Tarnished blade...need help!

The Magician

The Magician

Illusionist
Joined
Jan 19, 2000
Messages
1,580
I was using my knife to cut strawberries and now the blade is badly tarnished. I was wondering how to get it back to mirror polish. Also was wondering if A blade that has been blued(like A gun) is safe to use in food preperation. A while back someone mentioned that there was A person who was able to do "Black-T" coating. Does anyone know who that is? Thank you all in advance. Brian P.S.- Blade is 1095 steel.

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AKTI# A000991
I'm living on the edge!
 
Take that strawberry and rub it all over the blade. That will start the patina on the blade. That is basically what gun bluing is, "a thin layer of corrosion as a result of natural or artificial oxidation."

Enjoy the stains on the blade because they are memories.
 
Restoring the knife to a mirror finish will take a great deal of time and effort. I think the best think to do is to accelerate the oxidation that has already occured. Lemon juice will rapidly 'grey' the blade to a more uniform appearance. This will not affect the working properties of the blade at all. And the surface patination will actually help resist the formation of rust. 'Blued' knives are perfectly safe for food prep. The oxidizing agents used to color the blade have been neutralized and washed off the blade.

Congratulations! You have discovered one of the more surprising and wonderful attributes of simple carbon steel knives. Think of this as a positive and aesthetically pleasing thing. Bright carbon steel that is used will eventually develop a patina. You might has well get it over quickly and enjoy your knife's new appearance.

Paracelsus

[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 05-01-2000).]
 
I recently gave a knife the citrus treatment (lime juice).
I did it in stages by leaving the juice on for 10-15 minutes and then washing it off to see how it looked and repeating until I was happy with the finish. I then coated it with White Lightning and let it dry before polishing.
The finish is very nicely patinated with the look of smoked glass.
Not sure how effective the White Lightning will be in the long term but it was at hand and I keep it for my bicycle chain so redoing is no problem .



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BrianWE
 
Thanks folks! I think I will try the citrus juice. The knife was one I had custom forged for me, so I guess the patina will make it just that much more of A one-of-A-kind. I guess I will be happy.

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AKTI# A000991
I'm living on the edge!
 
Some stronger acids (is stronger the right word? I don't know) will react with some gun blues. Pineapple will really do a number on some finishes.

RLR
 
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