Production blade finish

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Will Estes

Joined
Apr 25, 2022
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How do they get that flat, matte finish on production knives? I was looking at a table of Kershaw folders and I noticed that they all had really smooth finishes, and I can’t imagine that every one was hand-sanded or anything like that. I had assumed that they were all milled out or something like that, but it is perfectly flat like a mirror finish. Maybe they are sandblasted and coated? Also, is there a benefit from this? I’ve noticed that Spyderco leaves most of their grind lines in, and I was wondering if that was just a quality thing or for utility or what. Maybe it’s just a style choice, I don’t know.
 
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There is a smooth grey finish called "bead-blasted", it's like sand-blasting but with glass beads. The only practical purpose is to reduce glare, but I don't imagine many people really need to worry about that. It's also done as an inexpensive way to cover any flaws/grinding marks in the steel, it's a lot less time consuming than sanding and buffing. The downside to bead-blasting is that even with stainless steel the fine texture of the bead-blasted surface provides pores that can trap moisture and cause rust.

Several knives have a smooth black coating. This is a sort of "paint" for lack of a better term, that is often baked-on for greater durability. Some coatings are a lot more durable than others. The purpose of such coatings are the same as bead-blasting, with the addition of rust-prevention. Then there is also marketing involved, some people just like black blades.

Welcome to Bladeforums.
 
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I love the black stonewash on my Kershaw Launch 1. I would get the black stonewash on every knife if I could. I don't have a clue how they do it though.

KL1-5a.jpgKL1-6a.jpg
 
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