Old Glory Arclite

[CAL]

Got Smoky Mountain Knife Works catalog today and found an Arclite which has been coated with a flag. Looks really nice however, I was wondering what the coating is?

The catalog says "Revolutionary application technology bonds the colors of Ol' Glory right to the knives themselves with a finish that will endure years of wear" What is this finish?

I bought one to see what it looks like in the flesh, so to speek, and wanted to know just how tough the finish is.

Anyone know?

Thanks, CAL

 

[Will Fennell]

Cal,
Glad you ordered the Ol'Glory ARCLITE. I believe you will be very pleased. The coating is a very hard baked on enamel from the automotive industry. It is applied in a "Dip-film process". The film of "paint" is suspened in a tank of water, and the object[knife] is "dipped" down through the image. The image in the film, in this case a billowing American flag, wrapped around itself randomly, is also randomly "wrapped" around the object. Its kinda "3 deminsionally painted" around the object. It is then thermally cured for quite a few days, depenmding on the size of the object.

The process is similar to what gun companies have been doing to firearms, using brand name camo patterns to help sell guns. What we did was figure out how to do it with a tougher coating, that is bright and shiny, which is more fitting for Ol' Glory!

I have been wearing the proto Ol' Glory ARCLITE for about a month, and taking it in and out of the Kydex sheath everyday, without any noticeable wear. Part of the reason is how slick and shiny the stuff is. Picture the hood of a Corvette....



We cannot warranty the coating, because it is still a coating and subject to wear, but we are confident that people will be pleased.

I hope this answers some of your questions,....lemme know what you think when you get your knife!

 

[CAL]

Thanks for the reply Will.

I actually got two of them, one for me and the other for someone else. I have four of them now. I got one of the first ones (first production run?) one to use and now these.

Can you tell me if this was a special deal with SMKW or can you get these elsewhere? It would be really cool if SMKW was the only place to get them.

Thanks for making a great product that anyone can afford.

CAL