How do the Benchmade finishes hold up?

T

tlhelmer

Joined
Mar 2, 2002
Messages
5
I am considering the BM 940 or 942 in one of the two finishes they offer. silver or black-t, I think.
I have a BM Emerson CQC-7 in the grey finish that was not suppose to rust, but it does have some small rust spots.

Any problems or thoughts on the two benchmade finishes on these models?
 
Hi TL :)...that Black-Ti blade coating BM uses is some pretty tough stuff. I don't like black blades myself.., but it does hold up pretty well under heavy use. I'm guessing what you refered to as "grey coating"...was a beadblasted blade.., and they will rust/discolor/etc.., if left abondoned with the wrong substance present on the blade.

If you like the Black coating I wouldn't worry at all about getting it.., and someone jump in here, but I think that coating is Rockwell tested at well over 60.., so under general use you're not gonna beat it up to much...


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Welcome to the Forums!

Unless you really have a need for the BT2 coating, I would suggest you stay with the satin finish. It's much easier to keep clean and rust-free. Any coating, no matter how good, will eventually start to wear off and scratch. Just my .02 :)
 
The black-t coating on my older BM710 came off pretty readily and looks pretty crappy when all scratched up. I would not recommend it.

Para
 
Benchmade's black coating scratches pretty easily, and will start looking beat up after a short while. Scratches show up real well which is bad, and you can't get rid of them. However I recently tried to remove the coating from one of my Benchmades and found that it's surprisingly good. I sanded away at it with 180 grit sandpaper and it took quite a while to remove. The top part of the coating was easy to remove, but I soon got to the point where the coating was grey and sanding it off became much harder. I think that in nomal use the coating will scratch easily and get crappy looking real quick, but it will take ages to wear off completely and protect the blade for quite some time.
 
Ditto for the above post. The bt2 coating looses it slick appearance w/o a lot of effort. Underneath is a grey layer that hangs on for dear life. A friend of mine has used his 710 to cut welding wire, and still didnt scratch the bt2 down to bare steel. The sure to look good when they are new though.
 
The only reason I can personally see for getting a coated blade is getting a M2 or D2 blade-since there is no option with those materials.
The coating will probably help protect against corrosion, but it gets scratched up easily, and will not hold up at all to abrasive materials.
btw, Benchmade's BT2 is not Black-T, or Black Ti.

Satin finish looks awesome on the 942, and blue 940, particularly, IMO. I had two of the blue 940s, and regret selling the one that I carried for awhile (the other was a spare, and I sold it, too).
Great knives.
 
Thanks for you responses! I was concerned about rust primarily, but I think if I buy one it will be the satin finish. Does anyone have any ideas for removing the slight rust off of my Emerson CQC-7?
 
Blade coatings generally don't last very long if you use the knife hard. Benchmade's BT2 coating will wear off and scratch if it comes into contact with hard objects as does Black-T and other coatings, but some wear faster than others like the Teflon coating used on inexpensive folders. The coatings really only help to protect against rust and to subdue the finish and just look cool.

Now, bead blast finishes have the unfortunate habit of retaining moisture which gets trapped in the pores of the surface. You can remove the rust with stuff like Flitz polish or Semichrome polish, but you'll end up with a somewhat pewter finish on the blade instead of the bead blast finish. If you like bead blast blades, buy Marine Tuf-Cloth and rub the blade down with it, particularly if you wear your knife clipped to the waistband. It will help prevent rust from forming.
 
Thanks! This is a great forum. who would of though there was so much information or interes in knives.
 
The BT2 coating will continue to protect the blade even if scratched mostly off, because it penetrates the pores of the steel. If you're in a corrosive environment it's a good idea to have the coating if you can't always take the time to wash and wipe off the blade after every use, even if the steel is ATS-34 or 154-CM.

I generally prefer a satin finish, yet I own a number of BT2 coated blades. Sometimes an ATS34 or 154CM satin blade can start to rust fairly quickly in a wet environment. A bead-blasted blade can be a real rust trap because moisture can get trapped in the micro-pores of the bead blast more than on a satin or mirror polished blade.

Jim
 
I thought I heard that BM was using Bodycote to do their coating on the newer blades. If not, they should. The boron carbide coating they developed won't scratch or wear off. It is harder, 93-95 rockwell, than most materials it comes in contact with. They will coat a blade for you as an individual also. Here is a post where Darrel Lewis provided the stats on their coating.

BORON CARBIDE
I may be able to address a couple of things that have been said in previous post.

The Black coatings on all of Microtech's knives that have been made during the past eight months are coated with BORON CARBIDE.
Diamond Black TM. Boron Carbide are extremely hard thin ceramic flims
with a nano-crystalline structure applied in a vacuum chamber via
physical vapor deposition.

HARDNESS 93-95 ROCKWELL C

CHEMICAL RESISTANCE As a ceramic material Diamond Black films are inherently inert. Specific formulations of Boron Carbide can be made to be highly resistant to gases,harsh chemicals and salts.

APPLICATION TEMPERATURE Boron Carbide is deposited at less then 250F
This temperature is lower then the tempering range of all steels used in the knife industries.

ADHESION As strong as the base material itself. no flaking or chipping should occur with normal use.


MOLECULAR WEIGHT 55gm/mole
DENSITY 2.52GM/CC
MELTING POINT 2282F
COLOR DARK GREY TO BLACK
DERMAL TOXICITY Safe for prolonged contact with skin.

I hope this will answer some of the questions you may have about Microtech's Boron Carbide coatings.Since I am the one doing them, if you should have further questions please Email me.Dlewis@bodycote-na.com


Darrell Lewis
Dlewis@bodycote-na.com


YOU MAKE IT FIRST-WE MAKE IT LAST
 
I thought Benchmade was still using BT2 on their tool steel blades (D2 and M2), and using BC1 on the stainless models like the 690 and Park Avenue.

I cannot seem to scratch the BC1 coating on the MT option II I have. Benchmades BT2 scatches if you look at it funny or use harsh language in it's presence.
 
i dont like the benchmade coating. it scratched reasonably easily and looks crap once its scratched up. i polished mine off.

Daniel
 
Most (if not all) of the coating on Benchmade knives now are boron carbide. It is great for light to normal use. If the coating wears to the point you don't like it, send it back to Benchmade. For $20 - $30 depending on the blade style, they won't just recoat it, they'll replace the blade! Microtech won't even consider recoating for under $70.
Yes the coatings will eventually wear off, but it seems like a reasonable price to pay.

Pam
 
Hawaiian- thanks for the info. It's great to hear from "the horse's mouth", so to speak.
 
There certainly is a lot of info on Benchmade coatings in this thread, some of it is even accurate.

The thread started with the question:

"I am considering the BM 940 or 942 in one of the two finishes they offer. silver or black-t,..."
"Any problems or thoughts on the two benchmade finishes on these models?"

In the 940 and 942 models, Benchmade offers Satin (uncoated) or BT2 (black Teflon coating) blade finishes. The 940 and 942 are not offered in the BC1 (Boron Carbide) coating which is done by Bodycote and is described by Darrell Lewis above.
There was a special limited run of the 941-01 (blue handle W/BC1 blade) made. (also known as the 941BC1BL) Some dealers may still have these.

The coating known as "Black-T" has not been used by Benchmade for at least 3 or 4 years. (However some dealers may have had remaining stock of BM knives with "Black-T" coated blades on the shelf more recently).

BT2 provides excellent corrosion protection even after it appears to wear off.
BC1 (as Darrell described above in the post by Hawaiian) is extremly durable.

Rick
 
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