removing a patina....??????????

S

steeltowninwv

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Jan 1, 2015
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I put a forced patina on my knife...which is 1095 carbon...anyways..didn't like the outcome the first time...so I redid..and redid it..and redid it.......anyways..I have an uneven ugly patina I don't like...I have used metal polish and steel wool and still cant to seem to get it all off...I really don't wanna go with sand paper on this knife....any ideas?
 
Use 1200 grit wet dry sandpaper and finish with 2000 grit. Alternatively you could just use a very fine waterstone on it in a circular scrubbing motion.
 
Loaded strop with chromium oxide has removed forced patina from every knife I have tried. 1095, 1985, mystery carbon steel, 52100, 5160, L6.

I can't think of a patina I was not able to take right off with it. But I have never tried to remove a really deep, pitted patina that way.
 
I've used the Miracle Cloth stuff, and that's pretty effective at removing patinas.
 
Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish

I've had old, gritty patinas come right off with this stuff.
 
steeltowninwv said:
I put a forced patina on my knife...which is 1095 carbon...anyways..didn't like the outcome the first time...so I redid..and redid it..and redid it.......anyways..I have an uneven ugly patina I don't like...I have used metal polish and steel wool and still cant to seem to get it all off...I really don't wanna go with sand paper on this knife....any ideas?
Click to expand...

What metal polish did you try? Some are much better than others, on steel. If the polish used is made primarily for brass, silver and other soft metals, it may not work as well on hardened steel. The other suggestions of green compound and Mother's Mag polish are possible solutions, as would be Flitz or Simichrome polish.

Also, what did you use to force the patina? If the acid was pretty aggressive, and used multiple times, the steel is probably more deeply etched. Might need to sand it to get a full polish back.


David
 
imho it depends on how deep the etch is... you may be able to get away with some of the suggestions above if it is not too deep. however, if it is pretty deep as it sounds like, your only option is to use sandpaper and work your way up in grits. Make sure you go with a good quality paper... it will make the process go much faster. I would start with anywhere from 220 on up, however, i would start higher and if it is still being stubborn you can keep progressing down to try the next lowest grit until you get to where you need to be. You can stop with a nice 400-600 grit satin finish or go all the way up.

I did this starting with 120 grit...

IMG_20150124_162205.jpg
 
thanks guys..i actually spent about an hours worth of elbow grease polishing this blade with some metal polish.....then cleaned with acetone..and dipped in hot vinegar for a few minutes.....much much better looking patina
 
reviving this to share my experience. DO NOT USE RUST REMOVER lol

*on 1095. my entire blade was covered with black carbon rising from the blade and now it's splotchy, i think i'm going to resort to some fine sand paper...

** I should have taken a picture. The whole blade was black
 
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