Thread: Forced patina on carbon steel

Originally Posted by dghardyjr

I am thinking about forcing a patina (lemon juice, tomato juice, ect) on my modern dovo carbon steel straight edge. Will it affect the quality of blade/shaves/honing process? Should I not do this? Some places I've read states that it strengthens the blade. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Acids can make the steel brittle at the edge. Many people have experienced it, then you need to put a new edge on there.

They use ferric chloride on damascus steels to make the layers show up at least. There are probably a few other chemicals that are used for that too. Search for damascus etching.

Originally Posted by jigane

Acids can make the steel brittle at the edge. Many people have experienced it, then you need to put a new edge on there. ...

Are you talking about hydrogen embrittlement? It doesn't work like "many people" think it does, especially on carbon steels, especially under ordinary home/kitchen processes.

Keep the acids simple, like vinegar, and the methods that have been mentioned and there should be no problems with the steel. If you think about potential penetration into the steel, it's not likely deep enough to escape either stropping or honing over time regardless.

I have never done a razor, but carbon knife blades patina nicely with warm vinegar or most any fruit juice. The process mentioned above will give nice results

I've used the vinegar technique on a few knife blades and it doesn't seem to affect the sharpness, but I do a 12k hone and CrOx afterwards because I like a shiny bevel.

Back in the early 80's when I was young and dumb I used "Limeaway" cleaner on one of my straight razors. It was etched it black and the surface felt like it was galvanized. No longer smooth, it took a lot of buffing and cleaning to get it off. Be sure what ever pattern you want on your blade that it will be very hard to get off if you don't like it, like a tattoo.

Mustard is in the "etc" category!

How about downfalls of a forcing a patina? I see one user stated a brittle edge. Lets just not talk about the "Limeaway" cons! hahaha