Hi, I'm new here. I plan to get a Benchmade knife, and I am having a hard time deciding on the option of a satin cerakote finish, or a black cerakote finish. I really like how both look, but I probably like the black just a little bit more. I heard that the black cerakote scratches super easy though. If I did go with black would I be able to get the blade refinished to a satin cerakote down the line?
Thanks, I'm gracious for any advice.
Hi there and welcome to Blade Forums and to Benchmade knives.
I'll try my best to hopefully answer some of your questions if I am understanding them correctly.
Cerakote is not the only finish Benchmade uses on their coated blades. They have several finishes they use, but generally when they do use Cerakote it's stated in the knife description so you will know. In the current line up the Contego in CPM-M4 and the 710 in CPM-M4 come to mind.
BM offers a Black or Clear Cerakote finish. However, the blades I've seen coated with the clear / satin Cerakote (CPM-M4 blades) look Gray not satin. Just mentioning that if you are not familiar with the different models.
As far as strength or resistance to scratching BM regards Cerakote as the toughest finish they offer.
Here is a link to the various coating's they offer and more information about them:
http://www.benchmade.com/products/materials.aspx
From my personal experience Cerakote is a very tough finish compared to others but I have to stress, ALL and I do mean all Black coated blade finishes will wear and scratch at some point with use, Period. Some like this look and feel it add's "Character" to the blade and others think it looks awful. If you get a coated blade with any finish and plan on using your knife, especially hard you can expect that at some point the finish will scratch and wear. If you are going to like that look or not is going to be for you to decide. If not I suggest getting an uncoated blade as many do for that reason.
I don't know where you 'heard" Cerakote scratches super easy though, in my experience it is one of the harder more scratch resistant finishes you can find. And even when it does scratch as all coated blades will it's usually just at the surface of the finish and the blade remains protected for a longer period of time then other coating's I've used.
I hope this helps and I answered some of your questions?
Best of luck and as I said, welcome to BFC and Benchmade knives.
All the best!
