black oxide for carbon steel?

samuraistuart

samuraistuart

Joined
Dec 21, 2006
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OK, I admit I haven't done a search yet, thought I would just throw this out there and take a chance! My apologies if this has been covered ad nauseam already. "Smithy" started a thread about buffing information, which led me to look around the website he linked to. At http://www.caswellplating.com/metal-finishing-solutions/black-oxide-kits.html, there is a product called Black Oxide for steel and iron. Has anyone used this product to "blacken" the blade of a knife? If so, how did you like it and could we possibly see a picture? I REALLY would like to blacken some of my knives (not really into gun blue), and would like to stay away from the bake on type finishes. They do offer another similar product for stainless steel, if anyone is interested. Apparently you just submerge the work piece in the liquid for 5-30 minutes, wipe off, and then seal it with another product they sell (of course!). Any thoughts and pics? Thanks so much you guys.
 
OK....sorry I didn't do my research before posting the question. I think it would work (meaning it's something I can do), it looks pretty good from what I can tell, but I think the main flaw with BO is that it isn't very durable and will scratch fairly easily. I just wish I had some experience with it on a blade, or hear from someone who might have. I may not pull the trigger on this one. Something about blade coatings....I don't know what it is.
 
Another option for a black finish is parkerizing. There is plenty of info out on it . I have done it on several blades and am very happy with the results.
 
I know stormcrow switched over to the caswell stuff after using the duracoat for awhile. you can probably shoot him a PM and ask.
 
I have a blade from Winkler Knives that use that exact stuff. Not bad for the quick and dirty.
 
Yep, that's what Winkler uses as far as I can tell. I just set up a tank of the stuff large enough to do tomahawks in.

If you want to head a little bit south of town, you're welcome to come out to the shop and try mine out before investing in a kit for yourself.

Here's the first couple I did.

 
What kind of surface prep are you doing James? Was there much of a learning curve? Those look great.
 
Shaw - I sanded the blades down with 100 grit (my usual sanding) and hung them in the solution for five minutes. Rinsed 'em off and dried them, then applied the sealer. They looked darker once the sealer was on them. Simply brushed that on.
 
I've done cold black oxide (same as Caswell), hot black oxide (outsourced), parkerized, cerakote (outsourced), and powdercoat (outsourced).

The cold black oxide looks pretty good and is very easy. What I've found is this; the appearance/color-tone of the cold black ox and parkerized finishes are entirely dependent on steel composition, hardness, and surface finish. The hot black ox, on the other hand, is a nice consistent color tone.

This pic demonstrates the varied color-tone you can get with cold black ox https://www.flickr.com/photos/110785734@N05/11245474375/
 
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