any other methods? pics please!
 
Patinas are easy and fun to create. Things like mustard and grapefruit as you mentioned will work just fine, another option is vinegar. You can draw designs and patterns on the blade by putting varying thicknesses on the surface of the blade. The thinner the substance the darker the mark ( counterintuitive I know)

Depending on how deep and dark you want the patina will vary by how long you keep the oxidizer applied. And if you don't like the result, sand it off and try again. Just try to avoid red or orange patina... That can develop into damaging rust. Dark grey is the color you want, and will act as a protective barrier against bad rust. Hope that helps!!
 
I know these are smaller knives, but with my new carbon slipjoints or puukko, I use them as a kitchen knife for a couple of weeks. You'd be amazed at the colour variations, especially when slicing the onion family. Pears also give a nice even dark look, much better than apples for some odd reason.
 
There are some tips in THIS thread. In post 5, there is a picture of a very early knife I did with a mustard patina.

--nathan
 
Did a patina on my first knife here recently.... i found that the mustard was significantly faster acting than a soak in vinegar, presumably from the increased interaction with open air and thus facilitating faux-oxidation (as i call it). Thin coat seemed to be the most effective for me.
 
That's going to vary depending on a number of conditons. I would start at about 20-30 minutes, just to test, then determine if you have the color you desire. Ymmv, of course. You might consider testing on pieces of steel you've cut off, assuming you're a stock removal maker.
 
Yeah Im thinking I might do that tomorrow, HT and polish up a normal piece of stock and then try a few different things
 
With the knife in the post I linked, I put the mustard on in the evening and left it overnight. I cleaned it up the next morning, and I polished it out a bit with some steel wool and WD40.

--nathan
 
I used a thih coat of mustard applied with a rag... two coatings... left first on for an hour, then wiped down and examined, then another coat for an additional hour. Rubbed lightly with scotch brite (fine pad, bought from woodcraft), then a light wipe/coat of wd40. Steel was 1084 from aldo, hand sanded to 220 grit, ht and tempered.
 
I had a knife that i tried a potato patina on, and that came out bad, and so i tried a vinegar patina, and that did not give the desired result. It finally worked when i cut up a LOT of tomatoes with it for canning. it now has a relatively even grey color.
 
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