Anyone else noticing the black DLC wears/scratches quickly?

A

adg44

Joined
Jul 26, 2007
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I picked up a Para-Military 2 Camo/Black blade last month when I was at the Spyderco factory (highly recommended if you are ever in the Denver area). At first I thought the knife was just ok, but after using it a bit more, it really is pretty close to perfect.

However, after only cutting relatively easy things, such as opening mail, boxes, etc, I noticed the DLC is becoming more shiny in the middle of the blade, and just now after cutting the foil from the top of a pill bottle, the DLC scratched off along the top of the blade. For a relatively expensive knife, this is pretty disappointing. I am somewhat regretting not getting the camo handle and the standard blade. While I think the camo handle and black blade looks nice, the problem is the liners and the release for the compression lock are polished, so it just looks a bit mismatched.

Anyway, has anyone else noticed the coating wearing off quickly?
 
If the knife is going to be a user I wouldn't worry about the coating. No matter how good it is it is still just a coating on steel. Any abrasion to it is going to cause it to look worn. Some folks like a worn coating some don't. I prefer a plain steel with some scratching to a worn coating. YMMV
 
Are you sure the DLC is scratched. I've noticed on my PM2 that the slightly rough texture of the DLC will allow other materials to get embedded into the coating. This makes it look like the DLC is wearing. Is it possible that the scratch is actually a streak of aluminum or something else that is embedded in the coating?
 
remnar said:
Are you sure the DLC is scratched. I've noticed on my PM2 that the slightly rough texture of the DLC will allow other materials to get embedded into the coating. This makes it look like the DLC is wearing. Is it possible that the scratch is actually a streak of aluminum or something else that is embedded in the coating?
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^ This :thumbup:
 
remnar said:
Are you sure the DLC is scratched. I've noticed on my PM2 that the slightly rough texture of the DLC will allow other materials to get embedded into the coating. This makes it look like the DLC is wearing. Is it possible that the scratch is actually a streak of aluminum or something else that is embedded in the coating?
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+2. OP, it sounds like you have material stuck to the DLC. That or you have a knockoff and it's not the same DLC as spyderco uses.
 
DLC is an insanely tough coating. Rub a penny on it, you'll get a copper colored streak. clean the blade and it will be all black again
 
Easy to figure out:

test the conductivity between the edge and the "scratch"
if it conducts its a scratch through the dlc down to the blade's steel. If it doesn't conduct electricity its not a scratch or not a very deep one.

Hoping this helps.

:)
 
I've had my DLC Para 2 for a year and so far am impressed with how resilient the coating is.
Clean yours thoroughly and rub it with a little oil, see how it looks.
 
It is definitely chipped/scratched. I can see the shine of the blade. I have noticed I can usually rub away any marks, but this one doesn't. I cleaned it for a while and it's still there.

And it is definitely not a knock-off, cause if they are selling fakes at their factory store, we are all in trouble!
 
Cutting cardboard will shine the surface.

Cutting foil or any metals will cause the metal to imbed in the surface.

The coating is harder than the blade steel so its not too often the coating is easily damaged.

My brothers blacked out millie has been in use for several years and when cleaned up it looks almost like new.
 
adg44 said:
...after only cutting relatively easy things, such as opening mail, boxes, etc,
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Unless you put a comma in the wrong place, and you were actually cutting "mail boxes", I don't see how the DLC would get scratched.

I had a black Military for several years, used it all the time, and other than a few nicks (from using the knife to pry nails and big staples out of a fence) there was zero wear to the finish.
 
Hi folks,
I just received my camo with DLC para2 this afternoon. I love this blade. Super smooth out of the box.

How well will the DLC hold up in a pocket with keys, change, and flashlight? Can I expect lots of scratches? Figure it will happen to a certain degree. I usually just toss my knives in my pocket without using the clip.

Thanks
 
Rossta76 said:
Hi folks,
I just received my camo with DLC para2 this afternoon. I love this blade. Super smooth out of the box.

How well will the DLC hold up in a pocket with keys, change, and flashlight? Can I expect lots of scratches? Figure it will happen to a certain degree. I usually just toss my knives in my pocket without using the clip.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Do you only have one pocket?
 
I have a kershaw with dlc coating that ive scratched with a ceramic sharpening rod on purpose. After rubbing the whitish mark away off the knife, there was no scratch. Its very tough stuff as long as the overall force isnt so powerful as to indent the metal underneath the dlc coating.
 
MatthewSB said:
Unless you put a comma in the wrong place, and you were actually cutting "mail boxes", I don't see how the DLC would get scratched.

I had a black Military for several years, used it all the time, and other than a few nicks (from using the knife to pry nails and big staples out of a fence) there was zero wear to the finish.
Click to expand...

Nope, I didn't mistype. That's why I was so shocked.
 
Impressive. I don't mind too much if it wears. But I'd rather not see it get tons of scratches from keys, etc.. Sounds like I won't have to worry.
 
I don't have any DLC-coated Spydies, but I do have a ZT 0350 in DLC, and when I cut things, it always gets streaks in it, but like others have said, it's stuff that embeds into the coating. Simply opening mail will certainly NOT scratch off the DLC coating, if it is actually DLC.

Jim
 
I got a black dlc leek a week ago, thinking "hey, it will look cool when the finish starts to wear" kind of like the relic strat look. the first time I took it out of my pocket, I though i had destroyed the finish, there were so many "scratches" etc. nope, it was the metal wearing off my keys, etc. now I am afraid of the damage it may do to my keys, if it takes that much metal off them so easy.
 
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