A question about Tiger Stripe

[a223cat]

My new AR has the grey and then darker grey Tiger Stripe treatment on the blade. Looks great to me and the wife likes it too.

Is this treatment a protective treatment? is it part of a bead blasted thing? Does it retard any corrosion that may beat odds and sneak up on S30V steele?

and how is it applied to the blade? As you can see I am still fascinated by the knife!

Thanks all.

PS: The liner is Titanium isnt it? and Ti does not rust, right?

 

[L.O. Little]

a223cat, try:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=208016

The liners are indeed titanium and do not rust.

 

[a223cat]

"Okay…
In the actual Heat Treat, the knives sit in an argon atmosphere and come out looking just like they did when they went in. It is during the tempering that they turn black. It is not scale, though that is what it is called. It is really oxidation. Think of it as a black oxide treatment. It is nearly the same. A lot depends on the material being used as well. S30V comes out kind of blue. BG and ATS come out blackish red. Warpage depends on a lot of things, foremost being the way you grind your knives. Paul has been doing this for longer than I have been living. He has it down." -Mick Strider

Ah! so that's how they do it! it must be buffed to take off some of the black I guess. Not sure about that part.

Thanks LO. Would you happen to have a handy link for the 'what looks like light rust' on the Ti liner ?

I tried the search function. those things hate me, I can just tell....

 

[L.O. Little]

"Would you happen to have a handy link for the 'what looks like light rust' on the Ti liner ?"

If you're talking about the area of the liner that locks up with the blade, that's not rust. That's heat treating...

 

[SOX]

Don't quote me, but I believe the stripes on S30V are a coating that is applied, and then bead blasted into the tiger stripes pattern. BG-42, and ATS-34 come out of heat treating the dark color, and are bead blasted into tiger stripes leaving the dark areas. The discolorization on the liner was mentioned in the past. I believe it is from tempering the Titanium. I may be getting what I remember wrong. Hope this helps a little.

Reagan

 

[L.O. Little]

"Don't quote me, but I believe the stripes on S30V are a coating that is applied, and then bead blasted into the tiger stripes pattern."

Reagan, I'm pretty sure you're right. I'm almost certain I saw a post from Mick saying what you said regarding S30V tiger stripes.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I had to quote you!

 

[harrydog]

I can attest to the durability of the stripes - at least on the S30V blades. I liked the looks of the tiger stripes on the BG42 steel but the pure black stripes on the S30V I'm not as fond of.
I tried some 000 steel wool with WD40 on the blade to try to tone down the stripes (as suggested by Mick). I spent a good deal of time with it and the stripes are the same as before!! The blade feels polished and very smooth, but the stripes seemed not to be affected. It would seem to me that this would make a great coating for the entire blade, if it protects from corrosion.