I love my new Cyclone but what to do about so many scratches on the scales?

Aluminum anodizing is essentially "clear" or light in colour except Type III in mil spec thicknesses which then look dark grey/blackish. It is porous and can be dyed by filling the pores with a dye and then coating with a sealant of some sort.

The Type III is inherently coloured dark grey/black due to the fineness of the pores and the depth of them, preventing proper light transfer through them. It really doesn't take dye well since its so fine and thick.

Commercial hardcoat anodizing is usually "thin" .0002-.0005" thick. The dark Type III is >.001" thick.
 
Rapt_up said:
Aluminum anodizing is essentially "clear" or light in colour except Type III in mil spec thicknesses which then look dark grey/blackish. It is porous and can be dyed by filling the pores with a dye and then coating with a sealant of some sort.

The Type III is inherently coloured dark grey/black due to the fineness of the pores and the depth of them, preventing proper light transfer through them. It really doesn't take dye well since its so fine and thick.

Commercial hardcoat anodizing is usually "thin" .0002-.0005" thick. The dark Type III is >.001" thick.
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GREAT post!!! :thumbup: If anyone wants to learn more, this is a good start.
 
MTHall -

There were two versions of the Cyclone. One had a standard steel for the blade and aluminum scales, while the other was a limited run with ZDP-189 steel and titanium scales. It sounds like you have the more common aluminum version.

The aluminum is anodized - Anodizing is a thin, hard coating over the raw white aluminum. I generally define "scuffs" as marks that do not go through the finish, and "scratches" as marks that go through the finish down to the white aluminum. A little WD-40 or any light oil will improve the appearance of scuffs, but it will not make them go away. Scratches through the finish you will have to live with (or have teh parts re-anodized, but it's generally not cost effective to walk into a shop and have it done).

The best way to avoid cuffing your knife up is to dedicate a pocket to your knife. Keys will mark up the finish almost immediately, so you probably want to put them in another pocket if you want your knife to stay pretty.
 
clearytja said:
Blais....now that is a well used well loved knife. I love knives that have that broken in look.
TC
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What can I say, I like to use my tools! The cyclone is actually in temporary retirement until I get around to sending it in. I managed to gunk it up bad enough so that the speedsafe doesn't completely open the knife anymore. I've been making a Kershaw Crown and Spyderco Tenacious look a bit like the Cyclone in the meantime.
:D
 
Rapt_up said:
Aluminum anodizing is essentially "clear" or light in colour except Type III in mil spec thicknesses which then look dark grey/blackish. It is porous and can be dyed by filling the pores with a dye and then coating with a sealant of some sort.

The Type III is inherently coloured dark grey/black due to the fineness of the pores and the depth of them, preventing proper light transfer through them. It really doesn't take dye well since its so fine and thick.

Commercial hardcoat anodizing is usually "thin" .0002-.0005" thick. The dark Type III is >.001" thick.
Click to expand...
My understanding is that Type III is naturally an OD-greenish color, thus Surefire flashlights in OD-green being called natural. You need to add dye to make it black.
 
The exact shade depends on the Aluminum alloy, the anodizing solution, the pore size, the thickness and what if any sealant was applied. :) Some have a greenish tint, a grey colour, some are more green-black, dark gunmetal... but yes a real true black requires dyeing.

I used to have some photos of parts I had done with a .002" thick and you could see the slight colour variations.... I'll see if I can find them.
 
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