Thread: Restoring Patina

I'm about to start work on this old Wade & Butcher. Its a little rough around the edges with a nice patina. I like the way it looks, the patina suits the blade, and I plan on scaling it in horn.
There are however a few scratches on the blade that bug me and I want to get rid of them. Obviously if I remove the scratches I'll remove the patina in those areas. Do any of you veteran restorers have an opinion on how to restore patina after sanding, A light blueing? or the vinegar method?
I just dont think this blade would suite being all nice and shiney
Thanks.
G.

Didn't sham do a post a while back about using potato chunks in a tube with the razor blade in it to kill rust/give a nice patina?

If you're looking to get the patina back on the blade, clean it up to your liking and then dip it into sulphur Bonide 142 4 LB Sulphur Dust Fungicide Of course when I was on the ranch, we used 50lb bags of the stuff, but I digress. Dipping any carbon steeled implement into the sulphur will instantly get a nice dark even patina back onto a blade.

Here's a quote I got from the blade forums a while back that I was going to try eventually,but you're welcome to since you've got a blade almost ready.

Warm cider vinegar, after cleaning blade with windex. Dip, let stand until desired patina, spray with windex to stop action. The same can be done with Ferric Chloride from Radio Shack, about a 4:1 mixture, water to acid.

Good luck,Grant,and keep us posted on this...

I have 2 simular Wade and Butchers I'm working on and would be very interested in the results you get and which method you go with. Or if I get to it first I'll let you know my results.

You could always remove the scratches then put it in a drawer for about 50 years. I don't know how old you are.

You can also use mustard for adding a patina. The advantage is simply that the acid in it will be variably distributed due to the clumping of the mustard. I think I remember a post in which Spazola applied it with a q-tip to make it more spotty.

Quite a few of the sulphides work to give a brown to blue/black patina - usually you use a teaspoon to a pint. I have only used them (potassium sulphide, and ammonium sulphide (= stink bomb) on copper but they may work on steel. Putting a thin film of copper on the steel will help if it doesn't work well - you only have to dip the steel in a strong solution of blue copper sulphate antil you see a faint copper glint on the metal. Not sure how durable it would be, though!

Regards
Neil

Wow, thanks for the suggestions guys, I have a few options to think about now. I did try warm white vinegar once but it seemed to come off fairly easily. the other thing concerning me is that if I sand one area I'll probably have to sand the entire blade in order to get an even colour over the whole thing.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Vinegar patina will wipe off if it's not applied hot enough. I had the same problem, Charlie gave me some pointers on it. What I do now is heat up a cup of vinegar in the microwave until it boils, then take it out. Once the boiling stops I immerse the blade in it. It will then "boil" rapidly as the steel oxidizes. It will also stink to high heaven, and I'm sure the vapors aren't terribly healthy... The patina from this is a very flat black.
Mustard works similar when you heat it up. It leaves rings around the glob of mustard, but no patina in the middle of it.

I haven't experimented with other methods of making patina. Neither mustard nor vinegar will give you a vintage looking patina. You can make some cool looking blades, but they don't look the same as that random patina that's developed over time.