I think I've tried it all, and while purposely rubbing stuff on can give nice patinas, I've noticed that most of it will come off as it is a very thin layer of steel that you've affected. When touching-up the edge after forcing a patina, mine gets rubbed-off when on the leather strop.
Heavy use will give it a nice patina that won't come off like many of the rub-on patinas will. Use that knife every day in the kitchen and don't skimp on the acidic foods. Inside a month, you will have built-up an interesting patina that will stay.