The Armour Archive

To Quote Joe Skeesick:

"The basic concept is to affix a level of oxidation onto the surface. In the case of purpling the metal (after high polishing) is heated to a certain level (about 500 c ) and then quenched in a light oil to fix the resulting color/oxidation in this case a rich peacock purple. In the case of blackening the the item (typically relatively rough) is heated to red then left to cool so that a large amount of oxidation develops (scale) it is then heated again and the quenched in a dark oil (followed by beeswax) this sets in a very hard layer of oxidation on the armour that both colors the plates and protects them. It is very durable."

I was wondering if he or anybody else knowledgeable about blackening could go into a little more detail or point me in the right direction for good sources. I want to go with something that has a smooth finish and be as black as possilbe.

The questions I have are when you reheat the piece after the first oxidation layer develops, do you heat it back up to red? I saw another post that stated you wanted a blue color while heating.

When you say oil... what kind of oil are you talking about? cooking oils? motor oils? I've seen WD-40 suggested before.

How do you follow up with beeswax? Do you apply it right after the oil? or do you wait until the piece cools. How thick of a layer of beeswax do you want?


I also just thought of the question... How do you properly take care of a piece that has been blackened?

Thanks to all in advance!

raistlin_majere100 wrote:
I was wondering if he or anybody else knowledgeable about blackening could go into a little more detail or point me in the right direction for good sources. I want to go with something that has a smooth finish and be as black as possilbe.

The questions I have are when you reheat the piece after the first oxidation layer develops, do you heat it back up to red? I saw another post that stated you wanted a blue color while heating.

From some experiments I've done, if you go to red with both heats, you'll get a remarcably durable finish.

When you say oil... what kind of oil are you talking about? cooking oils? motor oils? I've seen WD-40 suggested before.

I've used some pretty thick used motor oils (15w-40) and gotten some rather black glossy finishes. They won't stand up to a rotary wire brush, but they will take notmal combat abuse.

How do you follow up with beeswax? Do you apply it right after the oil? or do you wait until the piece cools. How thick of a layer of beeswax do you want?

This I'm not sure of. I'd guess you'd have to slightly warm the metal again (leave it out in the sun?) or just rub it on in a thin layer. Someone here should know the answer to that.

Jason

I usually heat with a weed burner evenly and watch for the first color shift. I go for the smooth silver-grey and then make sure I get it even all over. A quick pass over the entire piece and then stand back and hit it with the WD-40 unless it is small enough to dip in an oil bath.

If you use an oil bath, make sure it has an easy to close cover.

I try not to quench large pieces red hot because of flare ups and fire.

Mac used "Black Magic" on Toby Capwell's harness.

Gorgeous finish....smooth, shiny, black.

Wulfe wrote:Mac used "Black Magic" on Toby Capwell's harness.

Gorgeous finish....smooth, shiny, black.

Mac outsourced the blackening to a profesional company. While visiting the site he vaguly remembers seeing a container labeled "Black Magic" that may or may not have been the exact substance used for that particular job.

There are days when it is worth asking a profesional to do it for you.

That said thyere are a number of gun bluing and browning agents that supposedly work well with armor. Please read all instructions and handle toxic chemicals with care.

Good luck,
Sean Powell

Thank you for the advice. I am actually more interested in period techniques and am timid about using chemical treatments. I've heard some people say that they have tried using them without success.

I was still hoping someone could explain the beeswax. What exactly is its function in blackening the metal? If it is just supposed to serve as protection, then making a durable oxidation layer to begin with should be sufficient, right?

I blackened a suit once using the heat, coat with oil, and heat again method. Gave a very dark glossy finish that is resistant to scratching and such. I didn't wax or oil it afterwards though. The blackening has held up great over the years except for scratches around the articulation points. Since I was lazy and didn't do any waxing or oiling any scratched areas have since rusted a bit.
Anyplace you have articulations you run the risk of metal on metal rubbing and scratching. This is where the wax would be handy. The wax should help protect any scratched areas from rusting. May help lubricate the articulation areas to help prevent/reduce rubbing and scratching. Plus just as on a car a good wax polish helps protect and bring out the shine.

Just my opinions.

Chris

It's been a whilie, but I'm finally getting close to where I can blacken my helmet. I've got several questions before I continue with the blackening process though.

It's been a while since my Materials Science class and if memory serves me right heating the metal and letting it cool slowely will anneal the metal and make it hard and brittle. Do I need to be concerned about this when doing the double heat and oil method of blackening? Will either heating the metal and letting it cool out in the open, or heating the metal and quenching it in oil anneal my project? Or will it cool fast enough where it won't be a problem (I forgot what the term is for heating metal and letting it cool fast).

My second question is more about the construction of my helmet. It's a spangehn helm. I was just wondering if I should blacken all the pieces before putting it together or wait until I have the helm completely assembled? The only problem I can see with that is if I'm riveting the pieces together and I slip with the hammer, I could scratch the finish off, but that's on the inside of the helm, where I plan on painting it balck anyways. Another factor might be that since I plan on using this helm for SCA combat, and I will have to attach a bar grill to the front. How will welding affect the blackened finish?

build it all (including the grill) and blacken it all at once

raistlin_majere100 wrote:if memory serves me right heating the metal and letting it cool slowely will anneal the metal and make it hard and brittle

This will make the metal softer not hard and brittle. Cooling it faster hardens it and makes it brittle.

-Carmel

Hmmm.... I thought I might have had that mixed up. I even looked up the definition of annealing so I wouldn't screw it up. I could have sworn the description I came across said that Annealing was the process of slowely heating and cooling a piece of metal to harden it????

Well, I'm pretty sure letting the metal cool out in the open will allow it to cool too fast, which would harden the helm, but the second heating and quenching in oil should cool it off slowely enough to take away the hardness. Am I correct in my assumptions?

This depends on your carbon content. If you are heating mild steel, you will not really notice an effect other than the coloring of the metal. The carbon content in mild steel is not enough to have a hardening effect on the metal. Your best bet for hardening it is by work hardening - you will still anneal it with heat.
Stainless, I have never worked with in the heating area, so i cant say what the effects are.
MC and HC steels with have the hardening effect by fast quenching. The temper is then drawn by heating it again to a lesser temp - the exact effect dependent on the temp used - Drawing a temper is done within the 500 to 800 degree range with hardness being higher the lower the temp and less the higher the temp. With the hardness, cracking vs deforming is also affected. The higher the hardness, the more likely to crack. Most SCA armourers that I know that use tempering target between 525 and 625 degrees F.

Oh, and I forgot that with certain metals, you get the exact opposite effect as you do with steel. For example with copper, what you stated is true. It gets harder if you let it slow cool but if you quench it, it gets softer.

Carmel

About the beeswax - I waxed a helmet once (after russeting) by heating the metal (SLIGHTLY) with a small propane blow torch, then I took the clump of wax and rubbed it on. I think you only need to get the metal just hot enough to melt the wax, but no hotter. Now, I have only done this once, and I didn't ask anybody about how to do it, so I may have done it wrong. Plus, I used a scented candle cause I didn't have any beeswax. It smelled pretty.

When the wax thoroughly cooled and dried, I buffed the whole thing with a soft cloth. After a while, the wax finish dulled a little also. I think I may have put too much on. As for exactly how thick to put it on, I couldn't tell you for sure, but I would guess just enough to thinly cover the area. You will be able to tell where you've waxed because it stays glossy for a little while (until it cools).

Take this info with a grain of salt. As I said, I may have done it wrong. Be sure to post pics when you're done!

Cat

What about blackening chainmail? Should I assume its just safer and less time consuming to purchase pre-blackened rings, and then weave?

Tad

Note Mild steel will not harden; but most metal bought without a spec is A36 which is a yield strength spec not a content spec. The days of getting 1020 or 1018 when you go buy steel are long gone---unless you pay extra for the spec'd material.

A36 can harden sometimes---you don't really know until you test it and the next piece may be totally different.

Heating a piece of steel and cooling it rapidly is called "quenching" it's affect on the steel depends on the alloy---*totally*!

Thomas

Just for reference. Can a gas Barbeque grill work to heat the metal enough to blacken it or is the propane not hot enough or is the heat not concentrated enough?
thank you
Gene

We've (accidently) gotten a propane grill to 700 degrees before, and if you do the same things we did (a lot of burgers and brats, it started a grease/fat fire) you can do the same, but I don't reccomend it.

It all depends on how you blacken it, of course. I've never tried anything but the forge/wax technique, and I honestly can't get it to work without supervision.

Black paint were also used, with different gloss/matte level, I dunno how to make period paint but they probably look similar to modern one

If someone know I would be interested to know in wich proportion both method were used

Sagebowman wrote:Just for reference. Can a gas Barbeque grill work to heat the metal enough to blacken it or is the propane not hot enough or is the heat not concentrated enough?
thank you
Gene

Yes. I'v successfully blackened using my oven, and a bbq can get considerably hotter than that. Just heat the piece,covered in a film of oil (used motor oil works wonders) until it smokes. when the smoke stops, re-oil and heat again. repeat until the desired blackness is reached. Do this in a well ventilated area and warn the neighbours that they might see quite some smoke.

as an aside, most grills and frying pans and such become oil blackened just by use and the occasional layer of oil. works much better than teflon.

matthijs wrote:

Sagebowman wrote:Just for reference. Can a gas Barbeque grill work to heat the metal enough to blacken it or is the propane not hot enough or is the heat not concentrated enough?
thank you
Gene

Yes. I'v successfully blackened using my oven, and a bbq can get considerably hotter than that. Just heat the piece,covered in a film of oil (used motor oil works wonders) until it smokes. when the smoke stops, re-oil and heat again. repeat until the desired blackness is reached. Do this in a well ventilated area and warn the neighbours that they might see quite some smoke.

as an aside, most grills and frying pans and such become oil blackened just by use and the occasional layer of oil. works much better than teflon.

Ya, great analogy. You aren't hearing the metal to change it in any way. You are heating the metal to a temperature hot enough to burn the oil on it's surface - just like seasoning a cast iron pan. Almost any oil should work, too, even a can of "Pam". Which is a lot more oven and grill friendly than motor oil.

Does, say, Pam give you a nice, even, black color? What sort of oils give what sort of coloration?

I'm looking towards blackening my next harness.

Mike F wrote:Does, say, Pam give you a nice, even, black color? What sort of oils give what sort of coloration?

Olive oil gives a nice deep black, judging from my frying pan.

Cat wrote:About the beeswax - I waxed a helmet once (after russeting) by heating the metal (SLIGHTLY) with a small propane blow torch, then I took the clump of wax and rubbed it on. I think you only need to get the metal just hot enough to melt the wax, but no hotter. Now, I have only done this once, and I didn't ask anybody about how to do it, so I may have done it wrong. Plus, I used a scented candle cause I didn't have any beeswax. It smelled pretty.

When the wax thoroughly cooled and dried, I buffed the whole thing with a soft cloth. After a while, the wax finish dulled a little also. I think I may have put too much on. As for exactly how thick to put it on, I couldn't tell you for sure, but I would guess just enough to thinly cover the area. You will be able to tell where you've waxed because it stays glossy for a little while (until it cools).

Take this info with a grain of salt. As I said, I may have done it wrong. Be sure to post pics when you're done!

Cat

The hotter the metal, the less wax will clump to it, but still treating it.

Mike F wrote:Does, say, Pam give you a nice, even, black color?

I'm not sure about other ones, but Pam Grier seems to have had an even coffee-black color.

[img]http://www.cultsirens.com/grier/grier006.jpg[/img]

hhhmmmmmm Pam Grier, very hot stuff
This is a waste oil quenched hat, has a very cool tortoise shell look.
I also use the same process on my removable grills.
Works and wears quite nicely
http://www.whitemountainarmoury.com/xav1.jpg