Blade coatings, how good are they?

Several years ago Kit Carson was asked to make a Dive tool/knife for the EOD divers in Guam. After several prototypes they Finalized the U2. This design was later purchased by Buck for production. In the process of designing this knife they tried several different blade coatings. Rob Cude basically stated that no
blade coating survives its first contact with a coral head. The best solution of coating a blade to protect/subdue the silver metal was to get a can of black spray paint and some fine steelwool. When the coating was damaged or wore off, you reapplied it. Simple end user maintenance. Cheap, easy and effective.

Just a little of the knowledge I have gained from a misspent youth

Cheers,

ts
 
The best coating I have found so far is the Titanium Boride (dark charcoal gray, almost black) that Microtech is now using. It really is tough as nails. I have that coating on my LCC Tactical and use it all the time. It has yet to even show a scratch, let alone start coming off. If you want a knife for hard use in areas where rust may be a problem, that is my recommendation.

tact-lccma.jpg
 
..the black boride coating on my UDT's blade is some tough stuff! I've had it almost a year and nothing has scratched it yet. It's still perfect. Looks like it just came out of the box.


Will
 
My favorite is a stonewash/tool finish, looks cool, and you don't notice when you begin to scratch it.

Second to that is a good satin or brushed finish.

As far as coatings, let me mention the old line.....

"None of them coat the edge, and the edge is the whole thing."

So, if you like the looks, great, but other than that they seem to serve little purpose.
 
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