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Description
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Step 2: Mustard

I'm pretty happy with the vinegar etch at this point. I did polish it with the steel wool a little brighter than I should have, but since we are doing the mustard patina, it won't matter too much. The main thing is my hamon is visible and will continue to be visible even after putting the mustard patina on it if you look closely at the blade.

Again, the reason I didn't put steel wool on the items I am using, is because you don't need it. If you don't use a steel wool, just use hot water, soap, and a rag to clean the blade after each cycle of doing the mustard patina, like you did with the vinegar.

I like to put my mustard on in spots. You can do the whole blade, large sections, or small sections like I do. Depending on where you want the mustard to etch the blade. Where ever you put the mustard the blade will become colored and pitted, depending on the length it it applied.

Both of these knives are going to be tactical style knives. For this knife, I want a few different colors in the blade. So first I put done a few spots of mustard. In these spots the color will be dark and light gray. I leave the mustard like this for about 4 hours, like in the second picture.

The third picture is after cleaning and lightly polishing with a steel wool. I then reapply mustard on the blade again. This time I do the areas where I didn't have the mustard at before. There will be etched lines from your previous mustard spots. I use that like a coloring book, I try to stay in the lines.

I try to keep the amount of mustard applied thin. Large clumps isn't always good, because it will take longer to oxidize, which usually means it will take longer for you to get a good patina.

I leave the main body covered in mustard over night. Usually between 8-10 hours. After this amount of time, I clean it up and check the progress. If the etch is where I want it to be, then I leave it. I can always reapply and change it at any time.

The bottom picture is the two blades basically finished. I have to put the handle on them and then the knives will be done.

At any time you don't like the way the patina looks, you can sand it all off and restart. The good thing about this is that you can keep playing with it until you get the look you want.

The only draw back is that it takes a lot of waiting, prepping, and a whole lot of time to get a good finish. Usually the wait is worth it.

I will admit, that sometimes it hurts to pit and color a blade when you worked so hard to get a nice satin finish on it. But, for these two knives, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Handling a Knife:

It puts the lotion on it's skin!

Logan Pearce
Facebook!!!
www.pearceknives.com

Description
Previous Step: [link]

Step 2: Mustard

I'm pretty happy with the vinegar etch at this point. I did polish it with the steel wool a little brighter than I should have, but since we are doing the mustard patina, it won't matter too much. The main thing is my hamon is visible and will continue to be visible even after putting the mustard patina on it if you look closely at the blade.

Again, the reason I didn't put steel wool on the items I am using, is because you don't need it. If you don't use a steel wool, just use hot water, soap, and a rag to clean the blade after each cycle of doing the mustard patina, like you did with the vinegar.

I like to put my mustard on in spots. You can do the whole blade, large sections, or small sections like I do. Depending on where you want the mustard to etch the blade. Where ever you put the mustard the blade will become colored and pitted, depending on the length it it applied.

Both of these knives are going to be tactical style knives. For this knife, I want a few different colors in the blade. So first I put done a few spots of mustard. In these spots the color will be dark and light gray. I leave the mustard like this for about 4 hours, like in the second picture.

The third picture is after cleaning and lightly polishing with a steel wool. I then reapply mustard on the blade again. This time I do the areas where I didn't have the mustard at before. There will be etched lines from your previous mustard spots. I use that like a coloring book, I try to stay in the lines.

I try to keep the amount of mustard applied thin. Large clumps isn't always good, because it will take longer to oxidize, which usually means it will take longer for you to get a good patina.

I leave the main body covered in mustard over night. Usually between 8-10 hours. After this amount of time, I clean it up and check the progress. If the etch is where I want it to be, then I leave it. I can always reapply and change it at any time.

The bottom picture is the two blades basically finished. I have to put the handle on them and then the knives will be done.

At any time you don't like the way the patina looks, you can sand it all off and restart. The good thing about this is that you can keep playing with it until you get the look you want.

The only draw back is that it takes a lot of waiting, prepping, and a whole lot of time to get a good finish. Usually the wait is worth it.

I will admit, that sometimes it hurts to pit and color a blade when you worked so hard to get a nice satin finish on it. But, for these two knives, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Handling a Knife:

It puts the lotion on it's skin!

Logan Pearce
Facebook!!!
www.pearceknives.com