Thread: What are you working on?

Originally Posted by RezDog

the Barber I am going to darken and create a false patina.

What is your preferred method for doing that? I have a couple that I want to experiment with.

Finishing up a couple of projects. I gave my big Joseph Rodgers a make over in honey-horn (write up thread in the custom built/restoration subforum). I also put some new, black buffalo horn shoes on my Dovo in place of the cheap pearlex scales that came stock. Always cool to see the work going on here--inspiring to say the least!

Looking good jseitz. Basically I know of three methods for doing a false patina. There is hot vinegar, where you soak the blade in hot regular white vinegar. It makes a nice colour, but it also textures the steel a little. It is my least favourite way. You can also, with latex gloves on, clean the blade with nail polish remover, and give it a coate of cold bluing, then make patterns in the buying by splashing or streaking with bleach. This can be fun and artsie. Typically I use a product that I bought at a jewellers supply store. The product line is Jax and I use the stuff designed for iron and nickel. It is similar to bluing. I most often wrap the blade with twisted paper towel to give a random ish contact pattern and then soak it with Jaxand let it sit for 15-20 minutes and then unwrap it and let it dry. It gets a funky looking surface rust, and I buff that off with steel wool and WD-40. I believe somewhere in this thread there is a post about it. Jax needs to have an oil free surface to work so again, latex gloves, and clean well with nail polish remover. The colour can be lightened with less time soaking, and with polish and steel wool until you get the desired effect. I really like the really old blade with the dull grey colour.

I remember reading on a knife forum where people used mustard, citrus, and other acidic food items to force a patina. I think one person actual used mustard to make pattern on the blade in combination with vinegar.

Got started on mrZ's busted scale for his Joseph Elliot.

After disassembly, I gave them a good cleaning, followed by flattening them again.

I traced the front scale onto a piece of wax paper, then flipped it over for a template, and taped it to a flat work surface, and taped the broken scale to the template.

Ground up a bit of Bog Oak and mixed it into some T-88, structural epoxy till it was thick like Bondo, and worked it into the busted scale and overfilling the template slightly.
That should give me enough room for sanding and shaping, later.

Just send whatever you want to have a patina to my house. Especially for use in the kitchen.

It will have one shortly.

Mike, you want me to see if I have any small scrap pieces of black horn that could be used for grafting or powder?
I'm glad your posting this because I've been interested in seeing how the bog oak looked ever since you told me about it.

I love text stamped scales. I wish I didn't have to sell my "Old English" hollow F.R. a few years ago. This is going to be an interesting Outback restoration for sure.

I'm good, Josh. This T-88 just keeps getting stronger, the longer it cures. Should hold up pretty good once done.

Sure thing. I did not know if horn would match better in some cases than bog oak. That has to be the darkest colored wood out there.

Structural epoxy certainly sounds strong enough. I would imagine the other scale would crack before it did.

Its as black as night.