How do I lock the temper color into my blade?

[Paul Carter]

How can I lock the tempering color into the blade? Can this be done by quenching in oil after taking out of the temper oven? Thanks for any help.

 

[Wesley Alberson]

While beautiful, the tempering colors on steel are very thin and can be rubbed off easily. Using oil or some sort of wax could possibly create a barrier to keep the surface from rusting, but it won't really help if the knife is used. Even processes like color case hardening are only used for fittings on knives and guns that won't come into contact with many things that could rub it off. If you are looking to give your steel some color, I would recommend looking into cold bluing, which is somewhat durable, and I have seen others use it on blades.

[Paul Carter]

Thanks! I was afraid there was no real good way to lock in the color. Soapy water washes it right off.

[Jerrod Miller]

Also, please don't rely on those colors to achieve a reliable temper.  They are not consistently accurate.