Blades with patterns . . . ? wear off

expidia1

expidia1

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Feb 18, 2018
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IMG_5677.jpg How do these patterned or painted blades hold up. I see pics of how fast the black BM osborne 940 blade can wear off.
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My small Sebenza is in the mail to be and I think its a grey blade. I'm not interested in having to keep some in my collection as safe queens, as I enjoy using them for EDC. I'm sure I will trade or sell them eventually as I get deeper into custom knives. So I want to keep them pristine. But I do like the blades with a design, but not if they wears off with light use.

What say you?
 
OK thanks for that response. I don’t plan to be whittling any branches with them, but I don’t want to see the finish scratched up too easily either, potentially killing my resale value.
 
The blade on the foray you have pictured is called Damascus steel. It is two steels forged and folded multiple times to make an intricate pattern. That will not wear off
 
expidia1 said:
OK thanks for that response. I don’t plan to be whittling any branches with them, but I don’t want to see the finish scratched up too easily either, potentially killing my resale value.
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Yeah...usually it’s something more extreme like batoning with your Sabenza that will wear the coating off.
 
With moderate to heavy use, over time, all blade coatings will eventually wear off. Even with damascus steel, the pattern will fade with use. The nice thing with damascus steel is that a qualified knife maker can re-etch the steel in acid, to bring the pattern back out. Coated blades will have to be completely cleaned of residual coating and re-coated.
 
Buying knives you plan to EDC, yet with the intent not to use them enough to impact their resale value seems odd to me. If that is the case, just buy some inexpensive high value sub $30 knives and save yourself the process.
 
I understand the concept. For some (maybe most) of us it takes a while (and many knives through our hands) to figure out what we do and don't like, and what type of knives, blade shapes, steels, designs, ergonomics, and aesthetics are a good fit.

Eventually you may end up with a handful of knives that are right for you, and a number of knives on the shelf that are your "college textbooks" - great when you were learning but you never go back to them.

You are hoping to minimize the loss on resale of your "textbook" knives.

Carrying the analogy a bit further - just like textbooks, if it's in pristine resale condition, you probably didn't read and study enough to get the value out of the class. Same with the knife. If you didn't carry and use it enough to figure out what does and doesn't work for you, then other than just satisfying a need for variety, you didn't get much out of the knife.

There is the other issue, that in today's on-line world, you really can't easily go to a knife store that has everything you want, sit there for a few hours trying out all of the display models, until you find one you like. We now have to buy, try, and resell (usually at a loss). Same concept - you want to be able to resell at a small loss.

All of the above is a restatement / refinement of your original point. I understand your motivation, and it is not unreasonable.

Knives that would quickly show wear from normal use are less easy to resell than knives that show little to no wear from normal use. So your concern is that you want to avoid knives that look "used" really quickly.

So yes - I would avoid knives that have coatings / etches / designs on the blade that would be abraded, scratched, removed, or otherwise damaged during normal usage, if you think that would reduce the sale value of your honestly advertised and represented "carried, used, sharpened, but still looks like new" knives.

Personally - No, I don't worry about it. If I want a knife to retain value, I don't use it. I keep the knife and all packaging in new condition. If I have a knife I want to carry and use, then I will carry and use it and accept the fact that it is going to look carried and used.

I have over 100 pocket knives, and other than a face-to-face sale to a good friend, I have never sold a single knife so far. I have given away a few. Otherwise, I still have all of my "college textbook knives."
 
Wow, thanks for that great and right on point explanation. I’m here to learn from the experienced and asking questions saves me a lot of time searching through threads. From a poster above who talked of some patterns are etched onto the blade I did not know that. I knew to avoid the black blades. But with a grey bladed Sebenza on its way I didnt know how much use I could give what looks to be just a painted blade. how is the colored blade on a chris reeve blade done?
 
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As far as I know there has never been a coated Sebenza blade...do you have a pic of the knife you bought?

~Chip
 
expidia1 said:
Wow, thanks for that great and right on point explanation. I’m here to learn from the experienced and asking questions saves me a lot of time searching through threads. From a poster above who talked of some patterns are etched onto the blade I did not know that. I knew to avoid the black blades. But with a grey bladed Subenza on its way I didnt know how much use I could give what looks to be just a painted blade. how is the colored blade on a chris reeve blade done?
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Have you checked the description from CRK, or any of the many many dealers?
 
expidia1 said:
Wow, thanks for that great and right on point explanation. I’m here to learn from the experienced and asking questions saves me a lot of time searching through threads. From a poster above who talked of some patterns are etched onto the blade I did not know that. I knew to avoid the black blades. But with a grey bladed Subenza on its way I didnt know how much use I could give what looks to be just a painted blade. how is the colored blade on a chris reeve blade done?
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Do you mean the stonewash finish?
 
Can always send it to the spa after some abuse.. Use and enjoy. That knife will hold its value.
 
im not a fan of the 2.94 inch blade though. so im already looking at the 3.6 large sebenza.
 
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ScooterG said:
‘Tis folly to be wise.
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Haha, Good one . . . had to look up that quote: (Not knowing something is often more comfortable than knowing it. . . This proverb resembles “What you don't know cannot hurt you.” It figures in a passage from “On a Distant Prospect of Eton College,” by the eighteenth-century English poet Thomas Gray: “Where ignorance is bliss, / 'Tis folly to be wise).

Sadly, I don't think this Sebenza model is for me. It was born Jan18th 2018. It's built like a tank, so no issues there. Beautiful blade finish and shape. I picked it up here last week as I'm trying to elevate my collection into the realm of the custom knife world.
But I thought its action would be more flipper like. Being new to this hobby, I still lean towards models like the BM Osborns (I have 3 so far) I just like how easy they are to open. I already have 3 assisted opening models . . . A kershaw, a BM assisted 490 Arcane and my latest that arrived yesterday a BM assisted Emissary. I know the purists here dont like assisted and I can understand that. But I have stiff joints and knives like my two Spydercos I find hard for me to flip open as easy as the Osbornes etc.

I sent this small Sebenza into Chris Reeve c/s today as I wanted them to center the blade and maybe loosen up the action a little ( I also told them not to sharpen it, since its so new). I've never handled one, so I was surprised that this custom knife's action was just not what I'm looking for.
I'll increase my membership to gold when it comes back in a week or two and then re-list it.

Thx for all of your responses to my original question.
 
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