Vinegar and Bleach...

D

DustinHall

Joined
Dec 31, 2008
Messages
687
Makes a nice dark patina! About 3 parts vinegar and one part bleach soaked for about 15 minutes and my blade is black. Lightly rub with steel wool and it almost looks like it's been blued!

Just thought I'd share!

Sorry, no pics yet guys. Maybe when I finish the knife..
 
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Also, I think the type of steel used plays into the resulting patina. Here's an overnight soak in apple cider vinegar. The steel is D2, at 100 grit sanded.

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I know!! My dang phone service won't allow me to send pics to my email right now.. I'll see what I can do. Gotta get ready for work right now.

Wulfshrunter - Yes, D2 will not take a patina as well as an O1 blade because of the 13% chromium content in D2 which makes it almost stainless. That looks pretty good though. As you might have guessed, the blade I'm working with is O1.
 
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DustinHall said:
I know!! My dang phone service won't allow me to send pics to my email right now.. I'll see what I can do. Gotta get ready for work right now.

Wulfshrunter - Yes, D2 will not take a patina as well as an O1 blade because of the 13% chromium content in D2 which makes it almost stainless. That looks pretty good though. As you might have guessed, the blade I'm working with is O1.
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Try cold blue and then the Chlorox on the d2. Let the blue dry and then soak the blade in the bleach until it gets a coating of rust. Then clean it off with 0000 steel wool and buff lightly.

This will give you an antique etch that looks very good.
 
Be careful mixing acids (or pretty much anything) with bleach. Chlorine is very unstable and very bad for your lungs. Lots of ventilation is in order and a respirator sure couldn't hurt.
 
This was about a minute in warm vinegar...you could see it turning darker and get them out when you had enough.
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Here's a couple I cold blue and bleach etched--1095 I believe,and the etch will vary with the type of steel--Regards Butch

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What is cold blue gentlemen so, I can try to use it and the bleach to get the etching as the knifes of butchesforge, nice. Rey
 
I sanded down one side of the tang of my test subject, so we can compare bleach alone, and bleach after apple cider vinegar. I'm going to check it before I go to bed, which is soon, and if it hasn't changed, it'll sit over night.
 
Thanks to everyone for sharing their way of etching.

James - I definately did this outside in open air and stood well away from the pan it was soaking in. It fizzed into a white foam when I mixed the bleach with the vinegar and that's when I knew to step back.

Heatheninthehills - Yes. Maybe even better.

I know straight bleach can etch a blade but, I just had the thought of mixing them and it turned out great. I only sanded the blade to 220 but the etch hides all the scratches and makes it look smoooth.
 
Rey Garza said:
What is cold blue gentlemen so, I can try to use it and the bleach to get the etching as the knifes of butchesforge, nice. Rey
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Cold Blue is a blueing solution usually used to put a protective finish on gun parts. You can usually get it at any gun shop. Use the Super Blue, works better. When you drop it in the bleach it'll grow rust like a Chia Pet grows hair. Don't just leave it. 30 to45 min turns your blade into a wolly worm.:D
 
sharpeknives said:
Cold Blue is a blueing solution usually used to put a protective finish on gun parts.
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Yup. The most common "cold" blue to find in hardware/sporting goods stores is Birchwood/Casey brand "Perma-Blue"; it's a solution of selenium dioxide that will leave a fairly nice deep blue on most carbon steels; it doesn't work very well on steels with high chromium content. (that's kind of the point of high-chrome steels, they resist that sort of oxidation). I can't speak for "Super Blue" by the same company, because I haven't used it yet. IIRC they're both mainly meant for touching up scratches on a blued gun.

If you're interested in a deeper, more durable bluing, search here or check gunsmithing sites/forums for "Hot" blues.

DustinHall said:
James - I definately did this outside in open air and stood well away from the pan it was soaking in. It fizzed into a white foam when I mixed the bleach with the vinegar and that's when I knew to step back.
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Good thinking, bud. I don't want to be a spoil-sport or seem paranoid. But the fact is, relatively benign household chemicals, if used or mixed improperly, can be really, really nasty. Go ahead, ask me how I know. :)

69-knives, those are both great links! Thanks for sharing. Here's another.

Don't overlook simple organic acids like brown mustard, lemon juice, vinegars, and so forth when experimenting with putting a somewhat-protective patina or blue on a high-carbon/low-allow blade. I'm sure plain orange juice would work, for instance. Quite a bit safer, but you still need good ventilation, because they all tend to reek like a home perm as the acid and steel react.

I've seen pics in W&SS where guys put a really nice, old-timey-looking finish on their blades just by using them for lots of food-prep... fruits, meats, whatever. The fun part of that approach is, if you don't like the results, a pad of 0000 steel wool and a bit of elbow grease will get you right back to bare steel and you can try again.

I'm very much interested in hearing more about etches for tool and stainless steels... keep 'em coming guys!

Have fun but don't be making any mustard gas in your shop. ;)
 
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