Satin Finish or Black Blade?

David M

David M

Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Messages
549
Can someone tell me the advantages or disadvantages of one blade finish over the other. Is it a cosmetic preference? Every time I think about getting a new knife I always ask myself satin finish or black blade. Thinking about getting an Emerson but having a hard time deciding on the blade.
 
A lot of it is asthetics, but a coated blade can also help to prevent rust creeping across the entire blade.

I'm not a huge fan of a coated blade, although I own some, but they have their place. I like being able to appreciate the color of steel and watch it change colors with use.
 
The only reasons I know of are mainly that a black finish blade won't cause reflections from the sun etc so you can avoid giving away your presence in a combat/hunting situation. The other is pure aesthetic preference. Maybe there are other reasons too?
 
It's mostly cosmetic, although it can add some protection against corrosion, but why coat the stainless blade??? For high carbon tool steel folders coating helps the visible part of the blade to be protected from rust, but if left in corrosive environment it will rust at the pivot area anyways, because it has no coatings. I have several uncoated blades in tool steel and with minimum care I never had a rust on them.

For tactical/military blades black coating helps to prevent the enemy from spotting a shiny reflection of the blade when knife is being used. I personally stay away from blade coatings because it gets easily scratched with use, making blade to look not so appealing.
 
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Good choice, David. I prefer the satin finish on my Emersons too. Black is fine as well, as it is a tough coating on the Emerson knives.

Just as an FYI, the newer satin blades have a 'stone washed' finish and the earlier satin blades use a tough finish called Cerakote.
 
Go coated, it's super tactical :p

I hate giving away my position just before I deanimate envelopes and cardboard boxes. :cool:
 
coated blades inevitably wear off as well. sometimes its a very cool look but.mostly i just prefer normal blades. although the coating on RATs is damn good, it seems to come off pretty quickly with moderate use
 
Just an FYI, I've found EKI's "satin finish" to be anything but. As far as EKI "knife blades without coating," good luck. To me, a bead-blasted blade is not a "satin finished" blade, but YMMV.

Regards,
3G
 
Forgot to say, I'd hold out for one of the newer, "stonewashed" blades. It's as close to a true "satin finish" as you'll find on an EKI knife.

Regards,
3G
 
I tend to prefer satin blades over black coated for a number of reasons.

  • Aesthetic - I just think satin blades look nicer than black ones.
  • Wear - The best, toughest coatings do wear with use, and even if you like the look of a new coated blade, a worn, scratched one is anther matter.
  • Visibility - I have on occasion lost or misplaced blades in the field. I can be hard enough searching for a satin or even polished blade in the grass or leaves, a black (or heaven forbid camoflaged!) one is just that much harder to find again,
  • Tactical-phobia - For a long time, I also avoided coated blades simply because I thought they looked too "tactical" for EDC and might cause more problems with the sheeple than a more sedate looking blade.
Of course, with an non-stainless blade, coatings can help reduce maintenance needed to keep the blade rust-free, so coatings are not totally useless. ;)
 
I have always felt that black-coated blades also can hide finishing imperfections. I have taken the black off-of some of my blades and have found uneven grinding and finish-work that would have stood-out on a exposed steel knife.

I'm not saying that these imperfections contribute towards weakening the blade, just cosmetics.

I personally don't like coated blades since I think they add 'drag' to my knives and are ugly after some use. Never needed to discretely use my knife and fear sun glint.
 
CWL said:
I have always felt that black-coated blades also can hide finishing imperfections. I have taken the black off-of some of my blades and have found uneven grinding and finish-work that would have stood-out on a exposed steel knife.
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This could be very true. The manufacturer can either purposely produce less finished blades or send their "factory seconds" that don't pass their QC to their coating department to hide imperfections.
 
rookie4real said:
For tactical/military blades black coating helps to prevent the enemy from spotting a shiny reflection of the blade when knife is being used.
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I find that very hard to believe. It's just a marketing ploy to try and attract this armchair commando crowd that's been obsessed with anything and everything military related recently. If the enemy can see the reflection of your knife, the enemy is way too close to begin with.

In my opinion, coatings only belong on non-stainless blades that aren't going to be cleaned immediately after use. I can see no valid reason for coating stainless.

There are only two coated stainless blades in my collection. One, a Camillus Heat, I bought almost as a joke to myself. I wanted to make it as tactical as possible. Unfortunately, I really like the knife and wish I'd gotten an uncoated blade. The other is an s30v Buck 110 from Cabelas, and it was only offered with a coating.

It's all a matter of personal opinion. What I think is silly someone else may like, that's fine. Buy what you like, not what people on BFC think you should buy.
 
I always avoided black coated blades too. Thought they looked to mall ninjaish. I just got a CQC-7B and decided to try the coated finish. It's pretty sweet actually.
 
I don't know if anyone else has touched upon this but I find that with a satin finish, cleaning is much easier and the blade keeps a newer appearance for longer. Of course, corrosion becomes an issue if the steel is satin 1095 or the like, but with regular application of lubricant and/or oil you shouldn't have a problem. My chopper is a satin Ranger RD-9, and after a lot of abuse it still looks almost new with a little TLC and mineral oil! But all the technical stuff aside, I think there is a deep & primitive appreciation of a nice, big, shiny steel blade! I hope that helps...:D

-Brendan
 
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