Satin Finishes and Rust

[jackncoke]

I'm just curious...you often have the option to get limited edition knives in a Satin finish instead of a coating....does the satin finish provide any rust protection what so ever, or do you just need to keep the whole thing oiled constantly if its a user? I have a couple knives with the satin finish and they are showing a few spots even though they had a light coating of mineral oil. Maybe I missed a few spots....:grumpy:

 

[SOLEIL]

Satin finishes do tend to show rust spots easier than mirror finishes. If you see spots a little polishing with Flitz or any similar polish will remove them and protect the steel. Cleaning the blade thoroughly before applying oil will also help. Satin finishing is great for hiding minor scratches on the blade.

 

[Confederate]

Polished stainless resists rust and corrosion substantially better than bead blasted surfaces. The polishing allows the metal's surface to retain a surface protection that bead blasted (or satin) finishes don't have. That's one reason you should use stainless steel wool when you refinish stainless steel. If standard steel wool begins to corrode, it can carry it onto a stainless surface. We see this in firearms a great deal.

Regardless of the stainless steel, you've still got pretty good protection. Hard chrome on carbon steel also works well in protecting surfaces. I don't know why it hasn't caught on with knives. Mahovsky's has the best price.

This is a blued steel gun that I had hard chromed and polished. It's
indistinguishable from stainless steel and has a hardness of RC 71. It's
as resistant to rust as stainless, has excellent bonding and you can't
file it off. It would be great for knife surfaces, but no one seems to
have done it yet.

 

[jackncoke]

I guess I should have clarified...I'm referring to carbon steels mainly....often times makers will offer a limited edition(uncoated) or satin finish....ie..Scrapyard/Fehrman knives.....

 

[knarfeng]

I'm just curious...you often have the option to get limited edition knives in a Satin finish instead of a coating....does the satin finish provide any rust protection what so ever, or do you just need to keep the whole thing oiled constantly if its a user? I have a couple knives with the satin finish and they are showing a few spots even though they had a light coating of mineral oil. Maybe I missed a few spots....:grumpy:

I guess I should have clarified...I'm referring to carbon steels mainly....often times makers will offer a limited edition(uncoated) or satin finish....ie..Scrapyard/Fehrman knives.....

I guess I am still unclear.

There are satin sheen coatings (as opposed to flat or glossy).
There are satin metal finishes (bare metal that has enough surface roughness not that it does not shine.)

A satin sheen coating is just a coating and will protect the metal from corrosion. If this is what you have, then yes the coating protects the steel.

But it sounds like you are talking about bare steel that has been surface roughened. If this is what you have, then no. It does not protect the steel.