Thread: Patina

This may seem strange but is there a way to induce patina? I kind of like the look of it and think it would be great to have a razor that looks like that but shaves well. Ive been trying to get one like that on ebay but i seem to get outbid every time. Anyway just curious. Thanks.

bad question??

Originally Posted by MadButcher

This may seem strange but is there a way to induce patina? I kind of like the look of it and think it would be great to have a razor that looks like that but shaves well. Ive been trying to get one like that on ebay but i seem to get outbid every time. Anyway just curious. Thanks.

Post the image of one you like....
I suspect it is the "wrong thing to want".....

For carbon steel kitchen knives I slice a bit of old apple, orange or
lemon, wipe, rinse in hot water, slice a bit more rinse, slice,
wipe,rinse, slice, wipe rinse...

Or just use a razor in the normal way and time will do it.

Patina usually involves some kind of oxidation = rust so you'll have to rehone.
Birchwood Casey Gun blue paste will do an ok job too without oxidation but you will still need to touch up the edge. Polishing it back with metal polish Maas' or whatever, I use Autosol, will give you a light grey tone. Example below.

I "greyed" an old Sheffield wedge by dipping it in white vinegar and letting it dry. I think that Olivia has stated that coffee would work as well, but takes longer.

There are a few ways to get a patina, some of the cheaper use acids like vinegar or tomatoes -though you'd prolly want to neutralize the vinegar and oil the blade quickly if you try that, it seems like it pickles the steel some.

You can also rust blue or chemically blue the blade, also as noted above. These are a bit better b/c they give the blade some rust protection. Birchwood casey also has a plum brown thats kind of like a blue (except its brown) and it looks really nice on the couple of blades I've tried it on.

very nice advices before me.trust me i am not the best person to listen on this issue.if you like so much i would just dig it under ground for couple months to get real patina.fake ones doesnt test as good as real one.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

very nice advices before me.trust me i am not the best person to listen on this issue.if you like so much i would just dig it under ground for couple months to get real patina.fake ones doesnt test as good as real one.

Looks like im doing some digging today!!

Vinegar and bluing will make a nice even patina. Mustard dabbed on will make a pretty varied patina. For vinegar I soak in hot vinegar, for bluing I follow the directions on the container, for mustard I dab on with a q-tip let dry, wash off and repeat till I get the results I want.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...ed-wedgie.html

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...ent-ideas.html

Charlie

I like to use vinegar, with a little dish soap mixed in. The soap eases surface tension and helps the vinegar flow more evenly. If you warm the vinegar it will work a little faster.

I stole my method from Nick Wheeler, who is a awesome knifemaker. I'll post his instructions/description below:

Etching is really only part of the process.

You need to have a good finish to start from. Ideally, you would have your blade at 1000X of finer. And a VERY VERY even finish at that. Any flaws in the blade will only show up worse when etched. Etching will not hide flaws.

Much akin to wood-working. Many folks think you can stain or even paint over flaws in wood. But that always just high-lights the flaws.

The blade HAS TO, HAS TO, HAS TO, be VERY clean prior to etching. You will want to clean it with acetone or paint thinner, and/or something like liquid ivory to make sure it is free of all dirt/grease before applying an etchant.

I used to etch in ferric for hamons (by hanging the blade down in a 5 parts distilled water to 1 part Ferric Chloride mix)... but now I prefer a solution of vinegar and dish soap. I heat it up in the microwave till it's hot, and then etch the blade using cotton pads dipped in the solution.

It's much less aggressive than ferric. It takes longer. It stinks. HOWEVER! It will bring out subtle features in a hamon that ferric won't.

IF, you use ferric, it should be a very dillute solution and a very quick etch. On some of my blades that I did in ferric, I held them in the ferric for 1-3 TEN SECOND intervals.

This is about half of the work.

This will darken the blade, and leave it with oxides all over the surface.

After neutralizing the etchant (I like Windex with ammonia as it's cheap, easy to find, and comes in a spray bottle) you need to remove the oxides.

This can be done in a myriad of ways. I prefer using very mild abrasive pastes, such as Flitz, Semi-Chrome, and the like.

The process of removing the oxides is (IMHO) every bit, if not MORE important than the etching. You can play with different finishes to come up with what really suits your fancy.

Some guys (I know Fowler does) buff before etching. If you buff a blade, you are actually "slurring" the surface. You are smearing it at a very fine level. This will create a surface that needs to be etched agressively and for longer time.

I think Ed etches for like 10 minutes or something like that in ferric.

The way I finish my blades with stones and abrasive paper, it opens up the grain of the blade, and makes it etch much differently than a buffed blade. IF I etched one in ferric for 10 minutes, it would absolutely eat into it and ruin the blade.

I feel the way Ed does it is good for edge quenched blades with some alloying elements like the 52100 he uses. He is trying to show the hardening line and give a peak at the crystalline structure of the steel.

I am trying to highlight all of the work with the thermal cycles, clay application, and finishing work... to bring out the intricate beauty that can be found in a hamon.

The way I do it is very time consuming...yet still pales to the time involved for a true and traditional Japanese polish.

Good luck with it

-Nick-

This is a razor that I used Nick's method on. I'll show a before and an after photo.

Before:

After: