Ever stripped the DLC off a recent Spyderco? (just curious)

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FloridaDreams

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Apr 11, 2021
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I stripped the DLC off of a s35VN Cold Steel American Lawman with a spray and it revealed a really nice stonewash underneath. Gave that one away and now I keep side-eying the Para 3 s45VN dlc... I am sure this would void all warranties - just wondering if anyone has photo evidence of what lies beneath?
 
umB0iR9.jpg

Not sure about what it would look like totally removed but I got a nice “blackwash” look by taking my time with a greenie pad.

Surfer
 
it’s called something like airplane paint stripper in a spray can - I saw Jimmy Slash do it in a video to a recon 1 so I bought the same stuff at Home depot and took it to the American Lawman. It was lovely underneath. Wish I had a picture of it but now that you mention it - may have been the XHP version of the Lawman. Did CS change their finish underneath the DLC when they switched to s35VN ? I will happily strip the next S35VN DLC cold steel I come across and share the results.

I was curious because I excitedly orderEd a para 3 s45vn camo/black intending to swap in a Rex 45 blade from a lightweight (it’s TOO lightweight!) but I love the s45 knife (and steel!) the way it is and now so I don’t want to swap it out with the lightweight... Beautiful finish on that one, Surfer! 🤙
 
You can never chemically strip a DLC coating. You can only remove it via abrasion like sandpaper. Don’t waste your time & money doing it.

The lawman you stripped is absolutely not S35VN and the coating is definitely teflon. The stonewashed finish underneath the cheap teflon coating means it’s an aus8a version.

Or you can always find out the hard way.
 
I thought I read somewhere that the original finish of Spyderco’s DLC blades was bead-blasted, to better hold the DLC coating.

Jim
 
Surferdaddy said:
Not sure about what it would look like totally removed but I got a nice “blackwash” look by taking my time with a greenie pad.

Surfer
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Hey there. This one look so nice. How did u do it to make DLC coat look like that? Did u sandpaper it? I have PM2 with same color and i want to make it like this 🙂 please let me know how to do it. Thanks.
 
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insta9ves said:
You can never chemically strip a DLC coating.
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THANK YOU !
That's what I was thinking.
What I was going to say was I have " stripped " the DLC off a boat load of Cold Steels , etc. , but what I'm doing EVERY TIME is grinding about a millimeter or so off each side of the blade and the DLC just happens to be there.

I like DLC OK but thick knives in high alloy steel sucks , well . . . maybe until you get about a foot long and this city slicker never goes there . That's what I got you guys for .
 
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James Y said:
I thought I read somewhere that the original finish of Spyderco’s DLC blades was bead-blasted, to better hold the DLC coating.

Jim
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Yeah , in my mind / experience that kind of is counter productive ; too much friction in the cut .
Try it your self take the end of your thumb nail down the side of a more polished blade DCL or not then try it with the bead-blasted matt finish ; you can almost file your finger nail on it ; there is more drag in any case . Not a fan except to look at .
 
I’m not convinced the matte coating Spyderco calls DLC is actually DLC, instead of a lesser PVD coating. I’ve used a range of nice thick glossy DLC coated knives from Cold Steel and the coatings were superior IMO.

Beware though, that some of the classically DLC coated knives like the recon 1 are now offered in DLC and a more matte PVD coat, and some dealers still list both as DLC. A GSM representative (CEO I think) posted here that they would be offering both. The matte PVD versions are just like the “DLC” coatings I’ve had from Spyderco.
 
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jux t said:
I’m not convinced the matte coating Spyderco calls DLC is actually DLC, instead of a lesser PVD coating. I’ve used a range of nice thick glossy DLC coated knives from Cold Steel and the coatings were superior IMO.

Beware though, that some of the classically DLC coated knives like the recon 1 are now offered in DLC and a more matte PVD coat, and some dealers still list both as DLC. A GSM representative (CEO I think) posted here that they would be offering both. The matte PVD versions are just like the “DLC” coatings I’ve had from Spyderco.
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There is a pretty wide range of the look and feel of DLC depending on the minutia of the respective company's process.
 
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