Coating Removal: Yari

D

diletante

Joined
Mar 20, 2002
Messages
389
OK, I searched the terms "coat*" and "remov*" in topic headings and reviewed these RESULTS. Good stuff. I want to remove the coating from a Yari. I won't need the knife right away and removing the scales and coating, polishing the blade and putting it all back together will be a nice project. Any additional advice?

Has anyone taken the scales off their Yari yet? I saw one post that said the owner couldn't do it or had trouble (he suggested Gerber used something like LockTite). I saw another thread that suggested the owner could take the knife apart.

Has anyone taken the coating off a Yari yet? I understand it's tougher than BT2.
 
I just love polishing up knives, don't know why but I do! I have taken the scales off using a #10 torx ( I think ) The scales will come off easier with a light tap of a hammer to them. I used 600 grit wet/dry paper and Flitz polish to start with. The blade finish on the edge of the back strap is a little rough and it really takes some work to remove all the black. I finally resorted to my Dremel with wire brush to get it all. The paper got the majority of the black off the blade. I then switched to Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish on the blade.

I have put this one up to concentrate on the polishing of a Cuda MAXX and now a MT Halo III. The Yari isn't finished but I will get back to it.

BTW, I really like the Yari. It is the only fixed blade I have besides a Pack River Camp knife. Gerber really got it right with this one!:D
 
Looks nice! Thanks for the recommendation Hoodoo!

The canvas micarta scales cam off easy. Mine were held on with hex fasteners--not Torx.

I started on the blade with emery paper (300s) and the coating is coming off easy. When I get down to bare metal I'll move up the grit scale until I get a finish that satisfies me and put the scales back on. It's gonna take a little elbow grease, though. When you get the coating off there are a lot of machining marks left from the grinding process. It makes me wonder who's pushing harder for coated blades--marketing or accounting ;)
 
OK, after getting the coating off with emery paper I used the holes in the tang to screw the knife down and then polished the blade using a rag wheel and my Makita. Now it looks better than the Henkels in the kitchen. There are still some visible grind lines (as there are on my henkels) but I can see my face in the surface.
 
Glad it worked out for you. A recent issue of Tactical Knives showed a "one-off" version of the Yari with polished blade and nice dark wood handle that was made by the factory. Very nice.

I generally don't like blade coatings, but I like the way the stock Yari looks. If I get another one maybe I'll give the polished look a try.

miguel
 
I camp with a bunch of lefties (hey, what can I say, I live in Seattle). One of the reasons I polished the Yari (besides my own aversion to black blades) is polished blades don't scare sheeple as much. Heck, the polished Yari would look at home in the kitchen.

I brought my coated 806D2 on my last car camping trip and got a bunch of flack about the black blade. I bet no one would have said anything if the blade had a satin finish. Oh well.
 
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