High Carbon Steel Knife Patina

The best way to protect a carbon steel blade is to use it regularly wipe it off before sticking it back in your pocket and make sure the knife stays dry.
High carbon steel knife patina. You will rarely encounter a patina on a stainless steel knife however they can form quite easily on a carbon steel knife due to the lack of chromium. While researching carbon steel knives see related content we learned that they require more care than stainless steel knives because they can oxidize in two ways. This is a good thing. Adding a patina or acquiring one via use on carbon steel will slow bad rust.
The patina may offer some protection from rust but don t count on it. The patina is purely cosmetic and won t affect the knife s durability or use. Your knife will take on hues of grey blue and black. I say bad rust because patina on carbon steel is rust it is just a good stable black rust fe3o4 as opposed to.
Instead of allowing the aging process to form the patina over time you can instead force a patina to develop. Patinas form on carbon steel blades. If you have high carbon steel knives like 8 percent carbon and up they get really reactive to rust. Why a patina matters your carbon steel knife s patina not only looks great but is protective too.
This is because stainless steel blades contain chromium which makes them resistant to all kinds of corrosion. The patina formed as a layer of magnetite protects your blade against corrosion and gives it that classic carbon steel look. When carbon steel knives begin to turn a charcoal grey they are forming a patina. It means that a patina is on the way.
Adam who works in our edmonton knifewear has figured out a pretty easy way to force an early patina onto a carbon steel. Think of a patina as a little extra help in the war on rust. Between 3 and 8 percent it rusts less and will be a little easier to take care of.