Thread: Mirror vs. patina

Patina on steel is just another name for oxidation. But it's uniform and thin and once formed any further oxidation is slowed down dramatically. With rust it's the opposite, it's localized and deep and often tends to catalyze further degradation of the metal.

Fresh steel, of course (true mirror finish if you will) is highly reactive. Ask those who restore razors and they'll tell you that for the first week or so you've got to be extra careful with your razor because it can start rusting much easier. After a while the top layer of the steel has reacted with the environment (most prominent of those reaction is bounding oxygen, i.e. oxidizing, tarnish, patina... however you want to call it) and the further degradation is slowed down. Initially it may look pretty close to freshly polished blade, but it isn't (as you can verify with the appropriate scientific equipment) and with time even the slow process builds thick enough layer that the reflection of light is significantly altered and you see that as a drastically different look.

But there is no mystery to it.

The same thing happens to the edge, and that your face can tell much sooner than your eyes - it's the dulling of the razor. Stropping it well on a daily basis helps to keep the damage from progressing too fast, but normally after 20-50 shaves the average person tends to want that edge refreshed, i.e. recreated because it doesn't function well enough.


If you like the look there is no reason to polish it, but if your edge doesn't cut hair it has to meet the hones and enough steel removed to create a new edge that would cut.

Here is an example of what I mean in my post above..

http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...ml#post1327178

See how this is being called "Patina"

It isn't, that is Black Rust and Spider rust with perhaps a tiny bit of the Gray inbetween the rust being Patina

I will try and find you a pic of a razor with true Patina, the real difference is that Patina is formed by years of loving care and use, not years of neglect...

ps: If you are ever in doubt between Patina and Rust simply look at the steel under well lit magnification the difference is quite obvious then..

Here are pics of the razor I am talking about. This one was actually a freebie that was sent when I bought a scuttle on ebay. I has no rust or pitting. It just doesn't have a mirror shine. I did polish the tang but I left the blade untouched.

Has the blade been sanded? It might just be my monitor, but it looks to have plenty of odd marks from sanding all over it, plus what looks like a fair bit of pitting.

Mind you, I am sensitive to pitting - even so-called 'water marks' are a form of light pitting to me, as evidenced by the shallow depression revealed when looking at them under the right lighting conditions.

If there are light scratching/sanding marks on the blade, any patina that took years to build up disappeared at the time those marks were made.

Regards,
Neil

Not sanded by me. And the photo could be better. But I take your meaning.

True patina.



there are a few dark spots but it is mostly an even gray, deepening in the corners.

@Hart: Nice blade.

Originally Posted by Hart

True patina.



there are a few dark spots but it is mostly an even gray, deepening in the corners.

Yep, patina is beautiful: