I made a brief search of the index and although I am almost positive this subject has been discussed previously, I wasn't able to come with anything quickly.

I want to "gently" age a steel blade. In this case it is a modified Cold Steel 1796 Saber, which also means a Windlass origin. What I want to do is to add patina and character without making the steel look too distressed and pitted. In essence, a method other than rock salt, nitric acid, and burying in the backyard for a few days. Also, I would like to punch in a motto between the fullers. Can this be accomplished with a steel alphabetic punch set on cold steel?

Can any one point me in a good direction? As always your advice and help is appreciated.

George Osborne

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The Instant Antique
A featured article by Sean A. Flynt

I get a fairly consistent grey finish by submersing parts in white vinegar. How long depends on several factors, including the temp of the vinegar and the type of steel. It helps to warm the vinegar and/or the steel. 5160 often seems to take several soakings, with steel wooling between, to get consitent results, probably due to the chromium content. De-greasing the steel before soaking is a good idea. I have found that unless you soak too long, this method does not produce any significant pitting, except occasionally on cast material.

I wouldn't use punches on cold steel since it is very likely that you will destroy the crystalline structure of the steel in doing so. If you don't want to heat the blade again, I would recommend engraving the letters on the blade.


Greetings from the sunny town of Kiel, Germany.

You might have a look at this topic: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...p;start=20

There are good examples of aging projects there as well as my use of Lemon juice and an explanation in detail of how I do it
( No Picts from me, no digital camera. )

Page 1 of the topic also has good examples of what you can do with vinegar and salt. ( With pictures. )

Do a search on this site using: Those key words, vinegar, salt, lemon juice, antiquing and you should find numerous topic threads also talking about this subject.

As well as what Nathan suggested: The feature article The instant antique.

Yesterday I "aged" a Windlass dagger a bit.
Cleaned the blade with water & soap to remove any oil, then applied a relatively even layer of mustard with a brush.
I let it sit for a few hours, then rinsed the mustard off and reoiled the blade.
That's all.
The etched parts are very dark but not dull, there is no pitting and the blade fully retained its polish.

Hope this helps. :)

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I'd suggest plain, unheated vinegar delivered from a spray bottle and left for approx. 1 hour. Then rinse, dry and oil. Keep hilt up, always, or the vinegar will run down into the furniture/tang.

I've been working an a pair of LOTR style gauntlets, and Ive tried everything to age them....... if the lemonjuice and papertowel doesn't work, Im hitting up that mustard brush on next!...... that dagger looked fantastic![/img]