Trouble developing the patina! Help plz!

E

evasion

Joined
Apr 14, 2000
Messages
123
I have a schrade old timer 3 bladed stockman that is staining so I decided to develop its patina. I tried putting lemon juice on the blades and let it sit for 15 minutes,
then washed it off and then put it on again. I did this for like 45
minutes! The result is the blade is all blochy with stains. Any ideas how
I can get the grey look on the blade 'even'?
Thanks.
 
Starting with clean blades helps. You probably had oil, fingerprints, etc on the blades. Wipe 'em down with acetone then try again without touching the blades on anything. My experiments in this area have all failed miserably, too, by the way.

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There's only one agent that will give you an authentic looking patina: age. Attempts to artificially induce a patina will doubtlessly reduce the collectible value of the knife.



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
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It's true that a good patina needs many years to develop. The lemon juice treatment really just starts the process. Putting citrus juice on the blade simply allows you to darken parts that are still shiny; it shouldn't be seen as an attempt to create an "artificial" patina.

The start of the patinization process always looks crummy because some parts of the blade are shiny silver and some parts have dark splotches. A real patina won't be completely uniform though; there will be blotches and streaks. To get a more even look, you might want to try soaking a tissue in lemon juice, applying it to the blade, and letting it stand for awhile. (I tried this once with a paper towel soaked in lemon juice and the crisscross pattern of the weave was imparted onto the blade! Kind of cool, but not what I wanted.)

Anyway, here's a great thread from November about what a patina actually is and how it develops: www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum32/HTML/001216.html

[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 05-12-2000).]
 
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