Super Blue!

Moxy

Moxy

Joined
Oct 30, 2011
Messages
1,648
Good day.

I've got a Caly 3.5 in Aogami Super Blue steel and I love it. SuperBlue seems to perform as well as ZDP-189 but is easier to sharpen. I've read that SB takes on a petina quite easily but resists actual rust build up. Well I don't find that to be the case. I really like the Caly. I resisted carrying it because I didn't want a high maintenance steel. Eventually I took the blade apart cleaned it with alcohol so it was free of oils and forced on a patina by submerging it in distilled vinegar for about 8 minutes. It took on a really nice and even greyish bronze color. My hope was that this patina layer would protect the steel from actually forming rust. Alas, no. Specks of reddish brown rust are popping up all over the place, and they're hard to remove. Part of me wants to say screw it, and let it do what it'll naturally do. Would another treatment of vinegar build up the patina further to help prevent rust deposits? Or am I way off? Spyderco is coming out with a few more SB blades, I'd love to pick up a Delica in SB. I love the look of a patina, but hate specks of rust. :confused:
 
I've had my Super Blue Caly 3 for a couple months and haven't done anything special to prevent rust or corrosion and haven't had any issues besides the inevitable patina. Are you using the knife for cutting up fruits or other corrosive foods? Without a prompt rinse or wipe down, that could lead to some rusting issues. Also, if you live in a very humid area, that also can be a factor. I would recommend to keep a very light coast of oil on the blade from now on.
 
The new Delica Super Blue will be laminated to help resist rust, but it won't develop a patina. I believe all of the new Super Blue sprints will be this way.
 
Interesting. I didn't know the new SB Spydercos will be coated. I havent been cutting foods or fruit. I've noticed that even touching the blade will leave a fingerprint image of rust deposits. Oh well. Maybe I'll try forcing a patina in vinegar again.
 
I would advise against forcing a patina. Polish the blade with Flitz and then let it form a patina through use. This will slow the process down enough for you to make sure red spots are not forming. This should not really take long, especially if you are using it with food. Once it has a decent patina along the whole blade you should lubricate it.

If you are cutting up a lot of food, I would stick to mineral oil. If you are just using it for EDC tasks, Tuf Glide is my recommendation.
 
Are you using any type of rust inhibitor?

Once I noticed there was no way to keep Super Blue from forming a patina even though I tried everything. I forced it with mustard, Washed and dried it. Then I coated it with FrogLube. I've noticed it hasn't gone any further even though I cut fruits, onions and hot meats. I have yet to see any rust.

20130704_132051.jpg
 
I guess I'll just have to live with it. I did a forced patina since I wanted the entire blade to be nice and even. It looks great. I just got it in my head for some reason that the patina will prevent actual rust spots. Thats why I wasn't using a rust inhibitor. I'll keep it oiled from now on. Thanks.
 
a lot of people say patina prevents rust, but I think it's probably just a placebo effect. what it does is make new staining harder to see. in my experience they will rust just about as quickly, if there is a difference it's too small to notice.

just gotta stay on top of it, keep the pivot oiled up if you are having issues. I don't personally recommend oils and coatings on the blade of a user knife unless it will be set aside for a length of time. usually wiping it off on your jeans is about all it needs unless it's really humid, but people with a fully oiled blade are less likely to wipe the blade after each use, this just makes moisture more likely to sit UNDER the "protective" coating and rust anyways.

I've carried mostly non stainless knives, and in my experience the only blades that have issues are blades you're not using. if a blade was allowed to rust for a day, usually by the time you cut a few cardboard boxes the rust is gone...

it takes a lot more than a day of rust to cause any real issues besides maybe a few dull spots on your edge. unless you are in and out of salt water and never cleaning your knife, but even then a carbon steel would be plenty usable.
 
Patina is pretty much a natural and crude form of bluing. Both prevent rust in that the steel has a stable and relatively passive oxide layer on the surface. The issue is that it's easily defeated in the presence of acids and salts (aka fruits and sweat/fingerprints). I really don't get what the big deal is though, it's carbon steel, and a bit more rust resistant than 1095, so treat it like carbon steel by keeping the pivot oiled and wiping it off immediately after cutting something that would stain it, the patina will be self-repairing and rust will not be an issue.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. For the record, here is a pic of the forced patina.

 
Thanks. It came out really nice. Originally it had a lighter bronze-ish patina but it was soon peppered with rust spots. I scrubbed them off as best I could with alcohol and forced another patina. It almost looks like a cerakote or DLC coating. It's shiny because its slathered with oil now.
 
This thread has got me feeling the Super Blues...dang it, miss this gal...



also lubed her with mineral oil since she had food prep duties.
 
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