best blade coating

M

Metric

Joined
Mar 4, 2002
Messages
133
I'm sure this is one of those "best for what purpose?" questions, but mainly I'd like to know the properties of the most popular blade coatings.

It seems to me that Titanium Nitride was popular a few years back, but now Boron Carbide is used by a lot of the high end makers (Microtech, for example).

Teflon also seems to be popular (Benchmade comes to mind).

Can anyone compare and contrast hardness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, etc. and price?

Mainly I'm just curious -- one is probably just as good as another for my particular use, which is primarily to "look cool".
 
BM does teflon? (didn't know that)

From benchmade site:

"BT2™ BLADE COATING- Our own proprietary blade coating is a polymer offering excellent corrosion resistance, which exceeds the ASTM-117 specification for saltwater corrosion resistance. The black surface will scratch and scuff with use, but its anti-corrosion properties will continue to protect the steel. Its high lubricity also improves knife function.
BC1 BLADE COATING- BC1 is a boron carbide coating process. It offers an extremely hard, thin ceramic surface layer to the blade, and it is applied in a vacuum chamber. Its extreme hardness and excellent adhesion provide wear resistance and lubricity while creating an attractive visual distinction in the process"

Cold steel and Smith and Wesson uses/has use teflon.

I think teflon will rub off if im not mistaken, but is supposed to let the blade sliip through the material.

From Cold Steel's website.

"Our testing has shown this coating or finish offers three major advantages for use on tactical blades. The first is; it is highly resistant to scratches and abrasions while keeping rust at bay. The second is; it eliminates glare and light reflections which may give its user away. The third is; it's a superior lubricant which causes the blade to slip through even tough material with markedly less friction"

Please take note that THIS IS Cold steel's claim.




Mostly used for "stealth" :rolleyes: and corrosion resistance.
 
I assumed "BT2" meant "Black Teflon" and whatever else they decided to throw into the mix -- but basically teflon.
 
iunno about best, but my favorite coating is the epoxy coating that Becker uses. the only other coating i have experience with is Benchmade's BT2 tho, so... *shrug*
 
one constant is they all will scratch/scuff up with use (some worse than others)
 
Any of the nitrides coatings are VERY hard, TiN is used quite a bit on things like end mills and drill bits and can last a VERY long time. I thing the main difference between the boron and Ti is color, one is black the other gold. As said either will scratch but it take a bit of effort. All are good and I think it's mostly personal. Any of the coating used by a quality knife maker should hold up well.
 
yo people,

Im partial to a black blade coating my self, this helps when rust could be aproblem in >carbon steel, it alo looks rad as *&$k when it gets scuffed off the edges (means your knife has had a good life so far !)
Iv noticed the quality of coating differs somewhat from maker to maker, my cold steel recon 1 had a smooth coating that didnt last that long, the traction coating on my t.o.p.s. knifes is still all there, my Emersons have no marks yet apart from the edges on the blade spine(unavoidable), obviously the makers use what they find the best for there produt but i think the Emerson coating looks the best and lasted the longest for me !! I believe this is a semi secret formula too !! ;)
 
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