Bead Blast VS Black Teflon Coat

C

Chris-T

Joined
Oct 9, 2001
Messages
48
Hey guys. I'm stuck here sitting on my computer debating to mayself whether to get a bead blasted or a black teflon coated finish on this knife i am about to finish.

Basically i'm postin to ask if anyone has had any problems with black teflon coating or with bead blasted finishes.

So i am leaving this decision to all you great people at BFC. I personally prefer the black teflon coat but i'm not sure how durable the coat is. I dont want a black blade with silver scratches all over it.

Also another question. What is the difference between black teflon coating, black oxiding and anodising?
 
Hey Chris...


I'm not a huge fan of coatings myself...But definately on some blades it helps..

I know alot of people hate BB,, but I love BB blades,,especially when they are two toned...

Not all coating are created equal..
Theres a pile of different kinds...

Busse, CRK, Fallkniven all use different coating..

The coating on Busse are the only ones I can comment on though...

The finish on my basics if different than my combat grade..The Combat grades seems to be holding up better.

All in all I won't not buy a blade with a coating on it,,especially on SS...

Just my opinion though..

ttyle

Eric...
 
Hey another quick important question. If the knife you are about to purchase is a fixed blade with a plastic sheath. Will inserting and pulling out the knife from the knife possibly scratch the teflon coated blade?
 
Any finish will show wear, even mirror. If you have a bead blast, and it gets ugly from rust, and scraches, rebead blasting is quick and easy. You don't really have to send it back to the maker. I offer to rebead blast my knives for free, just pay return shipping. It's easy to find someone that can do it in your home town.

I use Birdsong's black T on request. I make the sheaths a little loose so it doesn't wear the finishes off so quick, but they still don't rust where it's worn off. Depending on the handel maretial the coating might not be reapplied. Birdsong's T is cooked at 325 degrees.

Mirror polish finish with heavy scraches, you're talking money to get the finish back to perfect.
 
On question one. bead blast finish is a better finish to hide use markings on a blade. Most ALL coatings will and rub and scratch off. In my opinion, a satin finish is the best all around finish for a blade. It is easy to clean off after use. It can be polished up with Scotchbrite and WD-40 after it has been gummed up with treesap or blood from skinning or whatever. Black teflon, Black Ti and an assortment of painted on finishs are all right. BUT. They do wear and scratch off. On question two. A kydex or a plastic sheath will scuff and wear off the finish over repeated drawings. The choice is mostly a matter of what you intend to use the blade for and if you mind obvious wear markings on your blade finish. Good Luck in your search.
 
My experience has shown that Bead Blast is terrible. Once it gets marked or scratched, you can't fix it without sending it away. Also its a HUGE rust magnet:( .

I have been polising my Gerber BMF to a near mirror finish. The way I did this was I started with medium steel wool, then went up to a fine steel wool. Then I used a Gun polish with 1200 grit wet and dry paper and am now using a rag and Chrome polish. Its slow going, but bit by bit the finish is really starting to show now! All in all about six hours of work up to now and I am thinking another two or three with the Chrome polish to get it just so.

Black coatings might look bad when marked, but for a user they are great! They protect even after removal.

All in all the best finish I think is the stonewashed finish. Unless its a dress knife.:D
 
I would go with a satin finish. Coat the knife with Tuff-cloth and you are ready for almost anything. If the finish is scratched it is easy for the owner to restore.

Regards,

Ed

PS General - I am glad you are enjoying the BMF
 
I like black coatings, and have always prefered them.
For two reasons.
(1)They stop rust and staining much better than non coated blades.
And (2) the most importiant to me which is purely personal preference, is that I just can't stand the way a non-coated blade looks when it is all scratced up. (Satin and scratches don't work for me.) And I don't want to spend any time polising them out when I'm just going to scratch it right back up in a couple of hours. However, a black coated blade that is all scratched up and marred doesn't bother me one bit. Others have the opposite opinion, so it's your preference that ultimatley counts.
 
How could I not like the Gerber Ed? First knife that I ever saw that made me go WOW! Thanks! I know it is nothing compared to your Brend, but I like it! Better now, with the polished finish.:)
 
I prefer satin finishes, but if I had to choose between a black caoted blade and a bead blast, I'd go with a bead blast.
 
on wat ur onna use the blade for. its true that bead blasted blade are attractive to rust, thats coz the blade is polished with small beads being being blown against the blade (imagine ur blade in the wsaher with sand, and it being tumbled all about). with this sratches and micro port holes will form. this causes the matte finah that we all see. as a result it gives moisture a chance to get trapped within these 'holes', resulting in rust. however if the black coating gets scratched to reveal the under laying steel it leaves the steel naked allowing once again moisture to be trapped, resulting in rust. its for this reason that a few perfer satin and mirror polished blades over coated and bead blasted once. if ur a heavy user and will be using ur blade for stuff like cutting lots of wires, the coating will definatly get scratches. however cutting carton boxes alons will also allow scratches to be formed. if u dont want the appearence of ur blade to be marred i suggest u get the bead blasted blade as it wont be as obvious when it happens to the coated blade. if the knife is gona be used often scratches will definately appear, it cant be stopped. for mirror polished blades scratches can also be seen, along with that finger prints are also clearly seen on them. my advise is is u want to have something nice to look, dont use it keep it for ur eyes. be prepared to see damage on ur edc. and as i believe get what u think is nice coz after watever we say, the one with the blade is after all gonna be u. as for me if i ever get something in black coating, i wont be using it as much as my other satin, bead blasted, mirror polished blades, just my 2 cents worth...
 
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