The "Ask Nathan a Question" Thread

Cap’n Smudge said:
Fine. I would just wipe it down with mineral oil. Remove all the flakey stuff through the rubbing. The mineral oil will change the red rust to black rust. Black rust is extremely slow moving. So slow you likely won’t notice any progression in your lifetime.

#stillnotnathan
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You forgot "eye of newt". Otherwise, spot on.

#notnothin'
 
Cap’n Smudge said:
Fine. I would just wipe it down with mineral oil. Remove all the flakey stuff through the rubbing. The mineral oil will change the red rust to black rust. Black rust is extremely slow moving. So slow you likely won’t notice any progression in your lifetime.

#stillnotnathan
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Thanks, but I was wondering about treatment after a final polish or buffing. I guess conversion was the wrong word. I am more looking to find out what to use for an acid treatment for rust protection.
 
Cap’n Smudge said:
I think you’re back to mythical beast hunting then.
I’m not a metallurgist and really not that smart, but I don’t think an acid wash will improve corrosion resistance. If the acid isn’t neutralized after wash it will improve corrosion - flash rust.
But you could acid wash it, neutralize and wipe it down with mineral oil. The first two steps won’t help but the mineral oil will.
Or mythical beast stomach acid.
^^^
That’s my opinion based on life experiences. Purely anecdotal. Somebody smarter may actually know the answer. That’s the best I could do.
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Ok thanks.
 
Have you ever watched forged in fire? At the end of each first round, they mostly put their blades in a PVC tube filled with an acid mixture. I want to know if that will be a protection from rust. I have a forced vinegar patina on another knife that I made but It wasn't buffed all the way and so it still rusts and I take care of that with oil. I just want to know if there is a solution to put the knife in to protect it from rust or if I have to just deal with the rust by the finish I put on it.

For instance, I have heard about using a ferric chloride mixture to put the knife in but want to verify that, and know what it is used for since I am obviously wrong about using acid for a rust protector.
 
I have finally discovered Nathan's Kryptonite...

I present the Magenta Bowie:


:
3288.jpg
 
RaiderJameson said:
Have you ever watched forged in fire? At the end of each first round, they mostly put their blades in a PVC tube filled with an acid mixture. I want to know if that will be a protection from rust. I have a forced vinegar patina on another knife that I made but It wasn't buffed all the way and so it still rusts and I take care of that with oil. I just want to know if there is a solution to put the knife in to protect it from rust or if I have to just deal with the rust by the finish I put on it.

For instance, I have heard about using a ferric chloride mixture to put the knife in but want to verify that, and know what it is used for since I am obviously wrong about using acid for a rust protector.
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Good grief...

You obviously have internet access. Maybe do a little searching and reading up on acid etching? If FiF is your sole base of 'knifemaking knowledge', you must not do any further heat treatment after the quench either, since they never show that on FiF.

The acid etch is simply to oxidize the steel, because high carbon vs mild steel oxidize differently. The acid etch simply makes the contrast between mild and high carbon steel (and even high carbon steel with different carbon content eg. 1055 vs 1095) readily visible (i.e. to reveal the high carbon edge in san mai, or the patterns in damascus).

After the acid etch, it's usually wiped or dipped/washed in a neutralizer to neutralize the acid. It's one of the processes they don't usually show, because it's just a part of knifemaking, but isn't glamorous/spectacular. Acid etching has NOTHING to do with protecting the steel.
 
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bluemax_1 said:
Good grief...

You obviously have internet access. Maybe do a little searching and reading up on acid etching? If FiF is your sole base of 'knifemaking knowledge', you must not do any further heat treatment after the quench either, since they never show that on FiF.

The acid etch is simply to oxidize the steel, because high carbon vs mild steel oxidize differently. The acid etch simply makes the contrast between mild and high carbon steel readily visible (i.e. to reveal the high carbon edge in san mai, or the patterns in damascus).

After the acid etch, it's usually wiped or soaked with a neutralizer to neutralize the acid. It's one of the processes they don't usually show, because it's just a part of knifemaking, but isn't glamorous/spectacular. Acid etching has NOTHING to do with protecting the steel.
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Ok, that makes sense. I knew that the acid was used for the etching of san mai or Damascus but wondered if it would protect against rust. Didn't know about the neutralizer. I'll check out some other sources.
 
RaiderJameson said:
What would be the best mixture for acid treatment on a blade for rust protection/conversion?
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A solution of about 1:17 lead:stomach acid (preferably from a unicorn, but a pony will do in a pinch) by weight. Leave the knife to soak for 73 hours. That's how you get the nice grey color.

The stomach acid of a centaur can be used, but only if the acid is from its horse stomach as opposed to its man stomach. Obviously.
 
RaiderJameson said:
Ok, that makes sense. I knew that the acid was used for the etching of san mai or Damascus but wondered if it would protect against rust. Didn't know about the neutralizer. I'll check out some other sources.
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Generally speaking, the acid is for etched contrast, not corrosion resistance. You have to naturalize the acid or it will continue to rust. We use the old original formula "D" Windex with ammonia.

You can passivate a stainless steel with acid. We've never had any luck chemically treating a steel for better corrosion resistance. There's always paint?
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
(preferably from a unicorn, but a pony will do in a pinch)
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Damnit. I was so close to finally contributing something useful, and I mixed up my equine preference. I apologize to anyone who took my advice without first seeing Nathan's [evil] genius correction. This right here why I buy his knives.


...as well as their ability to cut cold butter straight from the fridge with minimal edge damage. I'm still waiting for a full review on that table knife tinfoil hat timmy tinfoil hat timmy .
 
“Read Post #1 Before Posting”

Nathan do you think if you posted the above part of the Buy, sell, trade thread title in red it would make any difference?
 
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