Question on Forcing a Patina

afishhunter

afishhunter

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Oct 21, 2014
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Which is the best/preferred medium to force a patina?

1) Distilled white vinegar

2) Dark distilled vinegar

3) Apple Cider Vinegar

4) Balsamic Vinegar

All are "Diluted with water to 5% acidity" according to the labels.

Thank you in advance.
 
I prefer fresh tomato.
seriously. Has a touch of gun metal blue in there and some other color like a cast of pink. Hard to describe. I haven't tried the others though.

I look forward to seeing some photos of the various results. Mine are such small blades in 1095 etc and my camera not great; it doesn't show much worth looking at.
 
The one time I tried it I used whatever vinegar was already in the pantry. I think it was Heinz distilled white.
 
I figger it makes no difference except for the acidity percentage, and that only makes a difference in how fast the oxidation forms.
 
TravisH said:
Hot distilled white vinegar produces a nice even dark patina.
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A few questions if you'd indulge me: How long would you expose the blade to the vinegar, and is that time of exposure based on steel type and visual preference? Do you allow the blade to dry with the vinegar or rinse immediately at the point it reaches the desired patina? Would you mask off the pivot area so action isn't affected or does a patina affect action at all? Thanks for your thoughts.
 
I used white vinegar on my BK2 and it came out a medium gray, didn't care for it so I removed it and tried Apple Cider Vinegar and that came out a nice deep dark black that I really like.

Ano7Nogl.jpg
 
I've used white and apple cider. Both work fine. Since they have the same active ingredient (acetic acid), they should all work. The apple cider vinegar is a more complex mixture and may have more patina-inducing compounds. This could result in a darker color, as seen in flphotog's picture.
 
flphotog said:
I used white vinegar on my BK2 and it came out a medium gray, didn't care for it so I removed it and tried Apple Cider Vinegar and that came out a nice deep dark black that I really like.
Click to expand...
Wow - that is dark. How do you remove a patina?

I'm thinking of doing a blade that's M4. My guess is results will differ with steels. What steel's on this guy?
 
Apple cider vinegar will always patina darker than regular white vinegar. Here's one I did for 1 hour in red apple cider vinegar:

P1120085_zpse3255e52.jpg

P1120086_zps2ced1606.jpg


And another O1 blade apple cider vinegar soak, with the scandi part stropped...

DSC_0675_zpsyhgkngmr.jpg
 
Otto Carpenter said:
Wow - that is dark. How do you remove a patina?

I'm thinking of doing a blade that's M4. My guess is results will differ with steels. What steel's on this guy?
Click to expand...

I used 0000 steel wool and some sand paper to smooth out some rough spots on the blade. I guess since they put a coating on at the factory they don't do much polishing on the blades.
 
91bravo said:
Apple cider vinegar will always patina darker than regular white vinegar. Here's one I did for 1 hour in red apple cider vinegar:

P1120085_zpse3255e52.jpg
Click to expand...
That almost appears like a DLC. My hope was for a gray with subtle blue/purple tones - something that looks aged. People seem to have luck with strawberries, apples, onions and grapefruit.
 
91bravo said:
Apple cider vinegar will always patina darker than regular white vinegar. Here's one I did for 1 hour in red apple cider vinegar:

P1120085_zpse3255e52.jpg

P1120086_zps2ced1606.jpg


And another O1 blade apple cider vinegar soak, with the scandi part stropped...

DSC_0675_zpsyhgkngmr.jpg
Click to expand...
Looks awesome! Could you please share information about your special techniques? I ordered a o1 steel, it was very hard to find in Europe. How can I get the same results? Step by step what should I do to my knife for the same patina. Thank you for help merry Christmas
 
SteelBullet said:
Looks awesome! Could you please share information about your special techniques? I ordered a o1 steel, it was very hard to find in Europe. How can I get the same results? Step by step what should I do to my knife for the same patina. Thank you for help merry Christmas
Click to expand...

It's really simple! I used an old flower vase, tall enough to put the whole knife in. Fill it with enough apple cider vinegar to submerge the whole knife.

But before you put the knife in the vinegar, make sure you wash it good with soap and hot water, to remove any residue and oils from the blade surface. Avoid touching any part of the blade after washing.

When the knife is still warm from the hot washing, gently submerge it tip-first into the vase. An hour will usually do the trick.

After an hour has elapsed, pull the knife out, and immediately rinse it with cold water to lock the patina in. Take a napkin, towel or rag and dab it dry. Don't wipe, as it may wipe some of the patina away.

Once the knife is dry, dab some oil on the blade and then you're done!
 
Amaz
91bravo said:
It's really simple! I used an old flower vase, tall enough to put the whole knife in. Fill it with enough apple cider vinegar to submerge the whole knife.

But before you put the knife in the vinegar, make sure you wash it good with soap and hot water, to remove any residue and oils from the blade surface. Avoid touching any part of the blade after washing.

When the knife is still warm from the hot washing, gently submerge it tip-first into the vase. An hour will usually do the trick.

After an hour has elapsed, pull the knife out, and immediately rinse it with cold water to lock the patina in. Take a napkin, towel or rag and dab it dry. Don't wipe, as it may wipe some of the patina away.

Once the knife is dry, dab some oil on the blade and then you're done!
Click to expand...
Awesome advices, should I boil my vinegar? or just cold enough (room temp) Thanks
 
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