Knife question

[Rick Wallace]

I ve been useing gun blue to finish my knife blades,,works well,but is there something else{More cheaper}  that will work?  I thought I saw something about mustard???  but now I cant find it.   

[jonathan creason]

Anything acidic will etch the blade and give you different finishes.  Vinegar, mustard, and citrus juices all work well.  Play around with them and you can come up with some pretty cool effects.

[Rick Wallace]

Thanks  !

[stickbender]

     the acidics like vinegar, citric juices etc. will give you a brown finish.  Rust finish as it may be called.  Makes a nice dark brown finish, for muzzle loaders.  You might try blending the blue, with the brown.  Put the brown on, and then after you have washed, and dried the metal, put the blue on or vice versa, and see what you come up with, keep applying till you get the darkness or color you want.  You might get a "plum" brown finish.  
                                                                Wayne

[crooketarrow]

  I like to just hand polish down to 400 grit. It's not down to mirror polish. And it's just right I think. I have put them in the oven 350,400% degrees for and hour. This gives it a slight browning effect.  Some steels like 1095 you can even temper it like this after you harden it first. I've used the browning method acids and vinegar and don't really like it.

[JW_Halverson]

I've taken bright finish non-stainless steel blades and colored them up by using them in the kitchen on potatoes and onions.  Just let 'em dry a little and wipe with a papertowel between uses.  That will give you a very natural looking patina to the blade.

[4est Trekker]

These blades were etched in apple cider vinegar with a little lemon juice added.  If you warm it up it works quicker.  I usually let them set overnight, wash them off, then repeat until I get the finish I like.  OR, you can hook some juice up to it and get results FAST!  Get a 6-12V lantern battery and two alligator clips.  Clip the negative lead onto the blade and suspend it in the vinegar.  Clip the positive lead to a piece of scrap steel and suspend in in the vinegar also (not touching the blade).  Soak them blade in 5 minutes intervals, cleaning it after each soaking.  This is best done with water and steel wool.  Just don't touch the blade with your fingers, as the oil will prevent a good etching.   Alternately, mustard will give you a mottled look.  (Note: these methods work best on plain-carbon steels.)

[JW_Halverson]

I like that top one best, for some reason! 

 

[Rick Wallace]

Thanks for all the replies! I like the look of 4est's knives,I think ill try that one first,keep in mind I'm not building showpieces,just some inexpensive using knives,I'm using a couple old table saw blades for now since I have them,maybe ill move up to something better as I learn.