Should I patina my M4 Gayle Bradley?

A

ak585479

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Jun 9, 2014
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I just got a Gayle Bradley in CPM-M4 and debating on whether or not to let it develop a patina or to keep it well oiled to prevent one. I don't mind the look of a patina at all, especially if it's well earned over the years but I'm curious if it has any negative impact on the performance of the steel? Also say my knife develops a patina and I decide later I don't like the way it looks, will a patina polish out with Mothers or anything else, or is it there to stay forever once it's there?

Here's a pic of the knife as is now, I coated it with mineral oil once which I'll continue to do until I learn more about patinas and whether or not I want one. I certainly don't want to force one, but an earned one could add some character to the knife imo.

FhHsqyT.jpg



Edit: Sorry for posting a non traditional in here but I had a question about patinas and just looked at the title of this thread on the front page of BF and figured this was as good a place to ask as any. Feel free to delete my post if you want since it's not a traditional knife. On a traditional note, I will be picking up a Yellow Case CV knife (can't remember the model but it's beautiful, has 2 blades) later this week :)
 
I don't think it has any negative impact... i love how a well earned patina looks! It definitely gives it character!

If you want to remove it then you would probably need to send it to a knifemaker or sharpener who is set up, but all it would really take is taking it to a scotch brite belt to clean it up I do believe =)
 
Even if you do force a patina, you'll still want to keep the knife oiled to prevent corrosion from eating away at your edge. I once unknowingly left some moisture on the edge of my Superblue Caly 3.5, and it ate away at the edge. It looked just like the edge had chipped all over. It took alot of effort to sharpen those out.

The patina can be polished out. In fact if you really use your knife hard and often you might find your patina wearing away.
A well used knife doesn't rust.
 
If you force a patina, it will take you a while. I took mine apart and stabbed the blade into an orange for about 5 hours with little results.
Finally I soaked a paper towel in apple cider vinegar and wrapped the blade in it for about 3-4 hours and it finally left a decent patina.

Now that mine has a patina, I use it more without worry since I know it is "coated" and won't rust as easily. It really is a nice blade! Enjoy:thumbup:
 
I've used PCB etchant before. It fives a nice dark patina in almost any steel, but doesn't have the nice colors of a mustard patina or the self satisfaction of a natural one.
 
lemon juice and vinegar 25/75 mix, soak for 30 minutes and check if dark enough wash with baking soda and go if not repeat.
 
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