Trying to patina a WWII

[jdk1]

After seeing the nice patina on Dirtypaulie's ASTK, I got the urge to try one on my Tirtha WWII. I have no lemons, so I tried mustard. I got nowhere. I tried vinegar next and got a good reaction. I got some nice color and a little pattern. My problem is that I washed it with hot water and dishsoap, then non-ammonia glass cleaner afterward. When I wipe it down with WD-40, I get brown on the papertowel. I continue to get this after many cleanings. Do I still have rust building on the blade since I didn't use ammonia (I don't have anything with ammonia in the house at the moment) to stop the process? I have some nice brown coloring, but It doesn't really look like rust. Thanks for your help and I'll try to post up some pics soon. Take care and God bless.

 

[dirtypaulie]

I have some of that nice brown coloring myself. I think you'll be fine tho' Howard Wallace brought back a 15"ak after being submerged in water & rusted pretty bad. I'm looking forward to the pics I really like how mine came out. It adds character to the blade & I didn't have lemons either i used lemon juice.

 

[jdk1]

The patina looks very different inside vs. outside.

Hamon!

Hamon on the tip? It's on both sides of the tip and very uniform. Would Tirtha harden the tip?

Thanks for looking and take care.

 

[dirtypaulie]

looks nice

 

[JayGoliath]

John,

What you had happened to my Gelbu.

What i did was softly brush it off underneath with Scotchbrite (FINE GRADE).
then repeat the patina process again but this time make it soak in an hour.
If you still don't see the results you want by all means repeat until you see it.
Make it 1 hour interval.

Do not leave it overnight!

Good Luck!

 

[jdk1]

Overall, I'm happy with the results. I don't believe I've got a rust problem. It looks fine today and I just coated it with baby oil. It's my main user khuk, not that any see real extensive use! I chopped some palm last year and the juice put a dark stain in spots. That's why I chose to try the patina on this one. I like the look. I might just try some palm juice staining when I trim my palm again. It had some powerful juice.

I still don't have extensive experience with my khuks, but I must say this Tirtha WWII has shown itself to be the most versitile of the bunch. It's around 25-26 ounces and 16.5 inches. I think Uncle Bill knew what he was talking about when he touted this model for all around use. I love all of mine, but this one could comfortably handle any chore I need done. Take care and God bless.

 

[Ezaske]

My mustard patina has some brown tint to it. When you etch metal to create a patina, what you are doing is oxidizing the metal (ie making it rust) in a controlled manner. But the rust in a patina is a "good rust" - one that creates a thin layer of already oxidized metal which resists further oxidizing (rusting anymore). If I keep rubbing the patina on my khuks, it will wear off just like yours. It sounds like you did everything ok so far.

BTW - many people use baking soda to stop the etching chemical reaction. That is what I used to use until I heard about using ammonia. Window cleaner (with ammonia) is a lot easier, but works no better than baking soda mixed with cold water from my experience.

Here is the Foxy Folly I did a mustard etch on using a baking soda and cold water rinse to halt the etching process.

The bottom pic is after re-sharpening the convex edge.

 

[Tohatchi NM]

Pretty cho on that one. Also nice belly towards the tip.

If the tip has been hardened, you should be able to tell with a careful sharpening stroke. You should get more bite on softer areas toward the cho, and more slip in the hamon area. Compare how the tip behaves to those areas. Also easiest to tell with a hard stone or rod, or file if you're gentle and don't mind roughening up the edge a bit. If you really don't mind roughing up the edge, you can try chopping rocks.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

My typical patina drill is to clean the blade with really hot water, wipe it down with rubbing alcohol, then give it a CAREFUL bath in muriatic acid (i have a ton of it at work). After the patina sets, I neutralize it with baking soda and give it a good rinse before drying and coating with oil. You get a nice medium to deep charcoal gray

DO NOT work around muriatic acid in unventilated areas:thumbdn:

 

[greenwoods]

My favorite patina comes from slicing meats, tomatoes, onions, lemons and digging at my wood charcoal when grilling.

Have fun adding character to your blade
Mark

 

[Howard Wallace]

My favorite patina comes from slicing meats, tomatoes, onions, lemons and digging at my wood charcoal when grilling.

Have fun adding character to your blade
Mark

I like your style, Mark!

We like to force natural processes.

There's a new hospital going in next to us. One day it was bare dirt, the next day they put the grown trees in the holes and rolled out the sod around them.

I find myself on many occassions taking a frozen block of food out of the freezer and popping it in the microwave.