parkerizing and bead blasting?

[calamari26]

Hi

Been doing some reading on parkerizing and every source I see seems to mention bead blasting before parkerizing. I don't have any access to a bead/sand blaster so I'm wondering if it's absolutely neccesary? Would a thorough degrease do the trick?

Thanks
ryan

 

[DrThunder88]

I don't know much from the knife perspective, but blasting's usually done on firearms before parkerizing. It's not absolutely necessary, but the added "tooth" gives the parkerizing a more secure place to "park." I've used a wire wheel chucked in a grinder on a few gun parts that I didn't have a chance to get blasted, and the finish seems to be holding well.

 

[TekSec]

You could pre-etch with ferric chloride to give it a little more bite on the surface. Soak for 15 minutes, then just neutralize and clean / degrease well.