Patina; Natural vs Applied
Patina; Natural vs Applied
(OP)
I collect Civil War edged weapons. There are many modern reproductions that are aged to look like original period items. The components can include brass, iron, steel and leather). Unfortunately, many aged items are sold as original Civil War period items but are fakes.
Focusing on the steel components first, how can I distinguish patina produced by oxidation over a long period from patina reproduced by modern chemical aging? (Could one clue have something to do with the depth/thickness of the oxidized film?)
Thanks!
Focusing on the steel components first, how can I distinguish patina produced by oxidation over a long period from patina reproduced by modern chemical aging? (Could one clue have something to do with the depth/thickness of the oxidized film?)
Thanks!





RE: Patina; Natural vs Applied
Look for patterns that show that the part was maybe lying against something and there's a stain related to that. That's usually natural as opposed to artificially aged.
RE: Patina; Natural vs Applied
To the observer, on masterfully faked weapons, the patina, pitting and wear appear authentic, so perfect even experts are often fooled. When I began collecting, I bought fakes thinking they were original and lost thousands of bucks...which is seen amongst collectors as paying your dues.
I have surmised that there may be a metalurgical method available to help protect buyers from this kind of fraud.
RE: Patina; Natural vs Applied
RE: Patina; Natural vs Applied
RE: Patina; Natural vs Applied
Scientific Investigation of Copies, Fakes and Forgeries By Paul Craddock
Fake patinas: their examination and production - pg 365
http
Makes mention of using XRD and examining underlying metal
RE: Patina; Natural vs Applied
Older alloy tended to have high impurity levels by todays standards. There are even some of these chemistries that have been documented.
In some cases where items could be slightly disassembled you could use a low power microscope to reveal tooling or machining marks that were clearly modern.
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Plymouth Tube
RE: Patina; Natural vs Applied