You can strip the nickel, apply a brushed finish, then have them plated again.

Nickel plating is very hard, and also very thin.
The brush look is in the underlying metal befor the nickel plate is applied.

Thanks, Brickeyee.
Before I read your post DH decided to try something. He heated a hinge up with a blow torch (which darked the metal) and then brushed with a wire brush to give it a two toned sort of look. I like the look, but do you know if it will hold up? Should I coat it with a clear matte spray?
I appreciate any input on this.
Terry

I just asked my DH, who is a metal man (jewelry). He said the metal will remain that way - so no worries!

Thanks, Golddust, for the response. DH went ahead and heated all the hinges and brought them in for me to see. They look great in most areas, but some parts of the hinge turned blue or purple/rainbowish. That part isn't pretty :( I'm guessing that was where too much heat got to that area. Does your DH have any ideas for them now? I think I want to end up with a matte brushed nickel look - but now may have to just paint the things white like the wood cabinets :(
Thanks,
Terry

Not for chrome. He is a precious metal man. He just knows how heat affects metal.

Usually brushed metal finishes involve the use of a fine abrasive on the surface of the metal with no deliberate attempt to remove a surface layer. A nylon fabric like Scotch-Brite works well sometimes with a fine abrasive and/or lubricant.

Modern plated hardware usually achieves a brushed, matte, or satin finish with a lacquer coating to dull the finish.

Thanks for the info. I'm still trying to work something out on these hinges. Any ideas whether the rainbow effect on the hinges is caused by too much heat applied, or not enough in those particular areas?
Thanks,
Terry

Okay, we finally got the look we wanted on the hinges.

These started out as flat, nickel plated hinges, very shiny. DH bent them to make them into offset, cut the third hole off the bent side and reshaped the metal, heated till red hot twice to get the nickel plating off. Then I buffed with scotch brite pad, buffed again, painted with matte acrylic spray, and gave a touch of rub-n-buff to the detailed area. It took way too much time, but I thing the end result looks like an old vintage hinge, just what I wanted since our farmhouse is over 100 years old. What do you think?
Terry

Wow. They look great! Nice work!

Thanks for the compliment!
Terry