this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2023
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If you want to go dark, ferric chloride is likely going to be your best bet.
But you can get decent results with anything acidic, with enough time. I have a preference for slightly heated aple cider vinegar. I'm not sure why, but it gives a nice iridescent sheen with relatively brief soak times. Get it up up maybe 120ish F, soak about twenty, check to see where you are, then every fifteen or so after that until you get where you want to be.
I've not done a lot of d2 though, mostly stuff like 1095. D2 is a bit more resistant than your usual carbon steels, so I can't be sure how long it'll take tbh. It works on d2, but the degree/time is nebulous on my end.
Not OP but I'm gonna try this on one of my cheaper knives. Thanks.
*Edit: Welp, meant to reply to the OP. *
You can also just let it develop patina over time.
Here's a knife I've used for food prep a few times.
Although D2 has a bit of chromium in it so likely won't change as much.
Basically anything acidic could work.
Good thing is if you don't like it you can likely just buff it back out to a shine (might be trickier on some knives)
I used ferric chloride on my Elementum (D2), and it turned out really dark. I then tried copper/brass washing it and it looked great for a few days, but rubbed off easily. Still has a bit of fleck/shiny spots, but otherwise just dark grey.
Sorry I never got a notification for this but thanks for the tips. I'll have to give it a try on my D2 knife. I'll probably go the proper ferric chloride route because I also just purchased a new knife that's 14C28N that I'll want to do once I get some practice.