Rusty Carbon

A

ARTIST

Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
44
How many on here love the patina that rust oxidation causes on carbon steel. I really like the "antique" look of older, carbon steel blades, myself. Just my personal taste.
 
ETSj4GP
http://imgur.com/gallery/ETSj4GP
SamuraiStuart Davenport A2 thin knife. My most used knife. I cut mostly limes and other citrus.
 
well it depends entirely on the type of knife.
yes i belive it can adds character on some.
like maybe on traditional japanese
rough hammer forged hunting knives.
but beware, that badly rusted tools
with pits only serves to reflect its
present owner's character...
615GjCgL-SL._AC_SY200_.jpg
 
Last edited:
Patina is corrosion, the reaction product of iron with oxygen and water.
Red rust is also corrosion. It's red oxide. Patina is black oxide. Which one is formed depends on the specific environment.
Red rust is more destructive because it causes pitting. The corrosion reaction which results in black oxide does not cause pitting.

My first knife had blades which were covered with patina. Then my dad gave me a knife with a stainless steel blade when I was 12. While I have some knives with carbon steel and alloy steel blades, most of my knives have stainless blades. I much prefer stainless.
 
I'm gonna guess that most of us can appreciate a nice patina ;) I restored an old Colonial Barlow for my dad a couple years ago and managed a nice bronze & blue pattern that he shows off to anybody that will look ;)
 
Carbon steel is susceptible to rust (obviously). That's why many modern knife collectors prefer stainless steel (obviously). Corrosion blemishes on knives purchased for collectibility are very undesireable. Corrosion (better, oxidation) on knives used as the tools that they were really intended to be used for is a fact of life, unless one treats their knife like a "safe queen". Patina is the consequence of oxidation (more precisely). The beautiful "plum brown" finish on old firearms was an oxidizing, rust finish. In their case it was purposeful.
I've seen old pocket knives that we're "patinaed" (and in my opinion, purty)from years of usefulness from everything to castrating calves, lancing lumpjaws (my background is livestock), skinning small game/big game, etc, etc, etc.
 
ARTIST said:
How many on here love the patina that rust oxidation causes on carbon steel. I really like the "antique" look of older, carbon steel blades, myself. Just my personal taste.
Click to expand...

Can't get enough of it ( it can come from food, without having to actually rust thought it is a form of it )
Here's one of my favorite examples of patina.
 
That's what I'm talking about. I believe it adds character to a blade. It says, " I've earned a living".
I have knives that I try to preserve as pristine, but I don't use them for real work.
 
knarfeng said:
Patina is corrosion, the reaction product of iron with oxygen and water.
Red rust is also corrosion. It's red oxide. Patina is black oxide. Which one is formed depends on the specific environment.
Red rust is more destructive because it causes pitting. The corrosion reaction which results in black oxide does not cause pitting.

My first knife had blades which were covered with patina. Then my dad gave me a knife with a stainless steel blade when I was 12. While I have some knives with carbon steel and alloy steel blades, most of my knives have stainless blades. I much prefer stainless.
Click to expand...
100% correct!
knarfeng said:
It is a form of corrosion.
I am a material engineer by trade and one of my specialties is prevention of corrosion.
Click to expand...
:thumbsup:
ARTIST said:
That's what I'm talking about. I believe it adds character to a blade. It says, " I've earned a living".
I have knives that I try to preserve as pristine, but I don't use them for real work.
Click to expand...
Lol , I like Patina on the Statue of Liberty etc, for real food working knives. I’ll stick with Stainless Steel thank you. Carbon can pit & harbor bacteria’s as well. Carbon for swords & some large choppers.. in the long run I’ll stick with Stainless for anything I’m going to cook with or in pocket knives that I’ll Cut an apple etc
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
Lol , I like Patina on the Statue of Liberty etc, for real food working knives. I’ll stick with Stainless Steel thank you. Carbon can pit & harbor bacteria’s as well. Carbon for swords & some large choppers.. in the long run I’ll stick with Stainless for anything I’m going to cook with or in pocket knives that I’ll Cut an apple etc
Click to expand...
Carbon steel does require a little extra care to stay clean. Rinse and dry (within minutes for the most sensitive) and a drop of oil from time to time. If this minimal care is applied (not a headache, in my opinion) your carbon blades will stay purty. If a spot of oxidation (black or red, don't care) dares to show up, I wipe it out with rust eraser gums. I also polish the "forge raw" or hammered flats. All my carbon blades are shiny, I would never use even a "patinaed" blade for food preparation. But I use a lot of carbon steel for food : it doesn't instantly decompose, corrode or explode with bacteria. You've got ample time to wipe, wash and dry. Now, this said, I also have a lot of stainless blades and prefer these when in a hurry or in a lazy mood. Beautiful thing is today you have stainless steels with all the advantages of carbon steel and none of the inconvenients.
 
Last edited:
Lol. A carbon blade (a user blade) that has the normally occurring "patina" characteristic of such steel never killed anybody (unless they had the modern person's "tender tummy"). Imho
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top