Black (Manganese) Parkerized finish: pretty nice

P.Brewster

P.Brewster

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Jul 25, 2007
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I've been playing around with a burnt oil finish (which would be nice if it could be more consistent), and a (cold DIY) "black oxide" finish (ala "tool black", which is the same as Caswell's black oxide stuff).

Now I got set-up to do a black parkerized finish. :thumbup: I'm pretty happy with it. I know it's not as slick as gun-kote, (and it won't work on stainless), but I think it's decent. It's totally matte, unlike the tool black. Its applied at 190°F.
 

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so-so. I haven't thrown any with the finish, but that will certainly be a definitive test.
 
I got the kit from Brownells:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=24778&title=PARKERIZING SUPPLIES ONLY

you can download the instructions as a pdf; they pretty much explain everything.

The hard part was building a good SS tank and a rack system (rack is still a WIP). I found out the hard way that you'll get a mark anywhere the blade is touching anything (the rack, the tank, or another knife). At first, I had the knives on a rack - I thought I could simply flip them over to get rid of the rack mark, but that didn't work. So I made some pointed clips that leave a pin-point mark. Knives with holes in them can be hung by wire. My tank is designed to hang the knives vertically.

The solution is re-usable. You make it by mixing with water and "priming" it with some iron filings (I used steel wool).

To use, you heat it to 190°F, and immerse your knives in for 10 mins or so. The knives have to be de-greased, and pre-heated (via hot water). Sandblasting is the recommended prep. After the treatment, you rinse and dry. Thats it.

It seems to be far less toxic and irritating than the "tool black" - knives treated with tool black smell like chemicals, and my hands smell like chemicals after I throw. The parkerizing solution doesn't noticeably irritate my skin, eyes, lungs, etc.

If anyone is interested, I could parkerize a piece of scrap or something and mail it.
 
I was doing some research on home blackening or parkerizing and pretty much everyone told me that it would wear right off of a blade or handle and really wouldn't be worth the effort. But looking on the internet it seems that if some of this stuff will hold up on hand tools (socket wrenches etc.) that it should work pretty well. Once you find out could you please give us a report on how well it holds up? My other question is about applying a coating over the black layer. Is it possible to use some sort of wax or even a clear coat of some kind to make it more durable? Thanks.
 
I wonder if it penetrates very deep. It may work good for darkening engraving low spots and polish it off on the high areas
 
evolbeaver said:
I was doing some research on home blackening or parkerizing and pretty much everyone told me that it would wear right off of a blade or handle and really wouldn't be worth the effort. But looking on the internet it seems that if some of this stuff will hold up on hand tools (socket wrenches etc.) that it should work pretty well. Once you find out could you please give us a report on how well it holds up? My other question is about applying a coating over the black layer. Is it possible to use some sort of wax or even a clear coat of some kind to make it more durable? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I've read of people applying a baked-on finish (like GunKote) over parkerizing on gun parts. Supposedly the parkerizing is full of tiny voids that work well to retain oil, and the baked-on finish fills the voids and provides a thicker coating than one would get with a baked-on finish and no parkerizing.

JR
 
I do have lots of throwers that have a grey parkerized finish on them. It's hard for my to quantify how durable it is... I think any finish is going to come off a throwing knife, sooner or later.

The grey (zinc) parkerizing solution is considered ideal as an underlay for a secondary finish.

You could certainly apply a clear coat or any kind of finish over the black or grey park.

In fact, the park itself does not inhibit corrosion; it just traps oil (or whatever) via its crystalline structure.
 
the original purpose of parking was to be a porous finish on military rifles. It holds oil really well.
I believe that is is a chemical reaction that takes place to create the bond. It takes quite a bit to wear it off.

It is pretty good stuff for over 100 year old technology, and is still used extensively.

If you can't tell, I am a fan of it for working finishes, and will be setting up for it shortly!
 
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