Black knife blade scratches - How to avoid and repair them

Collin - it doesn't make any sense to invest in sprays, coatings, and effort to repair/protect the finish on a $25 knife. You should either use it and not worry about the wear, or don't use it and just pull it out of your desk drawer occasionally to admire the flawless finish.

Or to put it another way, your question is akin to asking us how to avoid getting grass stains on your lawn mower.
 
collinthegeek said:
I've had a Gerber for a few years and recently bought a Kershaw Brawler. Both of which have black blades. After a few years the blade on the Gerber is horrendously scratched. I wan't to know if there's a way to fix/avoid these scratches from accidentally hitting metal or rocks and things. like some kind of clear finish to protect the black or a spray to repair the scratches.
Any ideas?

Collin N.


[EDIT]
Stop saying to just use the knife and ignore the scratches. I know paint scratches and I'm perfectly within my rights to want MY knife to look nice, I don't care if YOU like the scratches on YOUR knives. Your replies are a waste of time, energy, and space so just stop. And singularity35 Thanks for being nice but I bought my knife to use it, I'm looking for some kind of spray or coating or something to protect the black finish.

Also replies about removing the finish defeat the point. I bought a black blade because I wanted a black blade.
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Not sure if it's been said yet but if you want the coating to hold up perhaps it's best to invest in a knife with a DLC finish (Spyderco, ZT, etc) instead of one with 'paint' on the blade?
 
killgar said:
OP's knives being "cheap" or "inexpensive". It's as if people are saying that because his knives don't cost a lot of money that they aren't worth any effort to keep them looking the way he wants them to look.

Maybe those are his favorite knives. The cost of the knives has no bearing on whether or not different metal coatings will resist scratches. And those of us who own and value inexpensive knives don't base our value of them by how much they cost.
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I don't think anybody in this thread has made any derogatory comments about the quality or value of his knifes. A $25 knife _is_ a cheap and inexpensive knife. That's a fact. Everybody here owns a few (or many) of them too.

The cost of knives _does_ have a bearing on how well it resists scratches. Less expensive knives are generally made with cheaper, less durable materials.
 
I've had the same problem with my BK7, I didn't like the coating anyway so I actually used paint thinner on the blade, waited for the coating to bubble and wiped it off. I'm now in the middle of filing down the rough parts of the plade hidden by the coating and cleaning it up. If you put some elbow grease into it you can get it looking great. If you want the coating then I would follow many other peoples advice and bead blast it and have it re-coated. But the coating is always going to look like junk if you use your knife sorry man.
 
killgar said:
Something that kinda bugs me about this thread is the references to the OP's knives being "cheap" or "inexpensive". It's as if people are saying that because his knives don't cost a lot of money that they aren't worth any effort to keep them looking the way he wants them to look..
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They ARE cheap $25 knives. If you use the knife the blade coating will wear over time. That's reality.

Here's the easiest solution: buy a 2nd one and DON'T USE IT. It'll stay pristine. For an extra $25 that's the easiest solution.
 
Ok, so let's have your suggestions for the OP.

killgar said:
Something that kinda bugs me about this thread is the references to the OP's knives being "cheap" or "inexpensive". It's as if people are saying that because his knives don't cost a lot of money that they aren't worth any effort to keep them looking the way he wants them to look.

Maybe those are his favorite knives. The cost of the knives has no bearing on whether or not different metal coatings will resist scratches. And those of us who own and value inexpensive knives don't base our value of them by how much they cost.

Collinthegeek is obviously new here, and I think it would be a shame if he got the impression that the membership on this forum consider inexpensive knives to not be worthy of a persons appreciation, or their desire to take care of them.

Collinthegeek, I own several expensive knives, prices ranging from $100 to $300, and yet one of my most favorite and cherished knives is an old Buck 110 that cost a whopping $25. There's nothing at all wrong with inexpensive knives, or having the desire to preserve their appearances, so I hope you don't think that everyone on this forum only sees value in expensive knives, because many like myself also value inexpensive ones.

As far as black coatings, it's true that any coating can scratch and wear off if it comes into contact with anything hard or abrasive, but that doesn't mean that blades can't be re-coated if a person were so inclined.

I know people who like blued handguns. And after a bit of use the blueing can wear off in spots. So they use a blueing pen to do touch-ups. And when the wear gets bad enough they simply re-blue them. Because that's what they want, that's their personal taste, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I also know that every auto parts store sells touch-up paint for automobiles in factory colors. So even though dings and scratches are inevitable for cars that are driven, that doesn't mean that people won't take steps to repair those dings and scratches.

To each his own.
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I have many black blades. The only way to keep them nice is to b very careful about what you cut.

Believe it or not all of these knives are users, except for the Ritter Mini Grip with Wilkins scales.




The oldest one and one that shows wear is the Mini Barrage. The others have been used, but I don't cut anything that would scratch them.

There is really no way on earth to keep a coated blade pristine other than just not using it.
 
singularity35 said:
Ok, so let's have your suggestions for the OP.
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I'm not highly knowledgeable in the knife coating options that might be available to the OP. In a knife community as vast as this one, it's natural to assume that some people might have suggestions on what options a person might have to re-coat their blades. That's one of the questions that the OP asked, and he assumed correctly that he was asking in the right place. Some people have mentioned various coatings that might meet the OP's requirements. Whether or not those options are viable to the OP is up to him, and anyone who is willing to apply the coating. I remember a time when people could send blades and knife parts to have DLC coating applied, but I don't know if that is still an option.

And now for some general comments-

The OP asked a very simple question. And while people are certainly free to offer any opinion they want to the OP regarding scratched blades, he didn't ask what people thought of scratched blades, he didn't ask for advice on how to learn to live with scratched blades, he didn't ask if people thought that his knives were valuable enough to have them re-coated, and he didn't ask for any explanations regarding what a knife is, what it's for, or how it's meant to be used. Yet people felt compelled to offer opinions on all those topics.

Obviously the OP knows that knives are cutting tools, he clearly uses his knives enough to get them scratched. And obviously he knows that blade coatings are prone to scratching, otherwise he wouldn't have asked for suggestions on re-coating his scratched blades.

As far as the cost of a knife and how it relates to scratch resistant knife coatings, to my knowledge, even an inexpensive blade can be coated with a scratch resistant finish. Like I said, the cost of his knives has no bearing on whether or not various metal finishes will resist scratching. If the OP chooses to have one of his inexpensive blades coated in an expensive scratch resistant coating, the amount he paid for the knife is irrelevant to the effectiveness of the coating.

As for the desire to spend money to improve an inexpensive knife, I know a guy who spent a lot of money to have a custom sheath made for an inexpensive fixed-blade (Marine Kabar). The sheath is worth way more than the knife itself. But that's what the guy wanted, it's his money, his choice, his prerogative. And no one is in any position to tell him that he is wrong for wanting to do so.

Some people who EDC their Buck 110's choose to spend time polishing the brass to a mirror shine, because that's what THEY like. Some people might say "Don't waste your time polishing a user", or "Don't waste your time polishing such a cheap knife", or "Why bother polishing it, it's just going to tarnish again". But if that's what a person wants to do with THEIR knife that's THEIR business, and no one should feel that they are in any position to tell them that they shouldn't.

The OP asked for advice on how to preserve black blade coatings, and he has received several good answers regarding the difficulty of doing so. He has also asked for suggestions on options for re-coating his blades with highly scratch resistant coatings, and he has received some good suggestions. I understand his frustration though, because when a person asks "What's a good option to re-coat my blades", and people respond with "Just learn to live with the scratches. Knives are meant to be used", such responses have nothing to do with his questions, but instead presume to tell him what he should like or choose to live with. If the OP wants to spend HIS money to re-coat HIS knives, that's his business, and who is anyone to say otherwise.
 
When I start a thread asking for help or advice, I read every reply and simply thank everybody for their input. I don't try to argue with them or insult them.
 
There are many points of view. That's part of what makes forums useful. If everyone said the same thing that would be useless.
 
Cerakote, Duracoat and Gunkote can all be applied by you. But they'll scratch and wear again with time. I'm afraid there's no way to use a coated blade AND keep it looking pristine.
 
killgar said:
The OP asked for advice on how to preserve black blade coatings, and he has received several good answers regarding the difficulty of doing so. He has also asked for suggestions on options for re-coating his blades with highly scratch resistant coatings, and he has received some good suggestions. I understand his frustration though, because when a person asks "What's a good option to re-coat my blades", and people respond with "Just learn to live with the scratches. Knives are meant to be used", such responses have nothing to do with his questions, but instead presume to tell him what he should like or choose to live with. If the OP wants to spend HIS money to re-coat HIS knives, that's his business, and who is anyone to say otherwise.
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And telling him what the reality is, is not a good reply?

Answering the coating and repair questions should be secondary to educating him on the difficulty of keeping a blade with low end coating pristine.
 
stvpourciau said:
Your only option is to remove the coating and get it refinished professionally. I've heard the term "duracoat" around here before. Look into it
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and then just leave your knives in the case/sheath/drawer wrapped up in a chamois so it doesn't get scratched... then when you draw it out BAM! shiny and black. just like new
 
killgar said:
Maybe the guy just likes black blades. It sounds like he does and just wants to know a way to re-finish them.

Heck, how many people on this forum change the APPEARANCE of their knives to suit their own tastes, whether it's forced patinas, mirror-polished finishes, custom handle scales, dyed handle scales, or any of the other things people do to their knives that have absolutely nothing to do with their function as cutting tools.

If the guy likes black blades that's his personal choice. I don't see anything wrong with that, nor is it any indication that he doesn't know what a knife is or how it's meant to be used. But then again, who here is in a position to tell someone else how THEIR knives should be used or what condition or appearance they should accept for THEIR knives. Like I said, personal choice.
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1000%agree it'd be nice if someone just answered the question I'm also interested if there's a way to sometimes when one of my nice knives get dinged up and really scratched I like giving it an aesthetic tune up if you will
 
this is kind of like saying you have a car that you want to keep nice and drive, but you dont want to put miles on it. Its unavoidable. no other way to put it.
 
hey man, you asked a question on an open forum where you cant exactly demand to only get the answers that you want to hear. You are right, you have the right to want things your way. But others have the right to express their opinion even if it doesnt fit your ideals. The best advice I can give you on a black blades is to use windex to clean them. This will will remove the oils from the black coating and make it slightly lighter in color and lessen the contrast between the scratches and the black coating. Oiling the blade will reverse this and enhance the scratches. The coatings on blades is much harder and more durable than any coating or spray you can buy in a can. If something like that existed im sure makers would be using it to finish their blades in the first place instead of the PVD coatings most commonly used.
 
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