Potato peeling and 1095: patina tour de force

Andya27

Andya27

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Dec 26, 2013
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Last night was mashed potatoes as the side. Figured I'd use my new Northwoods Fremont to slice the spuds - as it's a great blade, and that pointy tip can really get in small places to get out any unwanted potato parts. After peeling and slicing I was in no hurry to clean the knife. I'd say it sat for ten to fifteen minutes before I wiped it down.

The first photo below is what the knife looked like when it arrived yesterday morning.

The second photo is the knife this morning, along with half of a potato that I put in the fridge for posterity (no clue why, other than I figured it might be useful in a photo).

I had no idea that a half hour of potato work would do this to a blade.



 
The humble potato was the go-to seasoning for a new pocket knife in the old days. It used to be common practice with a new knife to stick it in a potato overnight to patina the blade. This was thought to provide some protection for the blade, as well as speed up the patina so it would not impart a taste to an apple or other fruit sliced up/peeled with the knife.
 
I do forced patinas on most of the carbon knives I make. Using distilled white vinegar on a paper towel wrapped around the blade takes about 15 mins to get a real nice patina. So this is not surprising. I think patina adds character to a knife while adding protection from the elements. You can always polish it off if that's your thing. Like the patina, like the knife.
 
I do agree that patina adds character - which is one of the reasons I prefer carbon blades and traditional knives. But I must say that I was surprised what a half hour with a potato will do to 1095 steel. I may buy another bag of potatoes over the weekend and and go to town on my four other Northwoods.
 
If you want a neat experiment, microwave the potato for enough time to get it good and hot, then shove the knife in up to the bolsters and wait overnight. Super black.
 
If you really want an instant patina, use hot (just below boiling) vinegar and dip the knife in it. Use a small glass, heat in microwave, then dip the knife blade in and watch.
 
Peeling potatoes is my favorite way to get a good patina going these days, it just works. :thumbup:
 
My CV Peanut, which now has a very nice patina, had a blade aroma for a while. I noticed when I first started using it on fruit that there would be a metallic smell from the blade. As it turned out, I used it extensively on potatoes (seems potatoes are the family ballast here), and now there is no more metallic aroma when I use it on any food. I couldn't say this is true of all my carbon blades, but it's true of this one knife. So there is a value to the patina on at least some carbon blades, seems to me.
 
Andya27 said:
My CV Peanut, which now has a very nice patina, had a blade aroma for a while. I noticed when I first started using it on fruit that there would be a metallic smell from the blade. As it turned out, I used it extensively on potatoes (seems potatoes are the family ballast here), and now there is no more metallic aroma when I use it on any food. I couldn't say this is true of all my carbon blades, but it's true of this one knife. So there is a value to the patina on at least some carbon blades, seems to me.
Click to expand...

This is very typical of carbon blades. New or lightly used carbon blades will impart a smell and even a metallic taste to some foods. But as time goes by, and the patina deepens this goes away. That's why you see so many of those old butcher and kitchen knives with blades almost black. When I was a kid, my mother had a few of her old favorites, and the blades were very very dark. But they left no taste or after smell. For lack of a better term, I call them "seasoned" blades. Seasoned by time and use. They got no special care in our house, just tossed in the sink and washed with the rest of the dinner stuff. But they got fried and put in the knife rack right after. You could slice apples, oranges, meat, cheese, anything with no unpleasant effects.

If I had to hazard a guess, I think that's why a lot of old timers put a new knife in a potato overnight. Get a jump start on the seasoning process.

Carl.
 
It does seem drastic at first, when the blade darkens like that after such a short time. But, you'll find that this first patina is not very "deep," that is to say it will fade to a lighter shade with time/use/contact with other materials, etc. If you want it really dark, you'll want to "treat" your blade with the potato several times, wiping it down well with a rag or a thick/cushy paper towel in between treatments.
 
jc57 said:
If you really want an instant patina, use hot (just below boiling) vinegar and dip the knife in it. Use a small glass, heat in microwave, then dip the knife blade in and watch.
Click to expand...

I've used that process and it works great. I then rinse it in cold water, wipe dry and you are done.
 
jackknife said:
When I was a kid, my mother had a few of her old favorites, and the blades were very very dark. But they left no taste or after smell. For lack of a better term, I call them "seasoned" blades. Seasoned by time and use. They got no special care in our house, just tossed in the sink and washed with the rest of the dinner stuff. But they got dried and put in the knife rack right after. You could slice apples, oranges, meat, cheese, anything with no unpleasant effects.
Click to expand...

Sounds exactly like this old Dexter boning knife that was one of my Grandad's. Now it resides in my kitchen and gets used all the time. Not a bit of funky taste or smell from the carbon steel.



-- Mark
 
jackknife said:
This is very typical of carbon blades. New or lightly used carbon blades will impart a smell and even a metallic taste to some foods. But as time goes by, and the patina deepens this goes away. That's why you see so many of those old butcher and kitchen knives with blades almost black. When I was a kid, my mother had a few of her old favorites, and the blades were very very dark. But they left no taste or after smell. For lack of a better term, I call them "seasoned" blades. Seasoned by time and use. They got no special care in our house, just tossed in the sink and washed with the rest of the dinner stuff. But they got fried and put in the knife rack right after. You could slice apples, oranges, meat, cheese, anything with no unpleasant effects.

If I had to hazard a guess, I think that's why a lot of old timers put a new knife in a potato overnight. Get a jump start on the seasoning process.

Carl.
Click to expand...


actually, I think any high carbon cooking surface e.g. a wok or a hamburger grill, is called 'seasoned' when it has been blackened. I remember working in a hamburger joint as a teen, and the boss was burning a new grill plate, and telling me the burgers would taste like dirt if you were to cook them on a non-seasoned one.
 
I've had this Norfolk Whittler for a week. As a diabetic, I eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. I've found this knife extremely efficient at cutting up my veggies and fruit.

In some ways, I feel I have destroyed its original beauty. When it arrived, the blades were pristine - beautiful. The blades now look, well, like this. And we're talking potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, cutting the occasional sandwich, apples, oranges - you get the idea. I didn't soak it in vinegar other than using it to cut up salad with dressing on it - I've just used it. A lot.

Question for you all - will the patina even out over time?

 
Andya27 said:
I've had this Norfolk Whittler for a week. As a diabetic, I eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. I've found this knife extremely efficient at cutting up my veggies and fruit.

In some ways, I feel I have destroyed its original beauty. When it arrived, the blades were pristine - beautiful. The blades now look, well, like this. And we're talking potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, cutting the occasional sandwich, apples, oranges - you get the idea. I didn't soak it in vinegar other than using it to cut up salad with dressing on it - I've just used it. A lot.

Question for you all - will the patina even out over time?

Click to expand...

It will even out some, but it will have spots that are darker than others. But to be honest I prefer this type of patina. I like a patina that has come from just using the knife. Not that there is anything wrong with a forced patina, I have done a few myself, but there is just something about a patina that comes from just using the knife.
 
I know we've had more than a few 'natural vs. forced' patina discussions, but:

I like the idea of watching a patina form from use, but what happens to me is I try that, and rather than having that grey form, I get pepper spots, and pitting. Then I give up use some vinegar. Probably because I don't use my folders on food much, as I didn't care for the metallic taste.

Recently though, I decided to give it another try, and cut some fruit, as I'd been told the taste goes away after awhile. I took a picture, since I'm about to loose the blade etching (I have mixed feelings about this)
patina001_zps694dd0cb.jpg
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