Should I force a patina on new knife?

[Edgy Guy]

Ok, you're completely out of your mind, but you're my new hero.

And you take amazing pictures, so please do this and share with us!

Well, I like to think I'm so open minded that my brain fell out.
That would explain a lot of things in my life.

SO, y'all guyz and galz who cut stuff for a living . . . what other foods have you noticed produce attractive reactions?

Does human blood produce a different color than cow blood?
I'm not sure where I'd get human blood.
Extracting some for this purpose is too macabre, even for me.
Actually these knives are so sharp I may get some soon for free. :happy1:

It would be cool if I knew which colors result from which foods.
Then I could shoot for a rainbow by lining them up just right.

Also if blood made blue and tomato made red, could I mix them to get purple?
This could be fun.

 

[SpikeC]

Don't forget chicken!
An interesting thing about potatoes, if you put some in a jar with water and put a piece of rusty steel in, the rust will desolve. The contents of the jar will develop a distinktive aroma as well!

 

[mc2442]

"This ain't no restaurant and if the family won't eat what I cook I just beat them more."

Reminds me of a line I love...."The beatings will continue until morale improves".

I have to read all the patina threads as I am about to get my first carbon knife in the near future. An awesome looking knife from Mr. Fowler, which I believe I can safely pick mine out of the WIP due to the handle.

 

[sachem allison]

I'm glad someone else pointed this out. I've read so many patina threads without seeing it... started to think I was a bit crazy but as a n00b/veggie I should be quiet. I've "grown" and destroyed a few patinas over time on French carbons. A rather pretty, colorful one comes from potatoes and maybe even prettier from sweet potatoes. It probably is a lot slower than from cutting bloody meat, though.

that patina starts pretty quick, I noticed with sweet potatoes I get orange blue patina which comes on strong but doesn;t last anywhere near as long as the starchy potato.

 

[sachem allison]

Would not covering the blade in a puree of one raw potato for 20 minutes (or the time it takes to cut 20 pounds into french fries) have the same effect?
I'd hate to waste all that food.

Maybe I'll do some experimenting with sweet potato puree, take a pic, clean the blade off with Flitz, then start over with another food and take more pics.
Better yet, I could apply one inch of one food, the next inch of another food.
A 10" blade could accommodate 10 different "paints" - actually 20 if I use both sides.

I'm also an artist and the idea of using Hitachi White #1 as a canvas appeals to me.
It's very edgy.

So the list should include:
Blood, from beef I assume
Potato
Sweet Potato
Mustard
Vinegar

What else?
Tomato?
Citrus fruits?
Pineapple?

That would be too easy, you can always freeze the potatoes. I think you should try the whole patina as art thing and see what happens.

 

[Wagstaff]

that patina starts pretty quick, I noticed with sweet potatoes I get orange blue patina which comes on strong but doesn;t last anywhere near as long as the starchy potato.

Good point, certainly good to point out for Edgy's possible project of comparing. I find it doesn't fade completely, but it doesn't stay nearly as strong as it comes on. I spoke with Jon yesterday who also pointed out that I was referring particularly to the Sabatier Nogents, which have a carbon that may be more susceptible to a sweet potato patina than the Japanese carbons. For a couple of reasons my J-knives to date are either low-stain carbon or stainless, so I haven't really been observing the patina difference.