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Shawn Shaw
Location: Boston, MA USA Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Posts: 115
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 Posted: Sun 17 Dec, 2006 5:40 am Post subject: Blackening Stainless Steel |
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Okay folks-
Supposing I wanted to get a nice black finish on stainless steel (no, I don't know what kind of stainless steel I have), what could I do?
I know the traditional gun bluing stuff won't work. I don't know if boiled linseed oil will blacken stainless or not...
I'd rather not resort to painting it, since I don't think it will look as nice and I don't think paint is a very durable finish.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Shawn
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David Martin
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Posts: 165
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| Posted: Sun 17 Dec, 2006 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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That's a tough one. I did a quick internet search and found a couple of reports that if you heat the stainless steel significantly, it will blacken, though I can't attest to the accuracy of this. I just checked Brownells, but didn't see anything listed online for this purpose.
Robar reportedly has a way of accomplishing this, but my guess is that it would be proprietary.
Good luck - let us know if you find a good way of doing this.
"When war-gods meet to match their might,
who can tell the bravest born?
Many a hero never made a hole
in another man's breast."
- Sigurd, The Lay of Fafnir
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Shawn Shaw
Location: Boston, MA USA Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Posts: 115
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| Posted: Sun 17 Dec, 2006 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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Any guess what temperature the stainless will blacken?
As it's a knife, I would be a little concerned about annealing the blade, so maybe I could heat it in the forge to X degrees and then quench (with a 2nd heat and slow cool down to anneal afterwards)?
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Shane Allee
Industry Professional
Location: South Bend, IN Joined: 29 Aug 2003
Posts: 506
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| Posted: Sun 17 Dec, 2006 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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There are a few stainless steel blueing solutions out there. Can't remember the company name, but they either had one called something like Tru-black or they also made a blueing solution called Tru-black. Wish that I could remember more, but it has been a few years. They are out there though.
Shane
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Geoff Wood
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| Posted: Mon 18 Dec, 2006 2:41 am Post subject: |
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You can get a nice, pretty solid, dark coat on stainless spoons. It isn't matt black or anything, still shiny and a lot darker than it started off. Best thing I found was leaving them in cooking mushy peas in a saucepan. I always have vinegar in there. Ive not tried vinegar on it's own, so I don't know if the peas play a role or not (sulphur in the proteins?). It doesn't happen straight off, takes a few meals to gradually build up. Normal hand washing has no effect on the coating/layer. I've not tried dishwasher (some of those detergents are pretty harsh, to judge from the effect on glass etc..). Probably not practical for your purposes.
Geoff
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David Martin
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Posts: 165
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| Posted: Mon 18 Dec, 2006 5:40 am Post subject: |
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| Shawn Shaw wrote: | Any guess what temperature the stainless will blacken?
As it's a knife, I would be a little concerned about annealing the blade, so maybe I could heat it in the forge to X degrees and then quench (with a 2nd heat and slow cool down to anneal afterwards)? |
The last post on this thread indicates 1200 degrees (F): http://www.finishing.com/1000-1199/1039.shtml
Birchwood-Casey sells all kinds of metal finishes. Perhaps their customer service department could guide you.
Good luck!
"When war-gods meet to match their might,
who can tell the bravest born?
Many a hero never made a hole
in another man's breast."
- Sigurd, The Lay of Fafnir
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This is a standard topic