BC1 coating wear

S

switched

Joined
Feb 7, 2003
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303
I have BM's in mind on this, but am interested in any experience in this respect.

The BT2 coating on a BM has been covered here before. Say on an M2 steel. It wears away, clearly. So what about what happens with BC1 then. Given enough use and enough time, say on an M2 with corrosion concerns, would it have to be recoated?
 
alot of it depends on how you use your knife... but:
I have heard from several people that BC1 (Boron Carbide) is a really tough coating, the hardest mainstream coating in the business. I know a few folks where the only coating they will buy is Boron Carbide.

As for me, never got around to buying one yet, as I don't particularly like how BC1 looks and as coatings go, Titanium Nitride and Epoxy Powder Coats are both pretty good to me. (But I DO hate the Teflon coatings, especially BT2, refuse to buy anything covered in it.)
 
Originally posted by switched
Given enough use and enough time, say on an M2 with corrosion concerns...
Click to expand...
Time isn't really a factor. BC1 is porous, and will not keep M2 from corroding to begin with.
 
I am a bit surprised by the difficulty there appears to be in getting an answer to this, given BC1 has been around a while. After conducting a search on 'BC1' here a while ago (five pages of results), it seems others have had the same experience - Mike from New Graham for example didn't get a single answer at one point.

Owen I have looked at all you have said on this subject to date, I think. Your work environment and other factors has made for interesting comment re your 710. However, and this may be due to some different understanding of what is meant by "BC1" or something I'm not sure, what you say now doesn't correspond with the understanding I obtained from the search exercise. Meaning that there have been posts to suggest that BC1 DOES provide protection against corrosion, NOT just scratching.

Take a look at this one for example, although it isn't the best example of what I mean -

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=192804&highlight=BC1

You get more of an idea if you read through the more promising of the threads after doing the search indicated.

Owen your 'test knife' 710 had a BT2 coating, which you had blasted at some point and then coated with ? (although you say "BC1"). But haven't you indicated that something was left out of the process which "BC1" normally would involve, which WOULD have provided protection against corrosion? Because there are definitely posts which say as much, from others at least.
 
switched,
Just to be clear, there is no confusion about whether or not it's BC1. I did not have my blade blasted "at some point". BodyCote blasted it prior to applying the BC1.
I think I do see where the confusion about my statements regarding the coating is coming from, though.
My blades were supposed to have received an additional chrome treatment to enhance corrosion resistance. I won't pretend to understand how this is integrated with the BC1, because I have no idea.
I have posted elsewhere my belief that that treatment may have been "left out" on my 710 as it has had some problems with rust. If so, that's not surprising considering a bead blasted carbon steel blade. The chrome is separate from the BC1, and something I wanted because of the work environment that you appear to have already read about.

Here is a quote from BodyCote's literature, regarding BC1:
"Color: Charcoal gray dry. Black when wet or oiled."

It changes color because it's porous, and absorbs moisture.
That, along with having had corrosion problems with a BC coated M2 blade, are why I say it won't keep M2 from corroding.
 
Well yes, your work environment struck me as an excellent opportunity to really check things out, kind of thing. Your images were interesting also.

I don't want to make an issue of this but clearly you did have your 710 blasted "at some point". At some point in time, the knife was blasted. How that came about is immaterial. Anyway never mind that. What strikes me as the frustration in relation to your experience - meaning in testing terms - is that your 710 does not appear to have received the full treatment which say a BM with coating designated as "BC1" would have. So that the rust problem which presented couldn't really be considered representative.

As for what you say concerning "porous". Well look at what those links DEA provided have to say. They don't support the corrosion proposition, even on that score. I am not saying that is determinative, but given the anomolous treatment your 710 received, I don't think your experience could fairly be considered to dispute them, either.

Also, look at the results of the search I suggested. Others with a BC1 blade have not had any rust problems. I am also aware of quite a number of BM owners with M2/BC1 blades, in use - not a word of rust complaint from them either, that I've come across.

All up, I would be most interested to see what happened if an 'off the rack' BC1/M2 blade was put to the test in your work environment. Not one which was BT2 before and then blasted, and not one which may not have received the full treatment. Then we'd have a good idea, I'd think. Athough from the sounds of that environment, it would be a particularly rigorous examination.
 
Originally posted by OwenM
Here is a quote from BodyCote's literature, regarding BC1:
"Color: Charcoal gray dry. Black when wet or oiled."
Click to expand...

hiya there
i noticed this happening with my ticn coating too
both kershaw avalanche and mod trident
when i dry the surface of the knives the colour changes back
does that happen to b4c too?
 
Originally posted by switched
What strikes me as the frustration in relation to your experience - meaning in testing terms - is that your 710 does not appear to have received the full treatment which say a BM with coating designated as "BC1" would have. So that the rust problem which presented couldn't really be considered representative.
...
Others with a BC1 blade have not had any rust problems. I am also aware of quite a number of BM owners with M2/BC1 blades, in use - not a word of rust complaint from them either, that I've come across.
Click to expand...
Let me try to make this as simple as possible:rolleyes:
THERE IS ONLY ONE BC1 COATING.
ONLY ONE COMPANY DOES BC1--BODYCOTE.
BM DOES NOT COAT THEIR BC1 BLADES.
BM DOES NOT OFFER THEIR M2 BLADES WITH BC1.
ANYONE WHO HAS A M2 BLADE WITH BC1 HAS THE EXACT SAME COATING I DO.
If you can't comprehend that, then a coating on a knife blade is the least of your problems.
 
Oh get real, honestly.

You've succeeded in being simple minded. But that's not quite the same as expressing yourself simply. Unfortunate, but there you go.

It's a pity you are upset, as I have been interested in some of what you've had to say. I've indicated as much before.

Anyway, I'll deal with the rest of this a bit later.
 
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