Question, Why A Pantina?

A

armilite

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I was reading afew posts on Pantinas and was wondering why anybody would want one. I always thought thay made the blade look dirty and untaken care of. I have however given this some thought and it seems to be growing on me.

I already know that only a carbon steel blade will take a Pantina. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also what percent of the steel has to be carbon for this Pantina to form and are there any differant chemicals that create a range of colors. I'm going to be buying a new carbon steel bladed knife and though I might get some advice before I gave it a go.

Thanks,
armilite
 
It's Patina without the N. I personally dont like them and dont understand the attraction. Most carbon steels will take on a patina, and they occur over time with normal use.

To produce a patina on a blade, just cut a bunch of apples, soak it in vinegar or some etching solution or acid, use mustard etc etc.

I have no idea why this trend is popular.
 
The two biggest reasons for leaving a patina on the blade are to make it look like you have had it for a really long time, and to help prevent rust. All a patina really is is a layer of hard black oxide. Since the surface is already oxidized, it is less likely to develop red surface rust. The same reasoning is used for gun blue.
 
I have to admit, that on the right knife, or especially the right hawk, a good patina looks great.
 
I recently put a mustard patina on my Ranger RD5. The 5160 steel seemed to develop surface rust very quickly. Since this knife is a user I'm not always able or in the mood to sand off the rust. The patina helps stop minor surface rusting.

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Assuming you actually use the knife, it will develop a patina over time anyway. It also seemed to be to be very silly to do it artifically.

-Cliff
 
Doing it artificially, you can put a dark, even patina on, rather than waiting for an uneven patina to form eventually. Aesthetics are a personal matter.
 
psycho78 said:
I have no idea why this trend is popular.
Click to expand...

Trend? Dad remembers his grandfather sticking a new carbon blade in an onion to patinate it. That's 50 years.

It's not "uncared for"- that would be rust. A patina is a sign that the blade has been used and cared for properly, developing a patina that prevents rust.
 
if i could perfect an artificial patina, i would put one on every blade i made so they dont flash rust. i have a test blade that i loaned to a friend to use in her kitchen. when she gave it back, it had an uneven patina but it still looked neat. what "is silly" is not to do it on a knife you plan on keeping to use. if you want a quick patina, soak the blade in vinegar after degreasing it until you get the looks you want then polish with 0000 steel wool. i tried it and the finish wasnt that bad looking.
 
ilbruche,

That mustard patina on your RD5 (not RD6?) looks way too cool. It makes the blade look like watered damascus (the old-school one-steel kind). Way to go!
 
Why doesn't someone send me a blade, and I'll electroless nickel plate it free.
Then you can have a shiny blade that is MUCH better protected against rust? You can then report the wear characteristics here.
I'm betting this won't be real popular, because it's not tacticool black.
BTW- wasn't the Pantina a sports car?
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Why doesn't someone send me a blade, and I'll electroless nickel plate it free.
Then you can have a shiny blade that is MUCH better protected against rust? You can then report the wear characteristics here.
I'm betting this won't be real popular, because it's not tacticool black.
BTW- wasn't the Pantina a sports car?
Click to expand...

How many knives do you want? :D
 
depends on the bluing, the nitrites/nitrates will mess with your temper (~600 degress), the water based stuff works at about half that, and there's cold blue.

but a warm glass of vinegar is convenient, and takes about 10 minutes.
 
instead of putting an absolutely ugly patina on a blade for a rust preventative, how about just cleaning and taking care of your goddamn tools? :rolleyes:
 
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