blade finishes

J

JoHnYKwSt

Joined
Mar 1, 1999
Messages
1,904
What non-coat finishes do u guys prefer? ie bead blast, satin, mirror, stonewash. I've heard some pretty bad things about bead blast, and that the only reason why companys use it is to save on production costs. which is best for corrosion resistence, or anything else.

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Johnny
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Johnny,
I have heard so many people trash bead blasting as a way to "cover-up" mistakes it seems like a conspiracy against it. Personally, it is my favorite.

As for mirror finish, watch the look on someone's face the first time they notice the "scratch" they just put in the blade. Also, with a mirror finish, this somehow increases the "pucker factor" of your knife towards other people.

Satin finished blades are IMO, the middle of the road between the two. I own knives with all these type blades, and then some. It's all personal preference.

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If you really want to understand something, try to change it.
 
I like satin finishes because I can do a good job of touching up with just a piece of 400 or 600 wet or dry paper. For BB I have to take the blade to work, and blast it. With mirror its drag out the rotery tool and hope I can do a good job buffing out the scratch.

YMMV,
LD
 
I like satin finishes best, but ANYTHING beats bead blast. Spyderco finishes are excellent.

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Win
Knife lover, Philosopher, Humanitarian, and All-around nice guy
(all right, so I'm just a knife lover)
 
I recently decided that stonewash is my favorite. It doesnt show the scratches on working knives and offers better corrosion resistance compared with the alternatives. I recently spoke with REKAT regarding their stonewash finish and was told that it offered a something like a 30% improvement over satin and a 300% improvement over bead blast for rust resistance in their ats-34. Apparently the tumbling used for stonewash eliminates microscopic pits in the blade where moisture would accumulate. I believe this to be the reason that Chris Reeve also uses this finish on the sebenza, a knife where I have never heard of blades rusting in either steel.

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Al




[This message has been edited by Biginboca (edited 05 April 1999).]
 
I have always liked a satin finish for the same reason as Lucky. They were easy to touch up, no worries.
But one look at the stonewashed blade on the Sebenza and you will never go back. I'll let you know how it holds up.

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James
 
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