So...does anyone else hate patinas? :)

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Tell me you don't like that. All forced and hardly used. My safe queen
 
I just cut a peach in half with my pony jack and stuck the blade in an apple while I ate. Then I cut up an apple and ate it. Then I rinsed off the blade, wiped it down, and stuck it in my pocket. :D
 
Close the blade first next time. You can really hurt yourself that way. :D

- Christian
 
Stelth said:
I HATE patinas and I think they look awful. I don't want my knife to "tell a story" have "character marks" or "age with me"...I like stainless steel.
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Considering the number of "character marks" on my stainless blades, especially the ones that have "aged with me" through years of carry and use, I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. Unless it's "I don't use my knives in any way that would damage their pristine finish" which for me would be the same as saying "I don't use my knives, I just look at them".

Yes, I'm just razzing you a little, but a lot of my stainless knives are beat up as bad or worse than most of my carbon knives.
 
jhefner82 said:
showphoto.php


Tell me you don't like that. All forced and hardly used. My safe queen
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Stelth said:
I'd probably tell you that if I could see the picture.
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Ditto. Picture isn't viewable within the post, at least on my system (Win7 & Chrome notebook). The linked URL doesn't seem compatible with the
tags enclosing it (no pic file format specified in the url, be it .jpg, .png, .bmp or whatever).


David
 
yablanowitz said:
Considering the number of "character marks" on my stainless blades, especially the ones that have "aged with me" through years of carry and use, I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. Unless it's "I don't use my knives in any way that would damage their pristine finish" which for me would be the same as saying "I don't use my knives, I just look at them".

Yes, I'm just razzing you a little, but a lot of my stainless knives are beat up as bad or worse than most of my carbon
knives.
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Stainless looks better to my eye...even when scuffed up.
 
I started out hating patinas but I do see how they add a certain character to an older knife.

I've got a number of CV bladed knives and I'm only allowing a couple of them to develop patinas, primarily from use. I haven't decided if I'm going to leave them that way or not. The patina also tends to give the surface a bit of a satin texture. I don't mind the color change per se but I'd like to keep them glossy surfaced.
 
I suppose theoretically patina is a form of rust and eats the blade. But nothing eats a blade like a stone:

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Like a lot of people here, I have more knives than I do time to use them. One of the things that I've always loved so much about knives in general is the "tinkering" aspect, whether that be modifying the blade, making new scales (covers), or altering their appearance in some other way.

I always admired the look of certain blades growing up, and usually the difference between those knives and the junk that was in the kitchen, or in my pocket was a patina. I'm not sure if age plays a part, but it seemed that, every crappy knife had a crappy stainless blade. Usually finished to a high polish. Think Gil Hibben, and other wall hanger fantasy knives. When I stumbled upon carbon steel the characteristics blew my mind, easy sharpening, incredible edges, the patina, and best of all, it's what my heroes (my Grandfathers) used.

I adore a patina, whether it be forced, natural, blued or whatever, it speaks of quality in my mind. Add the tinkering aspect, and all of the other stuff I mentioned and I guess I'm not surprised.

About the only thing I don't like is the smell of carbon steel interacting with acids.

You know, now that I think about it my love for a patina is why I have a big 'ol bottle of ferric chloride acid in my garage. So that I can make SS look more like carbon!

:)

Great topic. :thumbup:
 
Strigamort said:
You know, now that I think about it my love for a patina is why I have a big 'ol bottle of ferric chloride acid in my garage. So that I can make SS look more like carbon!
:)
Great topic. :thumbup:
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That's like cutting the wings off an airplane and using it for a car.
 
If my blades get stained, it's because I wasn't able to perform regular maintenance for some reason (like being in the mountains for a few days).
Real patina takes years, if you clean and oil your knives reasonably. I don't cut fruit I don't really want to eat, just to make my knife look more used or older than it is. (No judgement here - I do understand the protective qualities of patina - might give one of mine a vinegar bath someday)
However, some of the older knives that I've seen pictured here, in this forum, from defunct makers, wouldn't have the allure they have for me if they were in pristine condition. The ones I like best have been sharpened to stiletto slimness and have bone that looks sand blasted or wood that is slicker than owl sh - scat, with pocket-burnished bolsters and shields and silhouetted pivot pins, honestly earned scars too deep to wipe away, from times when knives were nothing more than tools (not something collectible or a gentleman's functional jewelry) that were needed more for daily living then, than now.
 
While I don't dislike a patina, I really dislike pepper spots :( I tried the "boiley" technique on my Workhorse whittler and got a fairly even dark gray patina but it isn't something I'd want to do to all my carbon knives. That said, I use a Tuf-cloth on them, except those that may be used for food, those get mineral oil and a wipe down, usually though I use a stainless blade for food.

Before I found this place, my only carbon knife was my original Imperial Barlow, all my others were stainless (SAK, Zippo, Case Tru-Sharp), I figured the Barlow was old and beat which is why it looked that way. I associated patina with old and used up, not understanding the chemical interaction between carbon steel and nature.
 
zippofan said:
While I don't dislike a patina, I really dislike pepper spots :( I tried the "boiley" technique on my Workhorse whittler and got a fairly even dark gray patina but it isn't something I'd want to do to all my carbon knives. That said, I use a Tuf-cloth on them, except those that may be used for food, those get mineral oil and a wipe down, usually though I use a stainless blade for food.

Before I found this place, my only carbon knife was my original Imperial Barlow, all my others were stainless (SAK, Zippo, Case Tru-Sharp), I figured the Barlow was old and beat which is why it looked that way. I associated patina with old and used up, not understanding the chemical interaction between carbon steel and nature.
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Before finding this place I was the same way! This thread actually got me to thinking back when I was on my first assignment after getting my rating in the Coast Guard (cook), and the knives that were in the galley were all carbon steel...we had to scrub them shiny every evening, and sometimes had to scrub the rust off before using them. First thing I did when I got leave was to get my JA Henckels and bring them on board:) I had a few carbon steel traditional knives in my collection before my time on BF, but most of my knives were stainless steel. My love for the patterns that GEC produces, and the patterns I have been exposed to here has caused me to obtain more than a few carbon blade knives, knives that I cherish, but the thought does occur to me, I wish some of these were SS...
I feel the same way when I find an old knife that is rusted shut in a bin at the flea markets, how many have gone into the trash heap because they were rusted beyond saving from exposure to moisture etc...
In my mind the best way to send time capsules of the best current traditional knives into the future lies in using the best rust resistant steel available today. I wish GEC would make a limited number of every pattern produced in 440C...
 
I do love a good ol' natural patina! I can also like a well done forced patina.Here is a pic of the natural patina on my Grandfathers knife.
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To me a patina is a patina. I very much dislike the term "fake patina." Forced patina or induced patina is fine, but they aren't fake. Is a baby fake if they induced labor on the mother? Is a hot vinegar patina any more forced than one achieved by sticking the blade in an apple or potato? Or by immediately cutting up limes or some such as soon as you get a new knife? To me they are not.

I prefer a clean, shiney blade. I don't regularly use my traditional pocket knives for food prep, except when I have to eat lunch at work, and I usually take a stainless knife on those days. The majority of people in the workplace see patina as dirty, and are offended by it. Since I like to be able to help someone else who may need a sharp knife, I have learned to bring stainless to work.

I have several hundred pocket knives, about half stainless and half carbon. I only have three with any patina.

My 50+ year old scout knife has a totally earned patina.
boyscout.jpg~original


My Tidioute Cuban has a patina from both cutting fruit and general use.
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My #48 Trapper has been reground and had a hot vinegar patina for protection against rust.
48patina_zps5f3f622d.jpg~original


To me, they all three look just fine!
 
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