# Blue Patina question



## RHatt (Apr 15, 2021)

In your experience how does a blue patina on carbon steel from cutting meat hold up in the long run? Does remain blue or turn dark? Thanks.


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## M1k3 (Apr 15, 2021)

After about a week, give or take depending on the particular steel and how much it gets used.


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## Bigbbaillie (Apr 15, 2021)

Yea I mean there really is no concrete answer to this question. Just use it some more and find out. If you like the way it looks now take a picture of it.


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## Pie (Apr 15, 2021)

Next use it will most likely change in some way.. and each time after.


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## esoo (Apr 16, 2021)

Patina is a living thing - every cut that you make will change it. If you want blue, find what makes your knife blue and only cut that with it.


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## ian (Apr 16, 2021)

My chicken butchery knife has had a blue patina for months, fwiw. As others have said, depends on what you cut.


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## ModRQC (Apr 18, 2021)

52100 gets vivid blue and tends to be very stable with it - compared to any other carbons I had. Other discolorations still occur, but I meant as a natural tendency.


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## Woshigeren (Jun 27, 2021)

I usually like to "prime" with cutting hot cooked meat, and then use are normal. I find this leaves the most blue across my carbon steels. It will basically turn dark grey over time but the blue still comes through I'm certain angles


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## coxhaus (Jun 27, 2021)

If you want blue then look at gun blue. Steel guns are blued to keep down the rust. The more you polish the steel the deeper the gun blue will be. I would think a carbon steel knife would like nice with a polished deep blued metal. I have never seen it done but it would be interesting. In my younger days in high school, I had an after-school gun job working for a local gunsmith and one of my tasks was to polish rifle barrels for bluing.


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## RDalman (Jun 27, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> If you want blue then look at gun blue. Steel guns are blued to keep down the rust. The more you polish the steel the deeper the gun blue will be. I would think a carbon steel knife would like nice with a polished deep blued metal. I have never seen it done but it would be interesting. In my younger days in high school, I had an after-school gun job working for a local gunsmith and one of my tasks was to polish rifle barrels for bluing.


Pretty sure but don't want to point anywhere specifically; you often see gunblued japanese sanmai knives, "kurouchi", the iron claddings blacken really well. Here's a gunblued carbon monosteel blade. It's used and have some patina on top of the bluing


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## ian (Jun 27, 2021)

It’s real different from patina blue. Personally not a huge fan of it aesthetically, but I guess it can look cool.


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## Bodine (Jun 27, 2021)

I would worry about the chemicals in gun blueing.


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## coxhaus (Jun 27, 2021)

Bodine said:


> I would worry about the chemicals in gun blueing.



When bluing they only etch the steel the chemicals are washed off after bluing. For hot dip bluing you drop the barrel in a hot blue tank and the steel is blued. The barrel is taken out washed and waxed to finish it.


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## RDalman (Jun 28, 2021)

Bodine said:


> I would worry about the chemicals in gun blueing.


No need to worry imo


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## Bodine (Jun 28, 2021)

Thanks Robin, that is good to know.


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