Blue Patina question

[RHatt]

In your experience how does a blue patina on carbon steel from cutting meat hold up in the long run? Does remain blue or turn dark? Thanks.

 

[M1k3]

After about a week, give or take depending on the particular steel and how much it gets used.

 

[Bigbbaillie]

Yea I mean there really is no concrete answer to this question. Just use it some more and find out. If you like the way it looks now take a picture of it.

 

[Pie]

Next use it will most likely change in some way.. and each time after.

 

[esoo]

Patina is a living thing - every cut that you make will change it. If you want blue, find what makes your knife blue and only cut that with it.

 

[ian]

My chicken butchery knife has had a blue patina for months, fwiw. As others have said, depends on what you cut.

 

[ModRQC]

52100 gets vivid blue and tends to be very stable with it - compared to any other carbons I had. Other discolorations still occur, but I meant as a natural tendency.

 

[Woshigeren]

I usually like to "prime" with cutting hot cooked meat, and then use are normal. I find this leaves the most blue across my carbon steels. It will basically turn dark grey over time but the blue still comes through I'm certain angles

 

[coxhaus]

If you want blue then look at gun blue. Steel guns are blued to keep down the rust. The more you polish the steel the deeper the gun blue will be. I would think a carbon steel knife would like nice with a polished deep blued metal. I have never seen it done but it would be interesting. In my younger days in high school, I had an after-school gun job working for a local gunsmith and one of my tasks was to polish rifle barrels for bluing.

 

[RDalman]

If you want blue then look at gun blue. Steel guns are blued to keep down the rust. The more you polish the steel the deeper the gun blue will be. I would think a carbon steel knife would like nice with a polished deep blued metal. I have never seen it done but it would be interesting. In my younger days in high school, I had an after-school gun job working for a local gunsmith and one of my tasks was to polish rifle barrels for bluing.

Pretty sure but don't want to point anywhere specifically; you often see gunblued japanese sanmai knives, "kurouchi", the iron claddings blacken really well. Here's a gunblued carbon monosteel blade. It's used and have some patina on top of the bluing

 

[ian]

It’s real different from patina blue. Personally not a huge fan of it aesthetically, but I guess it can look cool.

 

[Bodine]

I would worry about the chemicals in gun blueing.

 

[coxhaus]

I would worry about the chemicals in gun blueing.

When bluing they only etch the steel the chemicals are washed off after bluing. For hot dip bluing you drop the barrel in a hot blue tank and the steel is blued. The barrel is taken out washed and waxed to finish it.

 

[RDalman]

I would worry about the chemicals in gun blueing.

No need to worry imo

 

[Bodine]

Thanks Robin, that is good to know.