Black or Stainless

F

Fastfwd

Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
6
I’m considering the purchase of a Benchmade Griptilian and I can actually get the black blade version cheaper than the stainless. Is the black paint very durable? I don’t plan to do a lot of utility cutting with the knife, but I had rather not have to baby it. Am I better off to just purchase the stainless steel version to begin with?
 
I don't care for any blade coatings ,they always mark up in use and look shabby to me . I would go for plain stainless.
 
I’m not a big knife guy, but that’s what I’m thinking….. it might look pretty new, but with any use it’s going to mar and look bad. It’s tempting for the fact that I can get such a good deal on it, but I might be money ahead to go with the blade that will look better down the road with e a little use.

This knife is for backpacking by the way so it will see some use. It’s not going to purely be for looks.
 
I hate blade coatings. They do scuff up and look shoddy after suprisingly little use. I don't know why people like coated blades, other than the "look cool" factor. I don't understand the functional need for them on a stainless blade, because they don't really need the corrosion resistance. And I don't think 99.999% (100%) of knife buyers need to worry about the "glint of steel" giving away their position when they are about to "de-animate a sentry". The only knife company I'm willing to buy a coated blade from is Emerson, since they don't give you a choice- all of their blades are coated. And their knives are so awesome, the coating is a pretty trivial concern. The company that seems to do the best job with blade coating is Benchmade. The coating on my mini-AFCK has held up very well after hard use and even intention abuse. Ditto for my 806. Cold Steel's blade coating is by far the worse. The coating on my Recon-1 went to hell after a single encounter with cardboard.
 
Moved from Traditional.
 
Coated blades don't appeal to me either. But if buying a knife for backpacking, I wouldn't care if the blade was scuffed a bit. If the coated blade was less expensive and the steel was otherwise the same, I'd probably buy it for using.

-Bob
 
If the coated blade is the D2 version for Cabela's, the steel is superb. The coating is pretty durable, but the coated knives just don't open as smoothly as the polished ones. I've found that you can't do much with changes in the pivot screw tension.

The brushed/polished versions could be 440c or 154CM (the latter are newer).

The Ritter versions are S30V in a stonewashed finish.
 
I prefer black coatings and it has nothing to do with eliminating sentries it has alot more to do with the fact I was around saltwater constantly when I was a child and because of that I am sort of rust paranoid. How it looks after use means little to me because they are users.
 
I went with the Mini Griptilian in stainless…. Thanks to everyone who helped here and in the other thread on backpacking knives.

 
I was going to mention that I'd prefer the smaller model for backpacking - the full-sized Griptillian is rather bulky.

Also, you might consider a stripe of that bright orange tape. If you set a black knife on the ground or drop it, you may never see it again. I hate the black nylon bag that holds my GPS - I've spent hours of my life looking for that darn thing...

-Bob
 
coated blades cover non finished product! go shiny!:thumbup:

Ron
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top