Blade Coatings: yes or no?

Steel must "breathe"? Why, exactly is that?

What benefits are obtained by the steel "breathing"?
 
Personally I prefer the worn out look of a black coated blade after use. Plus I live in a corrosive environment, beside the sea and a volcano. However I find cleaning tape residue off coated blade a little annoying

-Kevin
 
whitty said:
Fixed blades I can take it or leave it, it really does not matter much to me. On folders I have always preferred stonewashed but still own a few DLC coated knives. Some coats hold up better than others. Stonewashed blades have always just appealed to me more but that does not stop me from owning something coated if I like it enough!

A few of the ones that I could not resist:

https://flic.kr/p/P83dJM https://www.flickr.com/photos/57703464@N02/
Click to expand...

Hey Whitty, when did they do a DLC 0562?

Thanks.

Edit: I found it :) Thanks for bringing it to my attention though.
 
I love me some black....

nRKawWF.jpg


on stainless steel however... rather stupid
 
Don't want stuff in my food.
If I like a knife for other reasons I might still buy it coated and then use paint stripper to remove the stuff.
 
AntDog said:
Steel must "breathe"? Why, exactly is that?

What benefits are obtained by the steel "breathing"?
Click to expand...
Is just a joke... Coated blade can look nice when new, but after some use the coating will look not so nice. I hate a scratched coat. I bought some black coated knives but after some time I stripped the coat out so the Steel finally can breathe..

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
I prefer black coated blades. I'm another who enjoys the used look.
 
I like coated blade, but only the bonded one like the DLC/TiNi, not really because of the look, but for the science/chemistry behind it.
I particularly like the DLC coating, and IMO is the best. Check out the American Lawman below, i've used it to cut 30-40 boxes during a move and only see a few small scratches.

14240681_526429010900347_1771797727_n.jpg


13651786_195119297569652_870578569_n.jpg
 
Personal preference. I prefer no coating and a good stonewashed appearance if I'm buying new and I have a choice. But the Protech folder that I carry most often has a DLC coated blade. That's how it came and I like the overall knife package, so I carry it.
 
I used to like everything coated, but I must have grown out of that phase. I don't see the point (personally) on Stainless, and really enjoy a good Patina on HC steels.
 
I just acquired a limited edition Buck Spitfire with an S35vn blade. It's coated. I don't like the coating but S35vn for just under 60 bucks I'll put up with. A lot of people who say they like the coating do so for the looks. That's fine I guess but for me, a knife is a tool and not a fashion accessory. A large knife with a 1095 blade would be a legitimate reason for a coating. To me though, there is no reason for a coating on a stainless steel blade. If you use it for kitchen type chores especially.
 
I don't care too much for coated blades, and when I got a Condor Kephart, I sanded off the black coating because it just looked wrong on what's a traditional knife pattern. I suppose I'd tolerate a Parkerized Kabar, but...

Basically, I prefer the blade to look like a piece of steel. Maintenance isn't a chore for me, but then I don't live in an area with constant high humidity and/or corrosive gases, such as salt-laden ocean air or volcanic fumes.
 
For me I like some of the black coating. The ones on Spyderco, ZT.... the DLC stuff is nice. Though there are some other coatings that, in my opinion, look cheap and I would prefer weren't on the blade.
 
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