Things you can do with copper

Lorien

Lorien

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Hello:)
I'm going to be fitting a copper guard to a knife that I'm working on, and I was hoping to get some feedback regarding the various things one can do with/to copper other than simply polishing it.

Any techniques you'd care to share would be greatly appreciated as well. Pictures, too.

Thanks in advance!
 
Have you ever seen any of Dave Kelly's stuff using copper?

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Copper can take on quite a few different colors, depending on patina etc. Blackening is achieved with Liver of Sulfur (or jax black, though this hasn't worked as well for me as liver of sulfur).

Various browns can be had with Baldwin's Patina (I love this stuff). I get mine from Reactive Metals Lab.

Blue/green antique patina can be formed, iirc, by placing the copper to be colored under a lid along with an open container of ammonia.

Traditional Japanese finishes involved use of rokusho, which can be purchased from Reactive Metals Lab as well. This patina is a pain in the ass to get right.

Copper can also be colored using heat. I've never had great luck capturing the reds and purples that some folks can get, but I was told that the trick is to heat until you see the colors you want, then quench into hot (one jeweler said boiling) water. Not sure if this is true; the heat patinas never seemed all that consistent.
 
I watched Josiah Boomershine do a demo at Ashokan last weekend on some of the methods for texturing habaki... I need to think of a way to incorporate it into more conventional western blade design, as I love the look and feel of it!

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Ron Leuschen used copper front and back on this knife, even in his homemade mosaic pins...

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Ariel made some coppered damascus bolsters for this one...

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h0ya5axa said:
Copper can take on quite a few different colors, depending on patina etc. Blackening is achieved with Liver of Sulfur (or jax black, though this hasn't worked as well for me as liver of sulfur).

Various browns can be had with Baldwin's Patina (I love this stuff). I get mine from Reactive Metals Lab.

Blue/green antique patina can be formed, iirc, by placing the copper to be colored under a lid along with an open container of ammonia.

Traditional Japanese finishes involved use of rokusho, which can be purchased from Reactive Metals Lab as well. This patina is a pain in the ass to get right.

Copper can also be colored using heat. I've never had great luck capturing the reds and purples that some folks can get, but I was told that the trick is to heat until you see the colors you want, then quench into hot (one jeweler said boiling) water. Not sure if this is true; the heat patinas never seemed all that consistent.
Click to expand...

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. Liver of sulphur, eh? Never heard of it:confused: I'm intrigued to say the least!

For my project, I'm not sure where I want to go with it; black or brown? But now the green thing sounds interesting too! Decisions, decisions...

And thanks guys for the pictures as well. Kelly knives always blow me away.
Texturing is a whole other thing here that I'd like to know more about:thumbup:
 
that's wicked. Now I know where to start looking for this info. Thanks for the link man.
 
I use them on my guards as well....this is my current style of horseshoe rasp knife and I can't make enough of them right now...as soon as I complete one, its out the door. Most folks are liking a satin finish from 0000 steel wool over the high polish finish.
Copper is a bitch to work with though, gummy when machining and it sure gets hot quick (duh!).
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It takes a nice hammered finish. Use a highly polished small ball peen hammer. Anneal frequently.
 

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