A patina expected and unexpected... cpm m4 vs s110v (pics)

[ZrowsN1s]

So I knew when I bought my M4 pm2 it would develop a pocket patina if I carried it. I could have put tuffglide or another product on it, but I decided to embrace the patina. So, when my M4 arrived I put my s110v pm2 that I usually carry in one of the Otter Boxes I keep my knives in and carried the M4 pm2 for the month of October. As I predicted it developed a nice patina, the surprise came when i took the s110v out of the box. It had developed a grey patina on almost the entire blade. I think it looks good, it was just very unexpected, my ZDP doesnt patina like that in the box. Maybe I got something on it, but I'm pretty sure I wiped off the blade before I put it away. I have not been cutting anything corrosive with either, just cardboard, paper, and plastic only (I have H1 for messy stuff) these are pure pocket patina. All of these pictures were taken after being cloth polished with Flitz metal polish, so these patinas are on there pretty good, you cant just polish them off with a microfiber cloth and some flitz. Thought I'd share. Feel free to post your own patina pics and describe how you got them.

[Liquid Cobra]

Sorry i can't really tell from the photoswnat the patina looks like.

I will say that flitz will take them right back to where they started if you use enough elbow grease and time. I restored my superblue caly 3.5 to its former glory that way and it had an incredibly heavy patina.

[farnorthdan]

I carried one of my M4 PM2's for about 3 weeks here recently and was expecting it to patina pretty fast based on some others I have seen but mine didn't really change at all, I would just give it a quick rinse and dry after cutting fruits/food etc and nothing.

Now my 52100 Military was a different story, that blade started forming a patina right from the get go, Super Blue Caly was about the same.

[anagarika]

My GB M4 got patina from liquid antiseptic soap. I posted somewhere on this forum. Sorry, on phone now & can't post the image (flickr BBCode won't work on phone).

Since then, the rust & pitting stop bothering me.

[ZrowsN1s]

Sorry i can't really tell from the photoswnat the patina looks like.

I will say that flitz will take them right back to where they started if you use enough elbow grease and time. I restored my superblue caly 3.5 to its former glory that way and it had an incredibly heavy patina.

The patina is a very light grey on both. The s110v is large solid light grey patches, the M4 has wavy lines in the patina that make it look like damascus if you hold it at the right angle. I know it doesn't show up well in still photos. If you were holding the knife in your hands and moved it around in the light, the patina is very noticeable. I circled the spots in red.

[ZrowsN1s]

I carried one of my M4 PM2's for about 3 weeks here recently and was expecting it to patina pretty fast based on some others I have seen but mine didn't really change at all, I would just give it a quick rinse and dry after cutting fruits/food etc and nothing.

Now my 52100 Military was a different story, that blade started forming a patina right from the get go, Super Blue Caly was about the same.

Nice millie! now thats a knife with character.

[bearfacedkiller]

I am quite surprised that S110V has discolored on you. I have done a lot with S110V (MT18) including leaving it dirty with blood or plant goo and I have put it away wet and dirty many, many times. I guess the heat treat has been tweaked a little since then. I have seen zero staining on my Native5 or Para2 in S110V but I have kept them much cleaner and much drier. I have four knives in M4 and they have all stained very easily just from pocket carry. Anyway, thanks for sharing your experiences.

[bearfacedkiller]

I don't like forced patinas (especially the fugly faux damascus/tiger stripe kinds) but rather prefer to let the patina happen on it's own over time. I do like the look of an honest patina though. My Super Blue Spydies have the darkest Patinas of all my Spydies.

The Caly3 SB has a very even and almost black patina that came from this being my apple slicing knife at work back when I worked for the man.



My Delica, while clad, has the same black apple patina as it often filled the same role.





My Caly3.5 has a natural pocket patina. It is grey, spotty and uneven. I think it looks great. This knife has not been used for much food prep.



The Stretch has an even grey patina from EDC and some food prep and garden work.




My 52100 Mule and my M4 Mule are both stained up a bit from field use but I guess I don't have any pics of that. All the rest of my knives get rubbed down with a little metal polish from time to time to keep them looking fresh and new.



I have many non Spydies with a Patina.

This was one of my first knives and I dressed my first deer with it 25 years ago. I took it camping, I threw it at trees, I cleaned game and it lived under the driver's seat of my truck in high school.


My D2 Leek has a nice grey apple patina as well. Some of these came from the factory with a forced patina and some did not. Mine did not.


My go to kitchen knife. A Dexter Russell Chinese Cleaver in 1095cv at 56-58. Nothing fancy but I like it. Needless to say, the patina is from food prep.




I also like stockmen. I have a few Old Timers from back when they made good knives. They have some patina as well. These are knives I have owned for many, many years. The caly3 is in one pic and my Endura in SB which got sent to a more loving home is in the other.

[Evil D]

That's not a patina. I would send this knife back to Spyderco with special directions to check out exactly what that is because I have a hint of it on the plunge line of my S110V Military. Most of it did buff off with some Mother's polish but something is going on with the S110V production.

[Evil D]

Now that I look closer it seems that mine also has a bit more gray but it's only really noticeable in the right light. I suspect it's something to do with the grind process and is either residue or a slight difference in the grind finish causing cloudiness.

On the tip in this shot


Less so but also on the tip here and at the plunge line.

[Molle Ninja]

Maybe a perfect opportunity to stonewash the s110v blades?

[Evil D]

Maybe a perfect opportunity to stonewash the s110v blades?

I'm not worried about it, mine will likely get a regrind eventually but mine is also not near as bad since I've had it almost a month and I just noticed the other spots on the blade. But, this is one of those feedback opportunities I think Spyderco needs to hear about. I've owned other Spydies in this steel that didn't have this haze to them and I don't believe it's a patina with how corrosion resistant the steel is.

[spyderg]

My GB formed a pretty even light patina, never any rust. I figured the same would happen with my Mantra, wrong. Rust first sweaty day. Cleaned up fine and I forced a patina and it's been fine since. Strange how the same steel from the same company can behave so differently. I will say the ground surfaces definitely have different textures so that may make a big difference.
I got a bit of a dud as far as s110v is concerned. I have a Native5 that came with a very uneven grind but I put her to work right away seeing as how my knives are all users and 110 was supposed to be super great. It is by far the "chippiest" of any of my knives. I reground it with some improvement and sharpened numerous times. I decided to experiment with ferric chloride, hot vinegar, mustard, tomatoes etc. and found nothing give it a nice looking patina or finish. It sits in the garage on my work bench and gets the real ****** jobs I don't want to put my other knives to work on, slitting material against the concrete floor, scraping, etc. It's been holding up fine in that role. I also decided the Native 5 design just isn't for me but this isn't the thread for that discussion.

[Blerv]

I'm not surprised; 110v has a ton of carbon in it. I make it a habit to wipe all my higher carbon blades (anything > VG10) down with Froglube these days. The small jar I bought will probably last me a lifetime. Assuming I don't start brushing my teeth with it (it smells delicious...).

[mb1]

Enjoyed the knife tour Darby!

[bearfacedkiller]

^^^ Thanks brother!

I quick look at my S110V Para2 reveals no funny grey hue? I am with David, I have found S110V to be extremely stainless. I can only guess what it is but if I had to i would say that it is just something to do with grinding S110V. maybe it doesn't like to be buffed or something?

[farnorthdan]

Definately not seeing anything on any of my S110V pieces,

I do like how SB patina's, some real nice coloring, 52100 shows some color at first but eventually turns more of a brown/charcoal color.

[jalcon]

I've carried my Jade M4 PM2 for a few months now..cutting fruit with it occasionally with never more than a decent rinse....the blade appearance really hasn't change much. I have put some mineral oil on it, like twice in those few months. Compared to what people have said on these forums, I've been pretty surprised. It was also a humid environment for awhile there....as always YMMV..

[curlyhairedboy]

I've seen this on s110v as well. Curious as to what it could be....

[toomzz]

Off topic: cool pictures.....
@bearface: you know your literature man.....the Hagakure? :rolleyes: