What cold blue did you use? Can you take the knife apart? Birchwood Casey makes a blue remover that works well on their products, but I don't know how it will affect the wood. Maybe using a Q-tip applicator will let you control it.

For future applications, cold blue works best when applied hot, or at least warm. Around 170-200 degrees F. makes for a surprising difference in durability and color consistency.

Buff it off.

Thanks for the replies. Joshua it is a take down so removing the guards is not a problem. I'll try both methods and see what happens.

With the lock down in Montana I could not find the Birchwood Casey blue remover. I'm to big of a chicken to try and buff the guard. It would probably just end up somewhere on the other side of the shop. I soaked both guards in white vinegar for 5 minutes and used some 0000 steel wool. The bluing came off fairly easy.

Awesome! Is that mild steel?

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Awesome! Is that mild steel?

It's wrought iron with a heavy etch. I used the cold blued to show more character. I wiped it off while it was still wet, and hit it with steel wool.

ABS MS David Lisch has a great way to both etch and blacken wrought iron called "fire etching". I'll see if I can find my notes on it. It was fairly easy to do in a low temp forge.

Maybe someone else here knows the process. I seem to remember Karl Anderson doing some cold blue treatment on wrought iron some time ago, but he applied it hot.

|quoted:

ABS MS David Lisch has a great way to both etch and blacken wrought iron called "fire etching". I'll see if I can find my notes on it. It was fairly easy to do in a low temp forge.

Maybe someone else here knows the process. I seem to remember Karl Anderson doing some cold blue treatment on wrought iron some time ago, but he applied it hot.

Thanks, I would really enjoy trying something new. This was a total experiment, I was either going to fail miserably or have it turn out ok. It seems to have turned out ok.