Where can we get Cold Blue? Attn Alan Maisey or anyone who lives in Australia

A. G. Maisey · 23rd February 2014, 08:26 AM

When you do a stain job, the first thing you must do if you want an acceptable job is to get the entire blade back to a bright, clean white. In other words you strip the entire blade of whatever is on it, whether that is rust, or whether it is part of an old , worn previous stain.

With cold blue you can spot little bits of a worn stain job, and if you're careful, you can blend the touched up spots carefully so you can't really see where the spotting has been done.

On the art of staining, a normal commercial job is done by soaking. In my opinion this usually results in a pretty lousy job. The only way to get a good job is to do each blade individually, and whether you do it with the brush on method, or the massage method you do need to have a fine understanding of climatic conditions to get a good job, and also be prepared to go back to a white blade again and again until you get it right. Experience does help, but no matter how experienced somebody is, not every blade comes out perfect every time, and with a good blade, perfection is the only acceptable result.

You can get some sort of a result under almost any conditions, even inside in the middle of winter, but for a truly good result you need a clear sky with no clouds --- clouds cause a less than brilliant, sparkling finish --- middle range humidity so that the drying time between applications is neither too long nor too short, and a temperature that is neither too hot nor too cool. In Jawa, probably early morning in the dry season is about the best time to do a stain job. Whenever you do the job, wherever you do it, the weather is vital for perfection.

Yeah, that link looks like the stuff I'm talking about. My bottle looks a bit different because I bought it a long time ago, but its probably the same stuff.

silkreeler · 24th February 2014, 01:02 PM

Ah yess!!! I recall him also saying something about clouds ...
Anyway, thanks for the answer, I will get that solution and try my luck. I guess I should avoid the pamor areas as it will stain the nickel part just the same?

A. G. Maisey · 24th February 2014, 07:52 PM

I'm not sure that it will stain nickelous pamor in the same way as it will ferric material. I have never tried a full blade, only ever used it to touch up worn areas. I think that the effect on nickel would probably be that it would give it a brownish tinge, but I think this could probably be polished off with steel wool on a toothpick. With care you could fake a proper stain I believe.

However, the problem is this:- not all pamor is simple modern nickel. If its pamor Luwu it will most likely contain iron, and that will stain dark and be uncleanable. If it is high phosphorus iron it will stain just the same as the rest of the blade, but with a different colour.

Best to limit the use of cold blue to a touch up job.

silkreeler · 25th February 2014, 01:49 PM

Many thanks. I will stick to my original intention - covering patches previously filled by rust (mostly black are anyway) as well as tangs / pesi. Off to harass my Australian cousin!!

GIO · 25th February 2014, 02:04 PM

Such products are difficult to find. I was told that the chemical composition prevents from shipping via air mail.

silkreeler · 1st September 2014, 07:23 AM

My Australian cousin got me my Birchwood Casey pen and boy I was so happy with it. First tried it on the tip of my Dwi Sula that was bent and got hammered back to shape, scratching off some of the warangan in the process. Then I re stained that part to perfection with the pen, the color was unnoticeable. Will try on something more ambitious later. Thanks again, Alan Maisey.

A. G. Maisey · 1st September 2014, 09:36 AM

You're welcome.

Yeah, it does a nice touch-up job, one of these days I'll try it on a complete blade.

I don't have a pen, I've got a very small bottle of the stuff, near as I can figure I've had that bottle for close on 50 years, and its still got about a quarter in it. Mostly I use it to touch-up my rifles.

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23rd February 2014, 08:26 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	When you do a stain job, the first thing you must do if you want an acceptable job is to get the entire blade back to a bright, clean white. In other words you strip the entire blade of whatever is on it, whether that is rust, or whether it is part of an old , worn previous stain. With cold blue you can spot little bits of a worn stain job, and if you're careful, you can blend the touched up spots carefully so you can't really see where the spotting has been done. On the art of staining, a normal commercial job is done by soaking. In my opinion this usually results in a pretty lousy job. The only way to get a good job is to do each blade individually, and whether you do it with the brush on method, or the massage method you do need to have a fine understanding of climatic conditions to get a good job, and also be prepared to go back to a white blade again and again until you get it right. Experience does help, but no matter how experienced somebody is, not every blade comes out perfect every time, and with a good blade, perfection is the only acceptable result. You can get some sort of a result under almost any conditions, even inside in the middle of winter, but for a truly good result you need a clear sky with no clouds --- clouds cause a less than brilliant, sparkling finish --- middle range humidity so that the drying time between applications is neither too long nor too short, and a temperature that is neither too hot nor too cool. In Jawa, probably early morning in the dry season is about the best time to do a stain job. Whenever you do the job, wherever you do it, the weather is vital for perfection. Yeah, that link looks like the stuff I'm talking about. My bottle looks a bit different because I bought it a long time ago, but its probably the same stuff.

24th February 2014, 01:02 PM	#2
silkreeler Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 27	Ah yess!!! I recall him also saying something about clouds ... Anyway, thanks for the answer, I will get that solution and try my luck. I guess I should avoid the pamor areas as it will stain the nickel part just the same?

24th February 2014, 07:52 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	I'm not sure that it will stain nickelous pamor in the same way as it will ferric material. I have never tried a full blade, only ever used it to touch up worn areas. I think that the effect on nickel would probably be that it would give it a brownish tinge, but I think this could probably be polished off with steel wool on a toothpick. With care you could fake a proper stain I believe. However, the problem is this:- not all pamor is simple modern nickel. If its pamor Luwu it will most likely contain iron, and that will stain dark and be uncleanable. If it is high phosphorus iron it will stain just the same as the rest of the blade, but with a different colour. Best to limit the use of cold blue to a touch up job.

25th February 2014, 01:49 PM	#4
silkreeler Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 27	Many thanks. I will stick to my original intention - covering patches previously filled by rust (mostly black are anyway) as well as tangs / pesi. Off to harass my Australian cousin!!

25th February 2014, 02:04 PM	#5
GIO Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 328	Such products are difficult to find. I was told that the chemical composition prevents from shipping via air mail.

1st September 2014, 07:23 AM	#6
silkreeler Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 27	My Australian cousin got me my Birchwood Casey pen and boy I was so happy with it. First tried it on the tip of my Dwi Sula that was bent and got hammered back to shape, scratching off some of the warangan in the process. Then I re stained that part to perfection with the pen, the color was unnoticeable. Will try on something more ambitious later. Thanks again, Alan Maisey.

1st September 2014, 09:36 AM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	You're welcome. Yeah, it does a nice touch-up job, one of these days I'll try it on a complete blade. I don't have a pen, I've got a very small bottle of the stuff, near as I can figure I've had that bottle for close on 50 years, and its still got about a quarter in it. Mostly I use it to touch-up my rifles.