Mustard Patina This post comes as a supplement to Cliff's thread on the aged look or patina typically found on old, carbon steel, kitchen knives. Similar to the finish on the butcher knife pictured here. The pattern can be attractive in its own right. In most cases, however, it tends to be cloud-like and lacking much detail. I wanted that aged look on the railway spike 'hawk's head that I recently completed. As Cliff mentioned, many household agents can be used to achieve that aged patina, but I wanted to kick it up a notch. I chose Keen's® dry mustard, in part because it has more bite in the mouth than any of the other mustards found in our kitchen and in part because I wanted control over its consistency. I mixed about ½ teaspoon of the powder with enough tap water to make a loose paste. In order to get more definition in the patina, I used a section of wooden skewer rather than a brush which tends to wash out some of the finer detail. The 'hawk's head was hand rubbed to 400 grit. I thoroughly degreased it and applied a thin coat of mustard over the entire surface with lots of gobs randomly placed (as pictured). After the mustard dried, I washed it off under the tap and dried the head off well. The patina was attractive enough to stand on its own. Nevertheless, in order to increase the patina's depth, make certain there were no voids and reduce the potential danger of any unattractive, accidental patterns often associated with a single application, I applied a second coat changing the direction of application. After the second coat dried completely, I washed the head again, dried it off thoroughly, then finished it with a very light coat of mineral oil to increase its corrosion resistance. You can see how striking the patina is, not unlike random pattern Damascus. This whole aging process took about three hours. As you no doubt realize, most of that was drying time. For a few cents worth of materials and very little work, this is a quick and easy way to create an attractive finish on carbon steel blades. Here's my finished 'hawk. Wayne Hamilton
Hey Wayne, that is one sweet hawk. I like the mustard patina, but I have to make one small correction on your commentary. The thread on holiday recipes was posted by our moderator. I just added the goofy reply. Sorry, but I can't take the credit.
I have been doing ths for a couple years now,,,sometimes get a little more creative and draw a tarten desighn or tiger stripes simply by etching one layer,,then washing it off and then another coating or layer.
Hey Wayne. Pops and I tried it but it didn't end up particularly nice. That said, perhaps the Keen's was a tad old. Seems to me that it should have mixed up smoother. Certainly did mark up the metal, just not the patina we were hoping for. He may have improved upon our initial eforts by now.
