Can you (and should you) force patinas on semi-stainless steel?

[antlerman]

Self explanatory. I really like Patina, really enjoyed forcing patinas on my AS / blue steel#1 blades. Very stable + provides good base for a natural patina to build.
I have a SKD gyuto, with a nashiji finish. Is it worth making a patina for the core steel?

When I first got the knife, my partner cut a lemon and left some seeds on the blade accidentally for a few hours. It left some black circles around it. I'd ideally like to remove this, I don't know if a forced patina, or polishing with stones, would be the right way to do this. Let me know your thoughts.

 

[Barmoley]

SKD will readily patina, so you can force patina on it. Since you like patina you might as well force it or just use the knife a bunch and it will develop naturally over time.

 

[antlerman]

SKD will readily patina, so you can force patina on it. Since you like patina you might as well force it or just use the knife a bunch and it will develop naturally over time.

Will it ruin the cladding (nashiji) if I wipe ferric chloride over it too? - should I just focus on the bevel. Please let me know your thoughts.

 

[Barmoley]

Will it ruin the cladding (nashiji) if I wipe ferric chloride over it too? - should I just focus on the bevel. Please let me know your thoughts.

Someone more knowledgeable in this should reply, but ferric chloride can etch stainless steel given enough time, so depending on how stainless the cladding is it might happen sooner rather than later. I would protect cladding if I wanted to make sure it is not affected.

We have some polishing and etching experts around here, hopefully they will chime in.

 

[antlerman]

Someone more knowledgeable in this should reply, but ferric chloride can etch stainless steel given enough time, so depending on how stainless the cladding is it might happen sooner rather than later. I would protect cladding if I wanted to make sure it is not affected.

We have some polishing and etching experts around here, hopefully they will chime in.

Thank you very much for the response. I wanted to see about stainless as I've only done this to an iron clad blue #1, and one stainless clad AS petty.

 

[M1k3]

Etch with cheap balsamic vinegar.

 

[Nemo]

Yes and no.

Yes you can force it.

No you shouldn't. Use the knife and let it happen naturally.

 

[antlerman]

Yes and no.

Yes you can force it.

No you shouldn't. Use the knife and let it happen naturally.

Why shouldn't you, especially for my blue #1 knife it was much more convenient developing it with ferric chloride. What is the downside of forced patina other than "not pure". I found a natural patina built on top of the forced one anyways.

 

[Nemo]

Why shouldn't you, especially for my blue #1 knife it was much more convenient developing it with ferric chloride. What is the downside of forced patina other than "not pure". I found a natural patina built on top of the forced one anyways.

You can if you want. I was being an overly dogmatic caricature of myself.

Having said that, the subtle natural patina of most semistainless is a nice yet understated contrast to the stainless cladding that most of them have.

Also, they build a natural patina with ease and usually without corrosion. So there is really no need to force a patina.

If you do force a patina, you will likely corrode the edge, so will need a resharpening.

 

[antlerman]

You can if you want. I was being an overly dogmatic caricature of myself.

Having said that, the subtle natural patina of most semistainless is a nice yet understated contrast to the stainless cladding that most of them have.

Also, they build a natural patina with ease and usually without corrosion. So there is really no need to force a patina.

If you do force a patina, you will likely corrode the edge, so will need a resharpening.

Thank you,
Looking at the knife in more detail, I can no longer see the spots where lemon seeds were left on the knife causing splotches of patina (which I didn't really like). There is a slightly hazy more natural patina building now, so I'll stay the course and let it develop further. Thanks for the advice.