Rust or patina?

Joe Duder said:
I highly recommend Andy's CPM154. It's a worry free, great steel. I like it's sharpened edge better than 01.
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Not sure an edge can get much better than O1, easy to get it to pop hairs above the skin. Your ex-Hunter has a polished edge and can filet an arm hair. (my S35VN FFs have a bit toothier edge and although they keep an edge better in some use they take a bit more effort to sharpen..)
 
Probably not a good idea to soak the whole knife in the vinegar. It won't effect micarta, but most woods will get some discoloration. Just get the steel super clean and free of any oils. I've used ferric chloride on finished knives to etch the Damascus on the tang to match the blade since it has to be done as a very last step after finishing the handle. Doing that, I just carefully used a Qtip to paint the metal. Never hads a problem with the handle material.
 
If I were you I'd just sit on the deck and cut up an apple, then carefully clean and oil the knife. Done.
 
troutfisher13111 said:
When giving it a vinegar bath is it ok to soak the whole knife??
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Straight vinegar is caustic, I would not risk it. All I use these days are the juices of various vegetables and fruits I cut up. I cut it up with the knife, then when I am done cutting I use small pieces of whatever I cut to rub the juices over the entire blade, then leave it laying for a little while then wash it. Apples, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, leeks, and garlic will all produce juices when cut and all of their juices will patina a blade. It only take a few days of food prep to get a decent patina started on the blade.
 
You know what I am more worried about with my O1 knives from the past few hunting seasons? How do you clean the blood and fat off the blade before you sheath it, when it's so cold that it freezes almost instantly? It's a mess!

I do know one thing - DO NOT sheath it when it's all funky. It's hard to clean the inside of a sheath.
 
schmittie said:
You know what I am more worried about with my O1 knives from the past few hunting seasons? How do you clean the blood and fat off the blade before you sheath it, when it's so cold that it freezes almost instantly? It's a mess!

I do know one thing - DO NOT sheath it when it's all funky. It's hard to clean the inside of a sheath.
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Take a couple of extra hot hands and a rag. Roll the knife one roll in the rag to cover, then roll the rest with one hot hand on each side of the blade. It will get it back above freezing so you can clean it with some napkins or whatever, but not mess with the heat treat.
 
NoFair said:
Not sure an edge can get much better than O1, easy to get it to pop hairs above the skin. Your ex-Hunter has a polished edge and can filet an arm hair. (my S35VN FFs have a bit toothier edge and although they keep an edge better in some use they take a bit more effort to sharpen..)
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"Opinions vary..."
 
NoFair said:
Not sure an edge can get much better than O1, easy to get it to pop hairs above the skin. Your ex-Hunter has a polished edge and can filet an arm hair. (my S35VN FFs have a bit toothier edge and although they keep an edge better in some use they take a bit more effort to sharpen..)
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I never wanted a stainless knife until I moved to Florida and as a kid ruined my favorite German made hunting knife leaving it in a soaking wet leather sheath for a couple of weeks after a weekend spent fishing and camping out on a little island. I forgot about it. I was ten, and that was my first lesson in knife care in a salt water environment. Most of the time I still prefer high carbon steel...until I go coastal.
 
mistwalker said:
take a couple of extra hot hands and a rag. Roll the knife one roll in the rag to cover, then roll the rest with one hot hand on each side of the blade. It will get it back above freezing so you can clean it with some napkins or whatever, but not mess with the heat treat.
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genius!!
 
01 will rust before your very eyes. My wife was using her Nessy in the kitchen, washed it and left in on the counter. Luckily I saw it and immediately dried it...too late, it started to get some spots. It was on the counter for about 15-20 minutes. I took a leather strop and buffed out the rust spots and gave it a mustard patina bath. Knives are meant to be used so I'm not too worried about how the blade looks, only how it functions. I patina all my blades, it gives me piece of mind and buys me time when they get wet.
 
oneminus.... Your patina's are AWESOME! Attractive and protective! Are they all mustard induced?

-Will
 
Yes they are. I use a regular dishwashing sponge and pour brown spicy mustard all over it. I then just tap the blade all around (spine and all) a few times, I try not to leave big thick chunks of mustard but shallow patches. Once that's done I hang it from the bulls eye, let it sit for about 45 minutes and simply rinse off the mustard with a sponge. No soap and I don't use the heave scotch brite side, just the plain soft sponge side. Also, I sharpen the knife before I do that and strop it after the patine is done just to get that mirror shine edge on the blade. I like the way they come out. ;-)
 
oneminus2 said:
Yes they are. I use a regular dishwashing sponge and pour brown spicy mustard all over it. I then just tap the blade all around (spine and all) a few times, I try not to leave big thick chunks of mustard but shallow patches. Once that's done I hang it from the bulls eye, let it sit for about 45 minutes and simply rinse off the mustard with a sponge. No soap and I don't use the heave scotch brite side, just the plain soft sponge side. Also, I sharpen the knife before I do that and strop it after the patine is done just to get that mirror shine edge on the blade. I like the way they come out. ;-)
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That is a very attractive patina! I love the polished edge vs the darker blade above the edge! Thanks! :)
 
schmittie said:
genius!!
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Growing older does have some good sides to it :) I grew up trapping commercially back in the day. One reason I gravitated to fixed blades was the mess of cleaning a folder.



willic said:
oneminus.... Your patina's are AWESOME! Attractive and protective! Are they all mustard induced?

-Will
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For quickly getting a patina mustard is damned hard to beat. It has a lot of vinegar and the juices from the mustard seed, but isn't straight vinegar, so not as caustic. I usually use Frenches just because they're my favorite yellow mustard and I like the pointy spout for hot dogs, but any will do I think. Just know that the reaction needs air too so the thinner the layer of mustard the darker the patina. I usually put some on a plate, water it down a little, and apply using cotton balls and the q-tips for the spine and tang, clean the excess off of the handle materials with a q-tip as I go, then let it set for a while, usually a few hours, then wash the knife. Be warned, the longer it sits, the uglier it looks, and the harder it is to clean off. It will still look slightly tan or brown in places until it is cleaned up good. Soaking the area with a damp paper towel helps, scrubbing with a scrunge (scotch brite) removes some of the patina you just created. I have only ever done this with one wooden handled knife, and I was super anal about not letting the wood soak up the mustard or the water. It was a time consuming process. Usually I use food prep to force patinas on wooden handled knives.
 
Iv'e used WD-40 and OOO wool. After its done, wash it, dry it and coat with mineral oil.
 
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