rdangerer wrote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Diamondblack indicates this is an appropriate surface coating for machine tools, and that the hardness runs Rc90-93. That implies that this stuff should just be hands-down a far better coating than the black teflon based coatings as far as abrasion resistance to scratches/scrapes from normal blade use. I.e. if you like black, this stuff should hold up and look good much longer. </font>
Rob - you got it! My contact at Benchmade indicated that the BC coating is tougher than other black coatings, even Benchmade's own BT2 coating.
I was in touch with someone from Body Coat/Diamond Black (the company that does the BC coatins for BM and other knife companies), and he said that MicroTech has sent them their machine tools to coat with BC. MT uses these coated tools to machine the carbon fiber for the LCC models, as CF is a very abrasive material and will wear out expensive machine tools in time.
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Dexter, did Benchmade have anything out on their site about their perceptions and goals for Diamondblack? </font>
No they don't have any technical info on the site about the BC coating. Though, I did hear from the guy at Diamond Black that Benchmade did testing on BC coated blades and they really like the qualities of this coating (obviously
)
The all-black look has pretty much run its course in production knives. The BC coating is more of a dark gray coating and it also has some reflection to it, I believe that it will eventually replace the matte black coatings that are prevalent in the tactical knife market. Heck, even William Henry Knives is releasing their carbon fiber series with BC coated blades - gentleman's knives!
I have been invitied to visit Body Coat/Diamond Black's coating facility (conveniently, about an hour from where I live
) to watch the actual coating process on knife blades, quite possibly some of Benchmade's. If they permit me to take photos and upload them to the Internet, you guys on BF will be the first to see. If not, I will do my best to give a text account of what I saw. more likely, it'll be later this summer at the earliest that I'm able to venture out there.
Going off on a tangent, knives are just a part of what BC/DB works with. They have a huge coating facility in Mexico in which they do coatings for Schlage (sp?), the company famous for their dead bolts.
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who wish to find out more technical information on this coating, go to http://www.diamondblack.com 
