Description
We really like this modification! They just look the part with a bit of rough colour on the blade.
First off, this falls nicely into the DIY category! Cold Bluing solution can be purchased easily online. The process is a bit labour intensive and smelly but not difficult at all.
If you don’t know what a bluing finish on steel is, it’s not a paint or a stain. It’s a chemical reaction that effects the outermost layer of the steel. It’s essentially very similar to a forced patina process.
It will age and rub off but you end up with a mottled finish on the blade that looks the part. The picture in the gallery shows a new machete and one that has been blued and age about 1 year.
We use a cold bluing solution (mostly selenium dioxide) and it is classed as the quick and dirty way of achieving a blue/black colour.
It’s not a ‘Show Piece’ bluing. It is a rugged, patchy finish that breaks in quickly and looks the part.
Here is a quick rundown of the process we use to get a blue/black blade finish. If your doing this yourself, make sure you follow the manufacture’s instructions that came with your bluing solution.
First we need to remove all of the varnish off the blade. We use solvents and 400/600grit abrasive paper for this. It has to be very clean so it’s 3 times with a grease and wax remover and cloth.
We heat the blade to about 80 degrees and quickly flood the area with the solution. We scrub the surface with #000 steel wool, clean it down and repeat two more times.
It takes about a week for the whole process to stop rusting. We keep it lightly coated in WD40 and scrub off all the light rust once daily with #000 steel wool. After about 6 days the rusting process is complete. This is why we keep the machete in our workshop before sending it out. Chances are even after this time you will still receive it with some ‘flight rust’. This is normal and nothing to worry about. Normal machete maintenance is scrubbing the blade with steel wool.
Here is a link to how we safely work machetes in our shop that are already sharp. We advise you to take the same level of precautions including using a very big ball of fine steel wool to help keep your hands away from the edge.
Remember, we always recommend you work on the machete when it’s blunt! If we have worked on it, it will be extremely sharp! Use it for a while until it’s safer to work on.
