Mustard patina?

Joe58

Joe58

Joined
Nov 11, 2002
Messages
1,969
Hi guys -

From reading the forced patina threads, it seems mustard is a good item to use for forcing a patina.

My stupid question is, is one kind of mustard better than another? I've regular yellow, and then the stone ground spicy kind, as well as the grey poupon. Or doesn't matter which I use. :)

And then, how long are we leaving the blade in? I'll make sure it's clean of oil, etc., before soaking it in the mustard.

Thanks!
 
It's the vinegar in the mustard that forces a patina so good old French's yellow mustard will do fine. Mustard is used if you want to put a design via the forced patina, otherwise just use vinegar for an even patina as it is easier.

Ensure the carbon blades are CLEAN and DRY; however understand that if you leave/put a line of oil on the blade it will either not patinate (is that even a word?) or will patinate differently than the portions of the blade that are CLEAN and DRY --- you might want to play with that if you are wanting to create a design.

Water will neutralize the agent, so thoroughly rinse the blade when you think you've had the blade in the agent long enough. You'll just have to play around with it to find the effect you want.
 
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Yep exactly , i've experimented with all sorts of goodies out of the kitchen to force a patina . Shhhh here she comes , dangit i think she already ready it uh oh .
 
If you have not ever used the vinegar before, don't be worried about the first run and how it comes out. My experience was that it was a bit uneven even with a clean blade. Try it and if you don't like the tone or it is too uneven wipe the blade very lightly with a Scotch bright or 0000 steel wool, clean and try again. Each time it will deepen and even out. Change the vinegar when you fail to see the reaction. Obviously SS is not going to do anything worthwhile but it is fun to see what you can do with a Mora and patterns.
 
I've tried mustard only on stainless blades (before I had any carbon steel knives, to see what it does - an ungly weak oilstain-like patina). I've tried apples and vinegar the most. I preffer clicing up a couple of apples real thin, I got great results with it. Boiled vinegar can be great, but I had some poor results with it as well, the same with sticking it in an apple and letting it sit. Slicing apples does it for me.
 
I tried vinegar but prefer to wipe my blades down with rubbing alcohol and stick them in a potato, resulting in a random patina, wash it afterwards.
 
Potato..haven't tried that.
warming the vinegar ( microwave it) placing on a napkin and on a warm blade ( after cleaning hot soapy water)wrap the blade and wait. Time will depend on how you like your patina. the napkin will put on a pattern. you tube has a number of vids. During the summer it goes outside to "cook"
I often just stab an orange or cuttie tangerine and wait up to an hour for that variegated look. some like some. Then it is used for more natural patina.
The most even grey patina ( except natural use over months to years) is from sitting in very hot vinegar till dark , rinse/light use of green scotchbrite pad, and repeat. YMMV
 
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