01 slicer stained black

L

loftin

Member
A few weeks ago i made a 6" knife out of 01 and tonight while slicing an onion the steel reacted with the onion juice enough to leave black stuff all over the onion...it was ugly! Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. I was going to make a large chef knife out of 01 ..inspired by other makers beautifull work here but now???
 
No idea, I have used my O1 hunter to slice potatos with no black stuff, but I don't remember ever slicing onions with it. May have to try it and see what happens.
 
Sounds like residuals from the making process, was the blade ever cleaned thoroughly after you finished it?

100!
 
the blade was several weeks old and had been in use in the kitchen almost everyday cutting everything..was always washed by hand and dryed..brush finish..was a sweet type onion..was more of a reaction than a vinegar etch..
 
The patina will have no effect on the performance of the blade. I've got a slicer that was made with 1095 that has developed a patina from use with no harm done. If you want something that will stay bright and shiny then you will have to stick with stainless steel.

Doug Lester
 
loftin said:
A few weeks ago i made a 6" knife out of 01 and tonight while slicing an onion the steel reacted with the onion juice enough to leave black stuff all over the onion...it was ugly! Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. I was going to make a large chef knife out of 01 ..inspired by other makers beautifull work here but now???
Click to expand...

What where you making?
 
O1, and other carbon steels, will patina with food use. An onion has pretty stout acid. I had an L6 blade that developed an instant patina when I cut a banana. Higher grit finishes/mirror finishes resist it more because of less surface area exposed, but even they will tend to color over time.

--nathan
 
i got'ya on the lemon..i had cut limes with the knife numerous times just had never seen that reaction..i love carbon steel blades and the graying out is perfectly kool with me..just had never seen such a quick reaction and put it on here to see who else had seen similar..thanks
 
I cut onions all the time with my O-1 blade and no problems, white, yellow and red onions. I have some yellows to cut up for beef stew tomorrow and will pay close attiotion to see if there is a reaction.
 
I've gotten blue color, black to a lesser extent, often on 01. It does seem that different runs of steel color differently. I recently finished a 01 hunter with a 400 cork belt finish and when I used it to breast out a wild turkey, I got a blue hue. I see the most reactions when I cut steak or other meat. I have seen it also when cutting cheese.... Oddly enough, I have a high mirror polished hunter I've used for a couple years cleaning lots of critters and other various stuff it has never shown any color reaction to anything.

Long story short, I put the turkey knife back to the cork belt and all color is gone. It is just a surface reaction to acids, fats, etc. It is not a sign of corrosion. I say this because I have seen these changes maintained for years with no ill effects to the steel.
 
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