blade coating stripping questions

C

crazyengineer

Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
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I just got myself a ZT 0350, and I like the knife a lot, but I dont like the black blade. It is too "scary" (aka: i dont want to deal with sheeple and I like uncoated blades better).

I was considering stripping the blade to remove the coating, but I have no idea what kind of coating is on it, what I can use to strip it, etc...I have seen some of the beckers stripped and I believe I understand how they are done, but I dont know where to begin on a folder like the ZT.

Would I have to disassemble the entire thing to strip it?

Could it add blade play?

and is there a way I can keep the ZT symbol on the blade with an etch or something?


also, is it safe to assume this will void the warranty? (or only certain parts of the warranty?)

thanks for takiing the time to look
 
The 'coating' on that blade is electrostatically bonded to the steel. Unless ZT is doing it differently from when I bought mine (ZT-0350), it's Tungsten DLC, which is very tough stuff. Less a coating, and more an integral part of the finish. Completely unlike the 'painted on' finishes on many other blades. To take it off, you'll have to sand or grind it off. The chemical stripping agents won't touch it.

I have no idea whether sanding it off will void the knife's warranty. Best to ask them about that.

Edit:
FYI, there was a specific dealer selling an exclusive 'satin bead blast' version of the ZT-0350 a while back. I won't list the dealer here (per forum rules), but if you hunt a bit, you might find one with an uncoated blade, if it's that important to you.
 
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the uncoated blade isn't all that important, would have been nice, but if i wil have to sand or grind I won't bother...to easy for me to mess the blade up like that, and i dont ahve the money to replace it if i screw something up royally.

If i ever have enough money to deal with it, I might try and put it in a glass bead blaster or even a wire brush if it would work, (very big might right there).

but for now, its gonna stay.

thanks for the advice though
 
I don't think even a wire brush would do it. Even with a steel brush, the bristles aren't even as hard as the blade steel itself (uncoated even), and much less hard than the Tungsten DLC (the 'DLC' stands for 'Diamond Like Carbon', meaning it's nearly that hard).

Depending on the bead blast media, it may even have a tough time with it, I'm not sure.

With mine, I frequently stropped it with green compound (chromium oxide), which is fairly hard stuff. I noticed it made the black coating just a little 'glossier' near the edge, where the strop overlapped the bevel a little bit. Didn't do anything to remove it though.

The upside to all this is, that coating really will take a lot of abuse. Assuming it was put on to protect the blade, I'm sure it'll do that job very well. :)
 
TDLC (Tungsten diamond like Carbon) is supposedly vacuum sputtered Tungsten carbide. This has a RWC (Rockwell C scale) hardness of around 72. SiC (Silicon carbide) abrasives were developed to sharpen Tungsten carbide tool bits. Al2O3 (Aluminum oxide), SiC, and diamond coated stones will all scratch TDLC. The problem is getting a finish that looks good. I would just use the knife a night with the light off.
 
It was worth asking about it, I have always liked the looks of uncoated blades more than coated, and since i am at a college now, I have to worry about scaring people....not that I care, I just dont feel like having the cops called on me because my campus is a little skittish about weapons (virginia tech)

and the info that y'all have given on the coating is something that I never knew, especially the hardness of it
 
crazyengineer said:
It was worth asking about it, I have always liked the looks of uncoated blades more than coated, and since i am at a college now, I have to worry about scaring people....not that I care, I just dont feel like having the cops called on me because my campus is a little skittish about weapons (virginia tech)

and the info that y'all have given on the coating is something that I never knew, especially the hardness of it
Click to expand...

Now that, I can completely understand. I wouldn't want to take chances there either.

I've been contemplating touching up the edge on my ZT-0350 with some wet/dry sandpaper (silicon carbide). I might mess with that a bit, and see how much effect it has on the coating. If I find something useful or newsworthy in doing that, I'll add it here. I'm virtually certain I won't go to the lengths of removing all the coating, but should be able to see how easily (or not) the sandpaper removes the TDLC near the edge bevel.
 
yep, but the student handbook stats (i read this section some 6 or 7 times)

knives that are allowed are non switchblade folders with blades no more than 4 inches, fixed blades are not allowed (which I would carry otherwise or my accurately along with)

but the way I see it, a knife that isn't black bladed doesn't look as "scary" I will be interested in hearing how the sandpaper goes
 
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