...Changing the position of the knife, every now-n-then...you can see the results at 15 and then 30 minutes...
Best, Capt. Chris

....All done...All in...Total time, from start-to-finish was 1 hour! I took a small Randall pocket hone and touched up the edge after washing the knife. It's a done deal! If you are not crazy with this look you can:
* Leave it in longer or shorter, giving it more or less "darkness"
* Sell your carbon knife and order one in stainless steel!
This will give my customer some very functional use for the rest of his life. Hope ya'll enjoyed the trip.
Stay sharp, Capt. Chris

That was AWESOME Capt.! Thank you for the break down and the photos. =)

I have done this to a 1055 carbon tomahawk but just used boiling vinegar, no need to worry about the handle or the heat treat so I just tossed the whole thing in the pot, boiled it some, turned it off and walked away, came back a few hours later and it was all good, but I did then need to touch up the edge to a mirror finish once more, no it's not consistent colouring but it still looks good and weathered.

I tried the pickle juice years ago. Yes it does turn the blade dark, but also blotchy. Some of this may be due to oil left in the steel. Tried several times more and gave up. Each time I rubbed off the oxidation with 1000 grit non woven grey Scotchbright pad, it came right off down to original finish.
So last year I started using a little 21 for boning out a turkey carcass and don't you know it's now got a nice patina and it's part of my turkey disassemble kit.

Yes, thanks Captain for taking the time to do this. Knife looks great!

My son "pickled" his one night at the deer camp, cutting and eating his steak....next day, it was toned....
:-)Rocky

Before I found out about the Pickle juice trick, I would eat a few apples by slicing them with a new carbon Randall. However, I did not wipe off the Apple juice from the blade. Let it sit over night and then used hot water to clean it. After 2-3 apples, I felt better health wise and the blade had a patina.

Pap

I've tried the pickle juice method and like it. It left the mottled surface on the blade and helped to cure my not wanting to use the new knife because its too nice, "illness". The pickling seems to wear off somewhat as the knife blade is handled and cleaned over time. Anyone notice this?

Once, when I had just bought a knife out of the display case, I recall Pete Hamilton telling me to go out in back of the Randall shop, pick and orange and cut it up with the new blade to "season" the carbon blade. Another time he told me to get a tomato and cut it in half. Then, slice up half of it to make a sandwich for my lunch. Next, take the other half of the tomato and crush and squeeze it all over the blade. This would serve to season that blade, too.

My blade O-1 very quickly darkened, when I cut melon.
I think also a good way, but first it is necessary to degrease the blade as advised by captain,that there are no spots after