current Competition Finish vs coated-then-stripped

D

dogrunner

Joined
Dec 26, 2003
Messages
1,524
There have been some threads on current competition finish / grade vs the older versions and vs DC but what is the difference between the blade finish with current competition vs a coated-then-stripped blade?
I'm not planning on stripping any of my blades or buying one with the intent to strip it, just curious what the current finish level of a coated blade is, before it is coated (or after it is stripped).
thanks
 
It is my understanding that Competition Finish is just one step to knock off some of the roughness after machining.
 
The older CF was a thing of beauty. If you liked the infi dimples, all business nothing fancy rough looking in a good way. It showed the infi dimples and light machine marks. I personally love this rugged look. The current CF is much more refined imho. I will stick with coated strippers at this point. I prefer the rugged stripper look (with a few refinements) light sanding to knock down the deeper milling marks. Ghetto competition / satin finish. :D:cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
I've been lucky I guess, the only "bad" chatter marks "gremlin" I have found has been on sr101. Either way to me it only adds character to my users.
 
I would definitely get the comp finish over doing it myself. Just removing the coating is such a PITA.
 
Looking at the few Burp MO pics with CF - looks different to me than the CF of old but it is dull - I have gremlins on my burp but the knife shines like chrome now, so chrome gremlins - and it has the fine cross hatch look of surface grinding machines just really shiny.
I have a Park Ranger ordered in BIG DC so looking forward to seeing how that polishes right out of the box. I've got wheels and compounds as good as sandpaper to work with so I'm excited about it, might be sht, don't know, never had it.
 
F'lar said:
I find it to be cathartic myself. Plus the personal pleasure of making the the blade yours and yours alone. I form a true bond to the blade that is revived everytime I use it.

PS. I only do this with blades I know will be keeper's / users.
Click to expand...

I have done this many times as well, and honestly am tired of it. I did this to one SHBM and 10 hours of hand work. It is a keeper though
 
It's a personal preference, but for me, $40 more for comp finish is going to win every time. I've stripped a TGLB, Battle Saw, and an Ash 2 and while I like a stripped blade over a coated blade for any user, the only reason I did it was because they weren't offered in CF when I bought them. Like Cobalt said, stripping is a PITA and if you want to keep the logo defined you have to etch it (I still haven't tried that). Below are a couple pics of some of the stripping I did. The BS has a few hours into it (this went to my brother as a Christmas gift last year and my current BS still has the coating since I didn't want to bother with it again - CBT & saw teeth...). The Ash 2 was just the initial CitriStrip and a once over with some 600 grit sandpaper, but still maybe a couple hours of elapsed time (mostly while the CitriStrip sat). Last pic has the CF MO Burp on top of the Ash 2 as a comparison pic.

20160821_181535.jpg 20171114_130038.jpg 20171114_130135.jpg
 
Heck. I'd like to see a bare steel option on SR101. Playing with forced patinas is like an Etcha-Sketch for grown-ups.
 
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