Black blade paint?

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Sterlinghaney25

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Hey y'all,
I've got a buddy that wants a new knife for his dad for Xmas, but he wants the blade to be finished black. Is it a powder coat or a baked enamel?will it act as a rust barrier? I know spray paint wouldn't hold up so can't quite figure out the process. As always thanks for any help.
Sterling
 
While it may not be black, I think gun bluing would be a more durable option. I think powder coating or baked enamel would chip off too easy.

Keep in mind that I am far from an expert and still learning myself.
 
Cerakote or Duracoat are some options. I prefer a deep etch or blue however, neither of these is 100% black.
 
Professional gun bluing would give you a nice finish. However, if the knife is to be used much at all, stay away from using products like SuperBlue as they do not wear well at all. Those cold bluing solutions are mainly used for display pieces or fixing small areas to blend with original finishes. I used SuperBlue to reblue an octagonal muzzleloader barrel and it looks nice, but I have to be careful with it.

Powdercoating is an option and makes for a decent finish as long as it's done by a professional. Home kits are sketchy, especially for anything that will see use.

Cerakote is a ovencure ceramic coating that produces excellent results.

If the blade is stainless, you can get a black oxide coating kit. If carbon steel you can patina it with things like muriatic acid, ferric chloride, vinegar and mustard.

With any of these, if you do it yourself, the blade will have to be disassembled if its a folder, or scales removed if fixed. Then you run into issues with that if you are not very experienced and can ruin the knife.

Ideally, I would suggest that your friend find a company who produces models with a professional coating. The ESEE Izula comes to mind as one example.
 
unky_gumbi said:
While it may not be black, I think gun bluing would be a more durable option. I think powder coating or baked enamel would chip off too easy.
Click to expand...

With all due respect my friend, you have that backwards. Professionally-applied powder coating is about as durable as it gets.

I have mine done by a local guy who mostly does work on engine parts and exhausts. I found him by calling around to local custom auto/cycle/snowmobile shops. The first time I visited his shop, he handed me a piece he had just done, and a screwdriver, and told me to go ahead and scratch the coating off. Let's just say I was very impressed.

It's available in many colors; the white is WHITE and the black is BLACK. The cost is basically a wash, since you don't need to do any hand-sanding (the local guy charges me about $30/blade). A machine belt finish of 300-400 is fine; the coater will bead-blast the piece to ensure good adhesion. It will definitely act as a barrier to rust.

You will need to have the blade fully HT'ed and tempered before coating. The coater will bake the finish on at 375-400 degrees F; keep that in mind. (that's a safe range as far as the temper of the steel is concerned, but may cause issues with some handle materials. Obviously it's best to let them coat the blade and then assemble the handle)

Powder-coating is not the best-looking finish in my opinion, I simply prefer a nice hand-satin finish. But if the client wants a certain color and high durability, there's no question in my mind that having a pro coat the blade is the way to go.
 
Powder coating, ceramic bake-on finishes, or Parkerizing are probably your 3 best options. Parkerizing would be my first choice, assuming it is a non-stainless blade. Gunsmiths can often do this for you.
 
What is parkerizing? It's a tool steel forged Bowie. He wants a stag handle with burnished green copper butt plate and his dads initials engraved down the spine edge. I've already got the blade finished and tapered the tang to accept the handle.
 
Parkerizing is a chemical-bath process that etches the steel then deposits a layer of zinc or manganese phosphate. Probably the most common item it is used on is black drywall screws. It was used on most U.S. issue military firearms throughout WW2, as well as other items such as the original USMC KaBar. It is still used for a lot of military firearms.
The manganese phosphate is black, the zinc phosphate leaves more of a grey-ish finish.
 
Cerakote, Cerakote, Cerakote!! I have used it all and Cerakote is by far the best that I have worked with.
 
cerakote rocks. if black is the color, and you pay return postage, I'll do it for the father unit free.
 
Scott does a great job with the Cerakote. Protects the blade and keeps it from rusting. I made a sandwich knife for my steel supplier and Scott put an orange Cerakote on it. It looks awesome and easily handles the 3M scouring pad they use to clean it with no sign of scratching. The only problem is that he's very busy.
 
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