SAK blade staining with mustard?

5hif7y · **on:** January 06, 2012, 02:07:24 AM

hello again guys, gal's and ghouls

just a quick question. i stumbled upon a page that talking about staining a blade with mustard because of its acid content, and was wondering if it was possible with a SAK blade?

i didn't know if the steal would be too weak or if it would just have to be done for a shorter period of time? and if so then what would it do to the integrity of the blade?

do you even think this is a good idea? is it poor man's Damascus? or just a way to wreck a good SAK?

heres the site i found it on (i know its a ake head but ive seen it with knifes also)

http://www.survivaltopics.com/forums/knives-blades/14054-mustard-vinegar-staining-few-notes-pics.html

im very interested to see what you guys and gal's think. thanks in advanced for your response.

5hif7y · **Reply #1 on:** January 06, 2012, 02:12:47 AM

some more examples

on a Mora 840 MG Carbon Clipper
http://commonoutdoorsurvivalskills.blogspot.com/2011/05/cutting-mustard-or-mustard-cutter.html

another example on British blades forum.
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?59855-Questions-on-patina-and-filework/page2

Syph007 · **Reply #2 on:** January 06, 2012, 02:20:31 AM

As far as I know you can only do a forced patina on carbon steel blades. Since saks are all stainless steel, I don't think you will be staining it with mustard. Ive done the mustard trick on carbon steel moras though, as a preventative rust inhibitor.

5hif7y · **Reply #3 on:** January 06, 2012, 02:28:04 AM

sounds interesting. my blades dont see water much without getting dryed properly and then oiled and cleaned so rust wouldnt be a issue.

maybe ill get a carbon steel opinel, and try it with that. you got any pics of the mora you did it on?

Sparky415 · **Reply #4 on:** January 06, 2012, 02:07:21 PM

Here's an Ax or two that might give you some idea of how it will look

(carbon Steel not SS)

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,30309.0.html

bladechick777 · **Reply #5 on:** January 28, 2012, 04:19:36 AM

5hif7y, I May Try This On Stainless Steel For You Just To See How It Turns Out.
I Should Be Able To Pick Something From My Lot Of Stuff And Pick Something To Experiment With.

I Will See How This Works Out Just For The Experiment Of It.

jerseydevil · **Reply #6 on:** January 28, 2012, 04:48:04 AM

I don't know if mustard would work on the stainless steel of a SAK. It sure works on a carbon steel blade, I just did it tonight in fact on a Case Trapper.

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,35008.0.html

bladechick777 · **Reply #7 on:** January 28, 2012, 05:18:18 AM

I Saw That! Awesome Work.
I May Try The Orange And The Mustard Just To Experiment.
I Need Things To Do.. So This Is An Idea.

I'll Report Back.

bladechick777 · **Reply #8 on:** January 28, 2012, 06:25:17 AM

I Tried The Mustard On A Classic And A Kershaw Half Ton. It Did Nothing But Leave One Little Mark On The Classic That You Can't See.

I Tried The Orange On My Stainless Steel Tiny Toothpick(No Name Brand)... And Well It Worked Wonders.

So I Stuck The Classic And The Half Ton In The Orange.

I'll Be Taking Them Out In About 10 Minutes. I'll Tell You What Happens.

captain spaulding · **Reply #9 on:** January 28, 2012, 06:34:39 AM

Quote from: bladechick777 on January 28, 2012, 06:25:17 AM

I Tried The Mustard On A Classic And A Kershaw Half Ton. It Did Nothing But Leave One Little Mark On The Classic That You Can't See.

I Tried The Orange On My Stainless Steel Tiny Toothpick(No Name Brand)... And Well It Worked Wonders.

So I Stuck The Classic And The Half Ton In The Orange.

I'll Be Taking Them Out In About 10 Minutes. I'll Tell You What Happens.

I can't wait to find out what happens.

bladechick777 · **Reply #10 on:** January 28, 2012, 07:24:10 AM

Nothing Happened.
No Result.
Just Two Blank Blades.

So Why Did It Work On The Tiny Toothpick?

Would a Small No Name Brand... No Brand At All Have Carbon Steel?

?eter · **Reply #11 on:** January 29, 2012, 08:32:53 AM

'stainless steel' covers a wide variety of alloys with different physical properties- some are magnetic, some are not, some are harder, some softer, some a re tough, some are brittle, and some resist corrosion better than others. The corrosion resistance is also related to the surface finish (highly polished blades will rust less easily than unpolished blades).

Victorinox uses a custom stainless steel (one of the oldest stainless steels formulated for use in knives) that is known to be very corrosion resistant, at the expense of being a little softer than modern 'super steels'. Softer also means easier to sharpen, so many people see this as an advantage. The disadvantage is that there aren't simple methods for putting a patina onto this steel using chemicals you'd want to keep in your kitchen.

Gareth · **Reply #12 on:** January 29, 2012, 03:27:48 PM

Quote from: bladechick777 on January 28, 2012, 07:24:10 AM

Nothing Happened.
No Result.
Just Two Blank Blades.

So Why Did It Work On The Tiny Toothpick?

Would a Small No Name Brand... No Brand At All Have Carbon Steel?

very likely it's just not a very high 'stainless'. For example; a simple mild steel will rust, and in no way could be called stainless, but it will also have almost no carbon in it either, so you couldn't describe it as a high carbon steel either. So what I'm saying is that there is a whole range of steels and it's not an either/or choice between stainless or high carbon.