Your Very First Fiddleback

Patina starting to form on my very first bushfinger. Can't seem to get the angle right to show off the blues that are there but it's coming along nicely. Does anyone know if polishing with simichrome will remove the patina?

bushfinger_09.jpg


bushfinger_10.jpg
 
Andy, you can remove patina with simichrome or mothers mag & wheel and some #0000 steel wool. Apply a very thin layer of polish to the blade with your finger or paper towel. Use the steel wool to polish perpendicular to the edge (I.e. spalting to edge). This should maintain your grind lines... Use gentle unidirectional strokes continuously until about 75% of the patina is removed. From there use paper towel in the same manner until the rest is gone. If you don't care about grind lines buff as you see fit... The blade will take on a nice mirror polish. Additionally you can use a buffing wheel with brown polish to accomplish the same in about 30 sec. Also for photographic purposes if you want patina to pop, simply rub the blade down with rubbing alcohol and rub dry with a clean cloth -- rich colors galore. Just be sure to oil after photos to prevent any potential rust / corrosion.
 
I use the hell out of some of my knives and use the aforementioned method to restore them to like new condition.
 
wjt1981 said:
I use the hell out of some of my knives and use the aforementioned method to restore them to like new condition.
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Thanks! Just wanted to know if simichrome will remove the patina. Since it does, I won't use it. I like the look with the patina. Definitely adds character to the knife. Just out of curiosity, what food items seem to help the develop fastest? So far I've used it with onions, garlic, and apples.
 
aZhu said:
Thanks! Just wanted to know if simichrome will remove the patina. Since it does, I won't use it. I like the look with the patina. Definitely adds character to the knife. Just out of curiosity, what food items seem to help the develop fastest? So far I've used it with onions, garlic, and apples.
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Citrus works good and gives some really nice bluing patterns.

On blades I want to keep "clean" I use flitz to remove the patina. But like you, I love a natural patina from usage on most of my knives. There are a couple that I keep polished though.
 
Hot peppers, raw meat (beef, lamb, etc), cilantro, parsley, potatoes, shallots, oranges, and any type of seafood... Try cooking shrimp tacos with a lime jalapeño tequila sauce, then you should be good to go. :D
 
Also, wood has natural tanins; feather sticks, shelter building or batoning non knotty fresh wood will add some interesting patina.
 
This Runt for example is primarily from apples and oranges. The oranges give the nice blue.

IMG_3012_zpsa713156e.jpg~original
 
thurin said:
This Runt for example is primarily from apples and oranges. The oranges give the nice blue.

IMG_3012_zpsa713156e.jpg~original
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Exactly; make a nice fruit salad. Your patina although pretty will also help protect the blade from additional corrosion.
 
Sausage links! At least on Case CV, it develops very nice blues.

The craziest patina I've had is by dunking CV into Rit dye loaded water with a few dashes of vinegar and some brass. If the steel has fingerprints on it they will develop in the color of the dye. Very funky, but cool.
 
Here's my first. I feel like it's impossible to have only one Fiddleback...they're addictive.

 
aZhu,
i have a pretty good patina on my user fiddlebacks but find it hard to find the right anglr too
 
aZhu,
i have a pretty good patina on my user fiddlebacks but find it hard to find the right anglr too
 
My first Fiddleback was a 5/32" full tang maroon hiking buddy. I no longer have it (replaced with 1/8" tapered HB) but it truly started my addiction for Andy's quality knives; particularly his maroon linen ones! :D

 
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