Blade coatings??

G

GraysonK

Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
153
Hi all,
I was looking at some of the pictures on here and I got curious:
Why do some blades look dull instead of shiny? Is there some kind of coating on them or is it the steel? Like, silver Kershaw chive...it's a really dull silver color whereas my Ascent is shiny. I know that other coatings are put on knives (black, etc), but what is that and how is it done? Does it do something to the blade to make is stronger, hold a better edge, easier to sharpen, corrosion resistant? And I kind of have a preference for that shiny as far as folders go (which is why I haven't bought the spyderco tenacious yet) look so am i severely limiting myself with regard to quality knives? Just curious. Thanks.
Gray
 
BEAD BLAST FINISH: can be defined as any non-reflective finish applied to the metal surface by bead blasting or sand blasting the blade with any of a variety of media. The intent is to roughen the surface for anti-glare. The trade off is it tends to be more susceptible to corrosion due to the increased surface area exposed. This finish is also commonly referred to as a "military finish".

-Bebop-
 
Whew. All good questions, but yowza, this may take a while.

White-metal blades (the silver ones) can be polished to varying degrees of shininess (is that a word?). You'll see everything from a fairly rough finish to mirror finishes, depending on the maker. In addition, some are bead-blasted to cut down on the reflectivity even more. I'm not aware of anyone doing any kind of a coating for blades in the white, though it's a wide world out there and I suppose anything's possible.

Black blades are coated with any number of different nitrites or carbides (frequently titanium or tungsten, though there are many others), and apply a harder-than-steel coating to resist scratching. They work, but can still be scratched up pretty good under hard use. All coatings will improve rust resistance, though this is probably only necessary for carbon steel blades.

Lots of people think black blades are more tactical. I don't happen to agree with that, but this discussion probably deserves its own thread.

My advice to you: It's your money, buy what turns your crank. I'd be willing to bet that, if you're enough of a knife knut to be hanging around here, you'll probably end up owning a lot of knives with all types of blades before too long. I really wouldn't worry about it too much.

Enjoy!
 
I don't like bead blasted surfaces, but it's cheap and that's why some companies do it. I've polished the blades of my Cold Steel Rajahs, and all the tool marks become visible, but if I really wanted them gone I could polish them out with power tools. I like the shiny surfaces because they're more attractive and more resistant to corrosion. It's one reason I like Cold Steel, because they polish most of their blades.

I've recently become an advocate of knife companies hard chroming their metal surfaces to greatly retard wear. Hard chroming has really worked in the firearm industry and parts that are plated virtually don't wear. As other knives open and close, they wear over the years and the tolerances change. Hard chroming would prevent that, as well as most scratches, dings, etc. I've never looked into it, but I bet they could change the color, too. Anyway, knife blades scratch easily and it's never bothered me because they're tools, but I do have knives I keep just to admire.
 
Samael said:
Whew. All good questions, but yowza, this may take a while.

White-metal blades (the silver ones) can be polished to varying degrees of shininess (is that a word?). You'll see everything from a fairly rough finish to mirror finishes, depending on the maker. In addition, some are bead-blasted to cut down on the reflectivity even more. I'm not aware of anyone doing any kind of a coating for blades in the white, though it's a wide world out there and I suppose anything's possible.

Black blades are coated with any number of different nitrites or carbides (frequently titanium or tungsten, though there are many others), and apply a harder-than-steel coating to resist scratching. They work, but can still be scratched up pretty good under hard use. All coatings will improve rust resistance, though this is probably only necessary for carbon steel blades.

Lots of people think black blades are more tactical. I don't happen to agree with that, but this discussion probably deserves its own thread.

My advice to you: It's your money, buy what turns your crank. I'd be willing to bet that, if you're enough of a knife knut to be hanging around here, you'll probably end up owning a lot of knives with all types of blades before too long. I really wouldn't worry about it too much.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I'm glad to know that those questions weren't as dumb as I thought they were. You are right, I already own several different knives with several different blade shapes, finishes, coatings, but I'm finding that the more I learn and see...the more I appreciate this vast and every change world of knives. I have discovered that I am in awe of some of the knives I've seen on here just because I have more knowledge now. I used to think that the coolest, most beautiful knife I've ever seen was the Buck 110. I still think that and now have a much greater appreciation for it. Anyway, thanks for the response.
Gray
 
There are no dumb questions. Nobody was born into this world knowing everything there is to know about knives. I've owned knives for the last 45 years or so, and I'm still learning new things. That's one of the really nice things about this forum - you can actually get the chance to pick the brains of some of the real legends of this business.

Don't get discouraged by some of the very strong personalities here (and very opinionated people). Nobody knows it all, even though some of them may think they do. On the whole, we're all just a bunch of knife junkies just like you, and that's a good thing. For every guy around here who makes you shake your head and wonder what planet he's from, there are 100 great guys (and a few great women).

OK, so much for fatherly advice. Get out there and enjoy your hobby.

(And as far as your Buck 110 goes, I have many, many knives, some of them worth thousands of dollars, and yet I just bought a Buck 110 a month or so ago. OK, it was an Alaskan Guide limited edition in stag and S30V steel, but it's still a 110. Sweet knife, too.)
 
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