Buck changing PVD coating process or June BOTM wasn't really PVD? I'm Disappointed.

[rival22]

I bought the 843 BOTM last month, and I love the knife even more than I thought (liner locks & flippers not really my thing). I've carried it more days than not since getting it.

But, I have issues with the hardware... From my understanding and experience, PVD coating is very durable.

The 843 info says it includes "bronze PVD-coated fasteners". Same as the slim TRX Titanium 112/110 Legacy models. But on my 843, the bronze is already wearing off. The pivot is wearing all around the edges, and the body screw at the end of the handle is pretty much entirely worn through. It reminds me of how cerakote wears.

As a comparison, my 112 TRX Titanium, which I've owned for about 6 months, and has gotten more pocket time/use than what this 843 has seen, still looks the same as new. If anything it looks like it's patinaed even a bit darker.

Is it a thinner coating? (Not sure exactly how the PVD process is done), or is it not PVD at all? It honestly reminds me of that coating on cheap "bronze" cookware that quickly wears off.

 

[jbmonkey]

think you're the first to point out this issue. pvd isn't a super duper durable coating to scratches. not sure how pvd handles salty sweat, acidic skin touching it or repeated handling friction? not sure what it actually is, on your knives. id assume though whatever Buck said is true.

maybe different coating or applied improperly? don't know.

other than dlc im not a big fan of coatings. they all wear away over use and time. dlc seems to hold up on a blade. to this day I'm still confused if it actually helps coat the steel though for corrosion resistance. I find as many it does, as I find it doesnt. I've never really had bad rust issues though so its kinda a non-issue for me.

all that said if a blade or fastener is coated and wears away I don't really care that much. its a tool and won't stay pretty forever unless kept as a collectible in conditioned and humidity controlled environment and only touched with gloves, etc.

maybe do a warranty claim and see what Buck says?

 

[Lesknife]

I’ve had some pvd coatings last better than others but they still seem to wear off in use. Im not a fan of coatings but the best coatings I’ve had was the titanium nitride on the alaskan guide series from the 2014 era. It has held up well and my marksman has done well in dirty hard use on the ranch cutting hay bale strings . feed sacks and other tuff materials. Ceracoat in my opinion is not tuff at all and wears quickly. I would rather not have any coatings especially on the blade.

 

[rival22]

think you're the first to point out this issue. pvd isn't a super duper durable coating to scratches. not sure how pvd handles salty sweat, acidic skin touching it or repeated handling friction? not sure what it actually is, on your knives. id assume though whatever Buck said is true.

maybe different coating or applied improperly? don't know.

other than dlc im not a big fan of coatings. they all wear away over use and time. dlc seems to hold up on a blade. to this day I'm still confused if it actually helps coat the steel though for corrosion resistance. I find as many it does, as I find it doesnt. I've never really had bad rust issues though so its kinda a non-issue for me.

all that said if a blade or fastener is coated and wears away I don't really care that much. its a tool and won't stay pretty forever unless kept as a collectible in conditioned and humidity controlled environment and only touched with gloves, etc.

maybe do a warranty claim and see what Buck says?

Yeah, I don't expect a coating to last forever, but especially compared to the Legacy 112 I have, I guess I expected it to last longer than 3 weeks. I would have been better to anodize it a bronze color.

It's funny, I'm not a big Cerakote fan, and this has a Crekote coated blade. Even that spine and the flipper tab that gets constant wear rubbing in a pocket still look brand new.

 

[tiguy7]

The wear on that pivot “T-Nut?” looks typical of an air dry, dyed lacquer. Even bronze plate would wear better. Some PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coatings such as TiAlN have an HRC of 92. This is much harder than say the blades they are applied to. I know of no bronze colored PVD coatings. PVD coatings tend to be ceramic in composition and performance. You can’t anodize steel, but Ti and Al lend themselves to relatively hard anodize coatings although these coatings are thin and brittle and tend to fail because they are applied over soft substrates.