D2 tool steel problem

If you do a little searching, you'll find lots of folks looking for the best way to stain a knife and put a patina on the blade. I'm partial to lemon juice, had good results with mustard, others use mayonnaise, vinegar, commercial products, all kinds of stuff.

I think bare shiny steel is fairly ugly. I love patinas.
 
Those that recommend leaving the patina alone are correct. You can reduce it a little with the products mentioned and even with Barkeeper's Friend, but you can't remove it completely without grinding it off. It won't hurt the blade and helps protect the blade as mentioned above. If a pristine finish is what you're after, then tool steel wasn't the best choice in the first place.

We run into the "patina" issue all the time with carbon steel kitchen cutlery which is used in a wet environment in the kitchen. I have some carbon steel bladed kitchen knives that have turned nearly completely black over the years. It is natural process. Use the knife, enjoy it and ignore the discoloration. Consider it battle scars for your blade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top