Bead blasted vs stonewashed blades. What exactly is the difference ?

[Insipid Moniker]

Stonewash is the result of the item being put in a tumbler and tumbled with a bunch of smooth stones to polish the steel. Beadblast is literally blasted with a bunch of tiny beads which are shot at the steel via air pressure. In my humble opinion both can look good depending on the aesthetics of the knife or item. I do love a good stonewashing though.

What process gives the plain jane Sebenzas their chalky grey finish to the titanium?

I think Sebbie scales are bead blasted, but I'm far from an expert. And that's another point, bead blasted titanium and aluminum can look pretty good and obviously isn't affected by the corrosion problems discussed above.

 

[Andy the Aussie]

I like both, have had no issues with corrosion on my double cut Busses though some have plus I have two S&W 686s that have both been given matt bead blast finishes and have had NO issues whatsoever with any kind of corrosion even after years of use, storage in our humid climate and probably much less cleaning than they deserve.

 

[Andy the Aussie]

I think Sebbie scales are bead blasted, but I'm far from an expert.

they are.

 

[ourgon]

Bead blast flats and satin grinds are a recipe for #knifeboner in my opinion.

Better is acid stonewash on the flats.

 

[Rocking LB]

Great info folks. How do y'all go about "acid stonewashed"?

 

[Scurvy092]

pretty sure a full machine satin finish is cheaper than bead blasting...

 

[ATJ999]

I buy stonewash. It is the best for an EDC. Marks or scratches from use are much harder to see! IMHO

 

[PURPLEDC]

they are.

They are blasted I don't think bead blasted. The finish is too rough and grippy. Bead blast is a finer finish.

 

[Max Archer]

Bead blasting is probably the least reflective finish you can get on a blade without using coatings. The microscopic pitting that the process creates scatters and diffuses light. That makes it a decent enough choice for a "tactical" knife where such things matter.

However, as others have said, they're harder to clean and susceptible to corrosion. In industrial contexts, bead blasting is usually used as a prep step to help paint or coatings "bite" onto a part, and that same "bite" works for corrosion too. In fact, one of the most common uses for bead blasting is as prep for anodizing, and as some may know anodizing is essentially a form of controlled corrosion (oxidization), so it makes sense that natural corrosion would "take" to a bead blasted finish in the absence of finishing processes.