A mite OT

[Forty Rod]

I notice that Will Ghormley and some of you others "age" a knife to match the sheaths you make.  I have a gorgeous Linder 440 stainless Bowie.  Problem is, it's too gorgeous.

Is there a technique for darkening and staining stainless steel so it looks older?

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

I would love to learn the technique as well.

[HorsePen Henry]

First put it on an anvil and smack it as hard as you can with a cross peen. Dead cold.
Then put a good high carbon blade in the scales.

Jist kiddin',
Horse Pen

[Ace Lungger]

I don't want anyone to try this yet, I was going to try using 3 one pound platic coffee containers, 1 with murract acid, one with water and one with vinger, ,where saftey gallses and long sleeve shirt, (you will also need a small brass brush that looks like a tiith brush, )dip the blade in he acid for a mintue or so, then swish it arong in the water, and then in the vinager and bad in the water!If the acid is attacking the metal as you want, you might want to use the brush togive it that damasus look. It is just something i have been thinking of doing. the acid should atack the metal, the water and vinager should kill the muratic acid. But do noy try this yet, PLEASE
Let me try it first, I have nothing to lose!
Later ACE

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Careful with that stuff, ACE. That sounds a mite risky. We really want to keep you around for a while. Maybe that's just one of those "better left undone" experiments.

[Forty Rod]

I'm afraid the muriatic acid will destroy the really beautiful stag handle scales and I'd sooner not take the knife apart.

Thanks anyway and be right careful with the acid.  I've used it to brown iron and steel parts in the past and won't touch it any more unless there's just no other way.

[Mogorilla]

As a chemist, yes I advise caution with the murratic acid, this is used as a concrete cleaner and is nothing more than sulfuric acid.   I am thinking in the neighborhood of ~1/2 concentrate.   I have a pocket knife that I carried prior to 9-11, and everywhere wanted you to stop.  It was shinny new, you could see yourself in the blade, I took a grapefruit for part of my lunch and used the shiny knife to cut it in half.   wiped the blade off, but about two days later a guy asked me if that was my grandfather's knife.  It had stag handles that had a well worn look and the blade was now a grey colour.   citric and ascorbic acid are a lot safer.  For that matter, you might get the same effect from vinegar, which is acetic acid.   

[santee]

People tend to "bead blast" stainless to make it duller. I don't know if this can easily be done at home. I also read that fine grit sand paper will dull the finish.

[Forty Rod]

I'll try the citric acid route.  The blade (including all the way back between the scales) and guard are all the same highly polished look.  Like I said, it's a really beautiful knife, but it doesn't look right with my gear. 

[swordboy]

brine and paper towels ...... take a pitcher of water and either kitchen/table salt or fine ground rock salt use a mixer and dissolve salt in the water 'till it won't take no more ..... now wrap the blade in the towels (about 2 1/2 or 3 sheets) and submerge in your brine solution if that don't get the job done you'll need to get creative

[ChuckBurrows]

I'm off to town so will add more on this subject later but a couple of notes:

1) Muriatic is hydrochloric acid not sulfuric and is sold at about 30% - used with the proper safety precautions it is not terrible to use and is widely used for aging of metals.

2) Ace - vinegar is an acid (acetic to be exact) not a base so it won't neutralize an other acid. Baking soda or ammonia are needed to neutralize.

3) To do stainless (actually stain resistant, no steel is 100% stainless) you will most likely need something much more aggressive than salt, lemon juice, etc. - but yes it can be done.

Folks that do the aging on steel, like myself, do most of it on high carbon non-stainless steels and the milder acids such as vinegar (acetic), lemon juice (citric), and onions (sulphuric) work fine, but slowly. Stainless generally takes some fairly aggressive methods, but even then it is more hit and miss.

Using the more aggressive methods that many of us use that do this frequently can be DANGEROUS - there are no two ways about it. Anytime you use chemicals such as acids there is a matter of toxicity - heck commercial leather dyes are some of the most toxic chemicals out there and improper use can lead to major health problems. But with simple safety measures the danger of aging metals is minimized and can be safely done in the home with out a major outlay of expense - more on that later, gotta run........

[swordboy]

run a current off one of them big 6vt batterys with a pice of copper in the brine and one off the blade and watch it blacken up in a few hours

[Mogorilla]

Chuck is absolutely correct, never type before coffee, muriatic is hydrochloric, 30% will still burn your skin, so wear gloves.   I have avoided many stainless steel blades as I think them too hard, just my personal opinion.   i know some newer combinations for stainless aren't as hard as they used to be, just set in my ways.    Chemically, a stronger acid like hydrochloric can force organic acids to act as a base, but yes you aren't truly neutralizing it other than you will raise the pH to that of vinegar.   

[Ace Lungger]

You are right CB, i was was going to use the vinegar to try to give they like and squily lok of damasscus steel, wasn't eeven given any thought on how I was going to stop the aging process!

That Why I claim this to be the great site on the net!!! If you need to know something it can be found here!
Later fellows
ACE