blade coating

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bladeboss

Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Messages
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how come...
if you really like a knife, but the blade coating ALONE takes you away from buying it? does the coating really bother that much? it helps with rust resistance (:D), and puts a nice patina on it. i guess i dont understand all of the hatred towards that layer of black on the blades..... :confused:
 
:rolleyes: It's Another One Of Those "Why Do You Snob It?" Threads.

Some People Just Don't Like Coatings. They Would Rather Have A Satin Or Stonewashed Blade Than Black. Some People Like The Look Of Black, Others Don't.
And A Lot Of Times It's Because The Black Easily Chips(On Some Knives).

But Some People Just Don't Like The Way It Looks, Or The Way It Makes The Blade Feel, Etc.

It's All Personal Preference...... I'm Sure You Have Things That You Don't Like About Certain Products... We All Do...
 
Coating or no coating won't effect if I want a knife very much. Some people say it will effect cutting performance but I don't think so unless it's very thick paint, opposed to a durable bake on coating. The edge is really what can't rust and it's always exposed on coated knives, especially with convexed edges. If you convex a FFG blade it will remove most of the coating. With carbon steel I will just blue or patina it
 
I don't care if a blade is coated or not. I will buy a knife if I like it enough regardless of coating. I'm more concerned with blade steel and ergonomics than coating. I'm also not afraid of tool steels, I like CPM-M4, 1095, Super Blue, etc.
 
I don't like blade coatings, I think companies put them on for non knife people which makes sense, but I enjoy taking care of my knives and personally enjoy the look of stone washed or polished steel, if a coated blade allows a manufacturer to spend less time and money finishing a blade making it affordable than more power to em. I think it has it's place on large carbon choppers too. As a knife addict it boils down to how beautiful a blade is a lot of the time and I don't think coatings are good looking.
 
My opinion on it is I love having it on bushcraft knives just because of that what if scenario, like of I were stranded and need to survive why not have that extra protection when I am worrying about staying alive an not so much the upkeep of my knife. I am not saying idont care for my knive cause I do, but IMO its not a negative thing of on the right knife category
 
Another thread started with Baladeboss with assumptions. It is your opionion about rust resistance, most quality steels have addressed that issue long ago. What do you mean adds to patina? Its paint, Zt does do a Diamond like coating that sticks better. In our units we looked for non reflective equipment so knives would not signal your posistion to ops4. Your threads makes one think you are some kind of expert, as a newbie to this forum I've been in the business as an operator, maker/collector for a very long time but still find reading others posts and using the search function quite helpful instead of just randomly starting a new thread everyday. Beadblast, stonewash or tumble finish IMHO addresses the reflective issue. I agree with roninelh, I think paint appeals to non knife people. I like seeing crisp grind lines and taking care of my blades.
 
brandonc said:
Some people say it will effect cutting performance but I don't think so unless it's very thick paint, opposed to a durable bake on coating.
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It absolutely has at least some effect on cutting performance... and it may not always be a bad one. Whether or not it is noticeable for the end user is another matter altogether. It all boils down to the type of coating, texture and material being cut. Textured coatings, like that of ESEE or Busse could theoretically reduce friction on the blade while cutting certain materials, since there is less surface area of the blade in contact with the material, similar to convex grinds and western style santoku knives. On non-textured coatings, there is undoubtedly a difference in the frictional coefficient of it and bare steel. There is even a difference between different blade finishes, like beadblasted and satin. But again, are they for the worse... or better? And would you actually be able to tell a difference?

But back on topic... personally, the only blade coatings that I am at all fond of are natural patinas. I will tolerate a durable, quality coating if that is the only way the knife comes from the factory, but like Ronineln, I enjoy taking care of my knives as much as I like using them. I also think that fear of rust needlessly keeps some people up at night. I live about 4 miles from the Gulf and carry uncoated carbon blades via neck-carry both out in the sweaty heat and in the rain. I can no easier tell you the last time I've encountered rust than I can the last time I oiled up even one of them.
 
bladeboss said:
how come...
if you really like a knife, but the blade coating ALONE takes you away from buying it? does the coating really bother that much? it helps with rust resistance (:D), and puts a nice patina on it. i guess i dont understand all of the hatred towards that layer of black on the blades..... :confused:
Click to expand...

I see no purpose for a coating other than aesthetic reasons. And I don't like paying extra for extraneous, non-functional design elements on a knife. Especially ones that negatively affect cutting performance (even in a small way).

(You have a interesting sense of the word "patina.")
 
res1cue said:
I was just thinking the same thing!
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It's not incorrect, just a bit "off" in our context, where we usually refer to the change of color that happens to a carbon steel blade when exposed to certain elements as a "patina."
 
marcinek said:
It's not incorrect, just a bit "off" in our context, where we usually refer to the change of color that happens to a carbon steel blade when exposed to certain elements as a "patina."
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Nonetheless, on a knife forum, it holds a pretty distinct meaning. I had to read the OP a few times before I understood what he meant by it
 
All that said, and back to the point....

I have yet to hear a valid reason ever (for me) why one would want a coating other than "it looks cool."

(And I don't think they look cool...but that's just me. De gustibus.)
 
I actually try to avoid a coating whenever I buy a knife. Mainly because of aesthetics, I just like a satin blade. However, there is a small issue of appearance to non-knife people. I think black blades look a little more, excuse the word, "tactical" to people that don't know any better. I would like to avoid that reaction if I have to bring out a knife with a larger blade out in public. For example, I think a para 2 with a plain satin blade, and black G-10 is slightly less scary to the general public than a black coated, digicam G-10 Model. The bright blue g-10 of the m390 sprint is even less threatening than plain black g-10 in my opinion. These are all my perceptions, right or wrong I suppose.
 
Give me the choice between two identical knives one with a coating and one without, I'll take the one without every time. That said, I won't pass on an interesting design just because it is coated. The last two tactical (modern-whatever) knives I bought were a Cold Steel Recon 1 (coated-badly) and a Kabar Kharon (coated).
 
marcinek said:
I have yet to hear a valid reason ever (for me) why one would want a coating other than "it looks cool."
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Marketing (aka "it looks cool") is no doubt a reason for a good number of the coated blades being made available these days.

As Final Option mentioned above, though, the primary reason for a number of these coatings is to reduce reflectivity, a property intended more for LEO/Military uses, rather than Joe Consumer. Other coatings exist to potentially reduce the blade's coefficient of friction. Yet others claim to offer resistance to rust and damage. Regarding rust resistance properties, I've seen it suggested that some of these coatings don't actually offer much, if any protection due to their porous nature. Not something I've really looked much into, but I figured it was worth noting.

Moral of the story: not all coatings are created equal, nor do they serve the same purposes. Do your research to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.
 
Bobthemotorcycle said:
I buy the knife for what is under the coating and when I get it home I remove the coating. I use my knives enough that they do not have time to rust. I hate the look of a coating that is all scratched up and the coating is partly worn away. It looks cheap and not ideal for a knives that represents what I am.
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I feel the same way:

img4685e.jpg
 
Silly thing.

Some buy knives with coatings and then spend the time to remove them.

Others buy knives without coatings and then spend time to force a patina on them.

I just like knives.
 
I don't like coatings like Teflon because of the way it wears as one uses the knife. Some people love the way it looks after it has been used, but it looks cheap to me. I do however like DLC coatings because they wear much better. That being said, I will always prefer an uncoated knife to a coated knife.
 
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