Thread: Creating controlled patina?

What about Blueing it like a firearm? Blueing will control the rust.

Actually,blueing will not control rust, real bluing is rust.

All be it a slower process.

I believe actually that the patina is a chemical reaction with the surface layer of the metal. It changes the chemical composition of the surface and makes it less susceptible to rusting because it is not the same carbon steel as it was before.

The reason we see antique blades that are in great condition is because of the patina that protects them. I also see it on a lot of instruments, good trumpets and saxophones etc, antique silverware etc, its a natural protection. If not for it then, following the some of the logic in this thread, we would need a vacuum with no oxygen at all to keep a razor from rusting

I did a forced patina on this one. Heat hydrogen peroxide (H3O) in the microwave until warm. Mix in salt. Heat again, mix in more salt. Keep doing that until the H3O can't hold any more salt. Then mix that solution with regular white vinegar in a 4 parts solution to 1 part vinegar mix. You can experiment with different ratios too.
Dump it all into a spray bottle. Try to keep it as warm as you can.
You will have previously needed to make sure your blade is as clean as possible. Brake cleaner or dawn dish soap and water. Absolutely no oil can be on the blade.
Run the blade under hot hot water to warm it. Spray the solution on the blade and let it fizz up. It will turn red and drip so do it over the sink. Keep spraying until it all turns red. Then run it under the hot water again and scrub the red rust off with a toothbrush or your fingers (in clean gloves). Alternate spraying, waiting, and wiping until you have the color you want. Once that's done, suspend the blade in a pot of boiling water until for 15 minutes. Take it out of the water and immediately wipe with mineral oil or ren wax. One gives a shiny black and one gives a dull black (relative to each other, neither is very shiny or dull), but I can't remember which.

It's basically a forced rust blue. It actually turns some steels brownish, which is cool looking too. Make sure you don't let the metal touch the bottom of the pan when you're boiling it.


Alternatively, a lot of knife guys seem to use mustard, mayo, potatoes, oranges, apples, lemons, limes, and raw meat to force a patina.

Also, I did the same procedure on this one for Alb/Adam. It turned more brown than black.

On my damasks knifes, I will just stick them in some run of the mill yellow mustard for a day. That brings the damasks patterning back out.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Rust is the natural preventive for steel just that as time goes by it goes from preventive to destroyer. Altering the finish might change the appearance but will do nothing to protect it. You can use a treatment like bluing or some others to protect the steel but just using something to darken the steel won't offer protection from rust. In the end you need a barrier from the O2 in the air so it doesn't kiss the blade directly.

Bluing won't protect steel from rust, either.