can you force patina a carbonext?

After reading all 28 pages of the patina thread I have pretty much decided I want to apply a patina on my recently purchased 240 carbonext gyuto which i use just for home kitchen use. I saw both the mustard and blood methods and i know they are effective on true carbon knives, I am unsure of how it would be on the semi stainless carbonext. I know that some will say just let a natural patina develop but altho I love the edge the knife has, visually it is pretty flat.

I posted in the patina thread but due to being such an old thread and i wanna work on my knife while new before it's own patina begins, i thought id throw a thread up. I looked around on various other lesser knife forums but the information and real experience is lacking. Thanks in advance for the help/tips.

I've never seen anything on a CarboNEXT other than a graying and loss of lustre. Good luck with that.

Yes, you can force a patina on it, but the results are not going to be what you are looking for. The patina will be more of a matte grey,and probably splotchy. I would just use it normal and let it gets its own battle scars.

Dammit, got all excited about the potential and how to better this blade could look. Anyone out there actually developed some forced attractive patina on this knife?

I've done it with mustard on my TKC. I left a mustard/vinegar mixture on the blade for about two hours and voila, an unremarkable patina. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures for you, but it was pretty light and a tad splotchy. However, the knife had a even graying going on before I forced a patina, so that may have inhibited the process.

Blue Sharpie?

Lefty said:

Blue Sharpie?

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:lol2:

Semi stainless patina is rather unatractive. Initially it can resemble waterspots or a dulled film. I've never achieved anything remotely attractive on my heavily used Kono HDs.

heh...posted the day after the "how do I get this patina off my blade" question. ;-)

NO ChoP! said:

Semi stainless patina is rather unatractive. Initially it can resemble waterspots or a dulled film. I've never achieved anything remotely attractive on my heavily used Kono HDs.

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That's true for the HD's, CN, A-type but not true for SKD )(Heiji/Yoshikane), Devin's swr, and the Gengetsu steel. Those guys make nice dark patina with some reds and blues mixed in.

Not sure what this would do, but what about etching the blade? If you wanted to create a pattern, maybe drip some wax over the blade before etching? Haven't done any of this, but a thought crossed my mind that it may do something.

I have never done anything like that before, so I am worried of damaging the blade. I know that the visual aspect of the blade isnt all that important, but if its relatively easy to change it, I would like to. Note to self, next knife i get make it carbon so I can play with its patina lol

Has anyone ever etched a CN?

bikehunter said:

heh...posted the day after the "how do I get this patina off my blade" question. ;-)

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To put it nicely, a remarkable thread. Do you remember why you've chosen a semi-stainless??
Get a FKH or a Misono Swedish Carbon!

I picked a semi stainless before I knew I could put a patina on which reduces its reactiveness. Guess I missed that realm. Also the price point kind of directed me to the CN. Plus I've never had a good knife so i was paranoid I'd slack on the care of it and rust the damn thing lol. Now I am a lot more diligent at the care of a knife so next one will be carbon.... If I get a next one that is.

Maybe I could put some wax on it, the patina it just to give it some pattern, even if it's not fancy blues etc... I know it doesn't really matter but I'd love for it to have some flare to it.

Notaskinnychef said:

I picked a semi stainless before I knew I could put a patina on which reduces its reactiveness. Guess I missed that realm. Also the price point kind of directed me to the CN. Plus I've never had a good knife so i was paranoid I'd slack on the care of it and rust the damn thing lol. Now I am a lot more diligent at the care of a knife so next one will be carbon.... If I get a next one that is.

Maybe I could put some wax on it, the patina it just to give it some pattern, even if it's not fancy blues etc... I know it doesn't really matter but I'd love for it to have some flare to it.

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just cut with it. this is like like putting flames on an S2000: it's a fast car, but dude, man.

Notaskinnychef said:

I picked a semi stainless before I knew I could put a patina on which reduces its reactiveness. Guess I missed that realm. Also the price point kind of directed me to the CN. Plus I've never had a good knife so i was paranoid I'd slack on the care of it and rust the damn thing lol. Now I am a lot more diligent at the care of a knife so next one will be carbon.... If I get a next one that is.

Maybe I could put some wax on it, the patina it just to give it some pattern, even if it's not fancy blues etc... I know it doesn't really matter but I'd love for it to have some flare to it.

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You could re-handle it to give it some flair. If I recall the stock handle is fairly square.

I have a Kono HD that has been used very hard and there has never been any sign of any patina at all. Seems odd to me that you want to force a patina. Perhaps sell/trade it for something carbon?

I'm not concerned about it, just saw the forced patinas in the patina thread so thought I'd ask the brains here if it was feasible on my knife. Not gonna sell it or lose any sleep over it, I am happy with it just thought I'd ask and see if it would work in a similar fashion to full carbon. Thanks for the info all.

If you take a torch to it you can get some color in there......

I see where you're coming from. You love your knife, and would like to make it your own. You were curious. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do, aside from rehandle it. Kalaeb/Matt Stephens does great work and is an awesome guy to deal with. I'd seriously think about it, if I were you. You have a great knife, so why not put your stamp on it this way?

My carbo-next has been used for 2 years in pro setting and is mostly light grey, except where I pinch grip it has taken on a dark grey.
Maybe you could try a sweat patina . :fanning:

Well i can see doing a rehandle on it eventually, but due to the fact that I am cheap to start with and have out first baby on the way, a rehandle may not be the best use of money atm, hence my desire for some low cost colors. Mustard and blood are in my price range lol.

It is something to consider tho, thanks for the lead.

Lefty said:

I see where you're coming from. You love your knife, and would like to make it your own. You were curious. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do, aside from rehandle it. Kalaeb/Matt Stephens does great work and is an awesome guy to deal with. I'd seriously think about it, if I were you. You have a great knife, so why not put your stamp on it this way?

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I agree with Tom. I just got back a couple of Forgecrafts from Mike (MHenry). They had a certain rustic charm to start. But he not only made them lookers, but increased performance by adding truly functional handles( one of his own creation, the other a fellow forum member Apicius9/Stephen )- that look badass at the same time!. It doesn't get much better than that. ( He also rounded off some rough spots on the spine and choils. Mike rules IMHO )

All kidding and poking aside, the CN really is a great knife. I mistakenly sold my 270, and now I am regretting it.

Ofc there is a lot of variables in a rehandle, but what is the ballpark cost of one? Without shipping ofc

Western = pm kalaeb.....

Yeah, definitely contact Kalaeb (Matt). I've been lucky enough to get a chance with three of his handles, and they all have that charm about them. I think it's called "understated awesomeness".

I too have had three in my possession, and I'd add that they are more than aesthetical upgrades. They are shaped and feel better than oem, as well...

Thanks guys, you are too kind.

There are many things you can do to make it "your own" apart from re-handling and patinas. When I got my first CN, I really did not like the squared feeling of the handle. I just took some 320 grit sand paper and rounded the edges of the handle. I also prefer the bottom of the handle to have a little more of a taper along the sides where my pinky finger rests so I sanded a small groove vertical up the sides so it fit my hands. Also, if I remember the CN did not have rounded edges on the spine, again an easy fix with some sandpaper and a little elbow grease. Also, no harm in trying to etch, I would be curious to see how it turns out.

The knife can quickly become a molded extension of your arm with just a few tweeks. Experiment and have fun, no need to spend money. Especially with a baby on the way....diapers are expensive.