Hard Chroming a Knife

[Confederate]

I had a Beretta 70S that needed refinishing. Not because it was worn, but because it always had a tiny spot of surface rust that kept appearing. I later learned that others who owned this same pistol also had this problem. There also were Colt Python (.357) owners who noticed their revolvers were frequently going out of time. The hand that pushed the cylinder around was the culprit, being too small and wearing too quickly. Some .44 mag revolver owners also realized that the nickel finish on their guns were peeling, apparently because of the high pressures and other factors.

In each case, hard chroming was a solution that many people chose. It had a very high Rockwell (65-68, I believe) and has a very high bonding ability. It also virtually eliminates the need for lubrication. In short, anything steel to which it was applied seemed for all intents to stop wearing, and that includes the inside of the barrel. The Python's hand and ratchet, once plated, seems to last forever and the need to time the gun every few thousand rounds is eliminated. Also, rust and corrosion, as well as holster wear—these all seem to have been solved. (Although it's said that hard chroming doesn't protect a firearm as well as nickel or stainless steel, it actually is about as good at resisting rust as a good grade of stainless.)

With folding knives, however, I've never seen this finish catch on. For people with liner lock knives or, actually, any knife, stopping the wearing process could be a great solution. When polished, the finish looks like polished stainless steel. Naturally one could not expect it to keep a blade from wearing, but for those who open and close their folders repeatedly, or for those who want to use a nice, polished carbon blade knife in a damp, wet environment, hard chrome could be a viable answer. It also shouldn't be that expensive, as most of the cost involved in handguns and rifles is for disassembly and reassembly, and individual part treatment.

I'm curious if any knife makers use hard chrome or if any users have tried it. I'd love to see some knives tested with it and without it. Since some advertisements have claimed that designs were specifically developed to account for wear, I'd think it might be worth a try. And for quality liner locks, it would especially be worth it.

Hard Chroming FAQ

 

[mete]

It adds material. Control of the plating is difficult on a sharp edge .Sharp edges on a gun should be chamfered , something hard to do on a knife edge ! Complete , uniform coverage on a gun is difficult especially inside firing pin holes etc.I watched a gun jam in a match because of flakes of plating coming off !Proper plating requires care and expertese by a reliable company. I think a better treatment for guns is the newest type of Melonite Or Tennifer you find on Glocks.
For knives there are treatments such as TiN.But that is not needed because we metallurgists have developed stainless steel !! Treatments don't cover the cutting edge .

 

[fujita yuji]

Former Gerber loved this kind of process one day, long before acquired by
foreign firm. The construction was M2 steel blade with hard chrome plating.
Both fixed blade and folder existed.

 

[orthogonal1]

But that is not needed because we metallurgists have developed stainless steel !! Treatments don't cover the cutting edge .

Stainless steels have issues.

That is why some knife users/makers like carbon steels.

Personally, I wonder why some makers/repairers don't use coatings like hard-chrome to repair clearance/fit issues, e.g. when a liner-lock wears loose, why not use a coating to add the few thousandths of an inch needed to get the lock working again.

 

[bruce]

Mad Dog has been hard chroming his fixed blade knives for years, and the functionality has been great. If one maker has found success with this technique, others should look into it also. I bought one of his great knives (an Atak Hunter) and sent it to Afghanistan and Iraq with a Special Forces Captain (now Major and brother to my daughter's husband). It worked well for him.