Coated blades

Triton

Triton

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Aug 8, 2000
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I am wondering if any of you prefer coated blades and if so why? It appears that whether the coating is dlc, cerekote or whatever it is just a matter of time until the stuff gets scratched and looks like crap. Now we might say that looks do not matter... But if we are saying that why do we have a coated blade? The only thing I can think of is that for some of you high speed low drag types, reflective metal might not be a good plan. However I am guessing that percentage wise the number of us that would apply to would be vanishingly small. So what is the deal?
 
Corrosion protection... and I mean that in an entirely non-condescending way.
 
While I don't understand why so many stainless steel folding knives come with coated blades considering who mostly buys them, I can't really say I dislike them at all.
So I don't exactly prefer coated blades, but it's not a deal breaker and I prefer a worn coated blade to a bare stainless blade that's all scratched up and crappy looking.
To me the worn off coating reminds me a bit of patina on a carbon steel blade.
 
Triton said:
I am wondering if any of you prefer coated blades and if so why? It appears that whether the coating is dlc, cerekote or whatever it is just a matter of time until the stuff gets scratched and looks like crap. Now we might say that looks do not matter... But if we are saying that why do we have a coated blade? The only thing I can think of is that for some of you high speed low drag types, reflective metal might not be a good plan. However I am guessing that percentage wise the number of us that would apply to would be vanishingly small. So what is the deal?
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For non-stainless alloys, the advantage is corrosion protection.
For stainless alloys, there are a number of possible answers, some of which have already been voiced, but I'll voice again:
1) Cosmetics. Some folks think it looks cool.
2) Some coatings have a low coefficient of friction, supposed to make deep cuts easier. Have no idea if it does.
3) For a combat knife, it may help prevent the enemy from spotting you.
 
Some coatings are little better than paint and those I would rather not have at all . But the DLC and some of the other tough coatings can be useful as noted above .

Especially on the the non-stainless steels , I don't mind a good tough coating . On stainless , I'm neutral .

It can be important on a combat / fighting knife to have a black blade for camouflage and also make it harder to block in a fight , in low light conditions .
 
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I prefer non coated stainless steel blades. I m the last person to dutifully clean and oil a work knife every night. But I have no problem avoiding rust on my stainless blades.I don t use non stainless steel.
I really can t tell any difference in the drag/resistance during cutting between my dlc and non coated blades. And I don t do enough "night time operations" to care about blade visibility.
Personally my cosmetic preference is for traditional non coated knife blades.
That said, occasionally I come across a knife so good, that I overlook the coated blade. More often lately. I m actually getting used to them now.
Cold Steel, you guys are so stubborn about your Recon1 and American Lawman !!
 
I personally like how a well-worn coating looks. I've always preferred uncoated blades, but these days, I like both coated and uncoated blades for different reasons. For me, rust prevention isn't a consideration as the coating will wear off eventually anyway, so either way I'm going to have to be mindful of it.
 
One of the cooler, IMHO, affordable knives is the Kershaw Nura 3.5 with a titanium carbo-nitride coating. I'm not sure what this does, anyone know? I'm guessing it protects the underlying stainless steel but not sure how.

From the Kershaw website: " Nura features Kershaw's KVT ball-bearing system for smooth, easy opening without a mechanical assist. Instead, the user pulls back on a flipper and the blade moves out of the handle quickly and easily. The key is a washer with caged ball bearings that surrounds the pivot and makes opening the knife nearly frictionless.

The Nura handle design has a sleek, streamlined look and feel. The blade is quality stainless steel, heat treated to Kershaw's demanding specifications to bring out the best qualities in the steel, then titanium carbo-nitride coated for additional protection and performance. The slim handle is made of stainless steel with machined grooves that provide style and extra grip. The handle is titanium carbo-nitride coated, then sanded to reveal a shiny steel surface. A frame lock provides blade lockup security."



 
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The two dlc Spydercos (military and pm2) that I have are the smoothest among all Spydercos that I have. So maybe the coating helps reduce friction?
 
This is my only coated blade. I didn't get it for tacticoolness or corrosion protection(m390, although I live near the ocean so it still serves that purpose I guess.) , I thought it looked nice and it has held up great. I dont think you can loop everyone that has a black coated blade into a mall ninja type looking for covert night ops.

b83cfef5-9990-426a-8600-4a91eef9083d-jpeg.935768
 
ScooterG said:
Corrosion protection... and I mean that in an entirely non-condescending way.
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Okay, that makes sense... However, if the stuff scratches (and so far I've never seen a user where it hasn't eventually scratched) you are going to have to deal with corrosion anyway. Personally, if I'm dealing with corrosion I prefer a plain carbon steel blade again, because if it happens to pick up some surface rust or something I don't like, I can hit it with the buffing wheel and carry merrily along my way. However, I do see your point and I'm confident that you are correct about that's part of the reason that they do it, thanks!
 
jwh720 said:
This is my only coated blade. I didn't get it for tacticoolness or corrosion protection(m390, although I live near the ocean so it still serves that purpose I guess.) , I thought it looked nice and it has held up great. I dont think you can loop everyone that has a black coated blade into a mall ninja type looking for covert night ops.

b83cfef5-9990-426a-8600-4a91eef9083d-jpeg.935768
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To clarify, I was not looking to criticize anyone. If you like the way it looks that's just as a legitimate a reason as any other. I'm wondering though, will you strip the blade when it scratches which I have to think it will do if you use it for anything substantial?
 
Triton said:
To clarify, I was not looking to criticize anyone. If you like the way it looks that's just as a legitimate a reason as any other. I'm wondering though, will you strip the blade when it scratches which I have to think it will do if you use it for anything substantial?
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The coating is stonewashed so it hides the scratches pretty well imo. I find all blade finishes ( coated, uncoated, stonewashed, beadblasted, mirror polished or what have you) will show scratches if you use them. For example: I have para 3s in m4 both coated and uncoated, I have used them about the same (pretty hard) they both have scratches on the blade and look equally used. Yes, you could buff and sand/polish out the scratches on the uncoated blade but you could also re coat the coated one. So, I think its really just personal preference and not that one is "better" than the other unless you are talking corrosion protection. In the case of corrosion protection even if the coating is mostly worn off but there is some left then that blade would theoretically have more corrosion resistance than the fully uncoated one.
 
jwh720 said:
The coating is stonewashed so it hides the scratches pretty well imo. I find all blade finishes ( coated, uncoated, stonewashed, beadblasted, mirror polished or what have you) will show scratches if you use them.
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Agree!​
jwh720 said:
Yes, you could buff and sand/polish out the scratches on the uncoated blade but you could also re coat the coated one.
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Agree again, although I don't even know what the setup would be for such an activity. I'm betting it's a lot more complicated than a buffer and a scotch brite wheel.
 
All coatings are not created equal. DLC and the like is going to be harder than the steel it is coating. Look at what Spartan is doing as an example.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...-difensa-and-the-phrike-very-pic-hvy.1187294/

There's a bit in that thread about how well the coating cleaned up after extensive use.

I'm sort of neutral on coatings. I'd generally prefer not to have them but it is not a deal breaker.

Oh, and non-stainless can and will rust, even the premium varieties like s35vn-s30v. I've had it happen after forgetting to clean off some spydercos for a few days. Easy to remove and no impact but still happens.
 
craytab said:
All coatings are not created equal. DLC and the like is going to be harder than the steel it is coating. Look at what Spartan is doing as an example.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...-difensa-and-the-phrike-very-pic-hvy.1187294/

There's a bit in that thread about how well the coating cleaned up after extensive use.

I'm sort of neutral on coatings. I'd generally prefer not to have them but it is not a deal breaker.

Oh, and non-stainless can and will rust, even the premium varieties like s35vn-s30v. I've had it happen after forgetting to clean off some spydercos for a few days. Easy to remove and no impact but still happens.
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Here's the post: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...ike-very-pic-hvy.1187294/page-6#post-16051691
 
Quality of the coating matters. I have a PVD coated blade (CPM M4) from @razor-edge-knives (they’re not doing PVD for a bit) and it holds up extremely well. I have a Cold Steel with, I believe, a DLC coating which holds up for crap. My Spyderco DLC (52100) holds up in between those two, leaning more towards the good end and no corosion issues with the M4 and 52100. The Cold Steel is stainless and obviously for looks.

My favorite knives are all “carbon” steels as well. Most have some level of patina. The 2 with the great/good coatings give me more confidence as users and I do understand they will eventually wear.
 
ScooterG said:
Quality of the coating matters. I have a PVD coated blade (CPM M4) from @razor-edge-knives (they’re not doing PVD for a bit) and it holds up extremely well. I have a Cold Steel with, I believe, a DLC coating which holds up for crap. My Spyderco DLC (52100) holds up in between those two, leaning more towards the good end and no corosion issues with the M4 and 52100. The Cold Steel is stainless and obviously for looks.

My favorite knives are all “carbon” steels as well. Most have some level of patina. The 2 with the great/good coatings give me more confidence as users and I do understand they will eventually wear.
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Is that CS with xhp or aus8? The later is just paint. The former is a polished dlc. I'd be a bit surprised if the DLC didn't hold up well.
 
craytab said:
Is that CS with xhp or aus8? The later is just paint. The former is a polished dlc. I'd be a bit surprised if the DLC didn't hold up well.
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Yes, apologies all, the “crap” coating on the CS is AUS8. My XHP does scratch some but is towards the “good” end.
 
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