Gator Skin

S

Steve Beckwith

Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
393
I live in a beach town in Florida with the ocean to the east and a brackish water estuary to the west. No matter which way the wind blows we have salt air so corrosion is a big deal. Little specks of rust show up on my finished blades regularly. I try to keep everything oiled but it is a constant problem. Now I have an email from Baker Forge promoting Gator Skin, some kind of polymer coating they say will protect against rust. It is what I would consider to be very pricey. Has anyone had any experience with this product?
 
You can coat a blade with a spray of Varathane and prevent rust .... Problem is it isn't really what you want and not that much better than most "expensive" coatings.
Seriously, Ceracoat, Gatorskin, and a few others all are credited to work well for the place they cover. They will wear and scratch in use and the sharpened edge area is uncovered.

Best option for your environment is to use high corrosion resistance stainless steels. larrin and others have done lots of studies that give the best steel choices.

For slowing corrosion on carbon blades, try giving them several etches in FC to put a good patina on the blade. It surprisingly resists rust if washed and wiped off after use.

I have a KITH knife in 26C3 from Alex Topfer. In use it every day for preparing dinner and other food tasks - seafood, poultry, meats, veggies, lots of citrus and acid foods, etc. . I wash it off, rinse it, wipe it dry with the counter towel, and stick it back in the rack. It has neve had a single spot of rust. The blade has kurouchi upper bevels and is deeply etched in FC.
 
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PACVD? Can you explain? Also, I just mentioned this to a friend who was a long term employee at Kennedy Space Center. He thinks this is some kind of formula created by NASA. They do share their technology with the public.
The ferric chloride etch is something that I will try. I know stainless is really the answer but I don't have the ability to heat treat stainless.
 
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Vapor deposit...similar to PVD coating DLC. I used DLC on 1911 parts that were carbon steel as it shows the finish underneath, is highly wear resistant and somewhat self-lubricating (not really but doesn't require as much CLP, has a lower friction coefficient than bear steel). Gator Skin appears to be a further form or development of that coating tech.
 
I talked to them at Bladeshow about it. I gathered that you give a blade a shot of it (comes in a squirt bottle) and then use a rag to spread it around. They said it was food safe and had performed very well in the corrosion tests. It is kind of expensive but they said one bottle will do a lot of knives. I think I will try it sometime in the future.

I think if they'd offer it in smaller bottles a lot more people would try it.
 
Screenshot 2025-06-16 at 2.56.47 PM.jpg 32 oz Protector/lubricant used to keep concrete working tools corrosion free.
VS
Screenshot 2025-06-16 at 2.57.03 PM.jpg 2oz Used for knife protection. Claims to be food safe & antimicrobial.

I suspect someone will be changing their name soon.
 
BTW, the Baker Forge Gator Skin is not a polymer.

"Gator Skin is an FDA-compliant food safe non-stick nano-ceramic coating suitable for use on cutting instruments and blades."
 
Not much in the MSDS. It says the actual ingredients are "proprietary"
The chemicals are a silane mixture, which is primarily a water repellant and is used in coatings to increase adhesion of other ingredients in surface application. It would be one of the polymers in the mix. The nano-ceramic is not mentioned in the MSDS, but what the term means very small ceramic particles that are below 100nm in size. These are used in wear resistance coatings.
Whatever type of ceramic they use is what is bonded by the silanes. I would assume it is an RNC (resin nano ceramic).
Ceramic used to mean a very different thing than today. Ceramics are not just pottery. The spray ceramics on your car in the car wash. Those ceramics are primarily silicon dioxide compounds.


SAFETY DATA SHEET
Company Name: Baker Forge & Tool LLC Address: 110 Waterstone Dr., Boone, NC 28607 Email: info@bakerforge.com
Last Issue Date: 2/27/2025 1.
COMPANY AND PRODUCT INFORMATION
Product Name: Gator Skin Product Number: GS-1001
Chemical Name: Silane Mixture
Chemical Family: Polymeric Resin-Solvent Blend Chemical
Formula: Proprietary Blend
Product Use: FDA compliant, re-coatable, food safe, non-stick coating suitable for cutting instruments and blades
EPA Co. No.: 096235 EPA Reg. No.: 83019-1 EPA Est. No.: 96235-CA-1
 
The Silane Mixture seems to offer both the antimicrobial action and the water shedding action. While interesting, $25 per ounce seems to be excessive.
 
Anti-microbial is a sales term 99% of the time. It inhibits growth, not eliminates it.
Anti-microbial and Microbicidal are different terms.

The very thin coating would only retard growth of bacteria on the underside of any food particles on the blade. The upper surface of te particles would still grow bacteria. Washing the blade and drying it well are the only approved measures for food safety. If the inspector found food particles on a knife in a restaurant he wouldn't care a rat's patootie if it was "anti-microbial" ... he would give you a violation card and tell you to wash all the knives in a sterilizing solution.

We often see the same sales language used for things with copper in/on them.

None of the info I have related in this thread is a comment on how well Gator Skin works. I have no idea, because I have never used it or known anyone who has. Just technical info for those who aren't chemists.
 
From the website:
Gator Skin ANTIMICROBIAL ADDITIVE

Gator Skin uses a powerful organosilicon-based antimicrobial additive that is an effective surface disinfectant and adds exceptional continuous bacteriostatic, fungistatic, and algistatic properties to coated surfaces. The antimicrobial is blended throughout the entire thickness of the coating for long-term antimicrobial durability.

The antimicrobial additive creates a network of electrically charged molecules on the exposed surface that ruptures the cell membrane of microorganisms that come into contact with the coating. The antimicrobial’s physical kill mechanism is highly effective and does not promote the development of drug-resistant superbugs.


Based on the above, it seems they might be using an existing medical grade product and re-bottling it. There is a lot of information out on the web about Silane Mixtures used in hospitals and in the dental field. It seems effective and survives a certain number of physical cleanings.

At $50 per bottle, I'm not going to be the guinea pig even though I'm interested in how well it performs on non-stainless steels. I currently use EDCi and it's adequate for my needs here in the humid South, but for corrosion control only.
 
organosilicon-based antimicrobial additive
That is silane - SiH4. It is an organic compound. Smells like strong vinegar.
Similar to methane - CH4, and ammonium - NH4. All, of the multi-hydrogen similar compounds are anti microbial.
Silanes when combined with alkyls are very water repellent.

network of electrically charged molecules
Ad-speak for the compounds being ionic. Ions bond well with other elements. I suspect the silane ions bond with the steel to some degree. The ions would enter a cell wall and cause cell damage. This is sort of a cool thing how it happens - The ions attach to things like DNA and other parts of the cell. This disrupts its maintenance/function and kills the cell. I don't think it is enough to spread far or it would be considered toxic, and thus non-food grade. I suspect the amount on the blade surface isn't enough to go far.

The antimicrobial is blended throughout the entire thickness of the coating for long-term antimicrobial durability.
Ad-speak for dissolved in a solvent.

Again, not bashing the product, just translating the advertising language
 
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