Several modification questions (blade anodization, bearing pivots, carbidization)

Comeuppance

Comeuppance

Fixed Blade EDC Emisssary
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Jan 12, 2013
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I have a Kershaw Super Gold/420j2 with titanium handles en route, and I kinda want to do some ridiculous things to it.

Can 420j2 be electrically anodized? Who should I contact to have that done?
Would electrical anodization mess with the SG2 heat treatment?
Can such a knife have a bearing pivot installed? Who should I contact to have that done?
Can Ti framelocks be carbidized safely and functionally in the aftermarket? I've heard it improves lock wear resistance and also adds material onto the lockface that moves the lockup to earlier seating - is that accurate? Who should I contact to have it done?

Please feel free to answer even if you can only answer part of a question. Thank you!
 
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I don't think steel can be anodized, but I could be mistaken. As far as bearings go, I have added bearings to the pivot of my Spyderco Tenacious. It requires fairly thick steel liners, do you know how thick the liners are on the Kershaw? I don't know about the carbidization stuff, but I'm sure someone will stop by soon.
 
I anodized all the hardware on my Tuff Lite, and a couple SRMs... Definitely not aluminum or titanium on those.
 
Heat anodized. Can you heat anodize things that can't be electrically anodized?
 
You *can* heat color a steel blade, but it'll screw the heat treat. Better to buy a knife with a titanium blade if you want to anodize.

If you're interested in anodizing the ti handles it's quite easy using some 9v batteries, water and baking soda, some wires, alligator clips and a wad of cloth.

I anodized the liners on my daughter's Benchmade blue and it only took a few minutes with four 9v's.

I have a thread on it, but here's a pic.

IMAG1794_zpsac23b3e9.jpg


Much better than boring gray imo.
 
Comeuppance said:
Heat anodized. Can you heat anodize things that can't be electrically anodized?
Click to expand...

Heat coloring is not actually anodization, from my understanding stainless steel can not be anodized.

@Strigamort, that looks awesome :D
 
Thanks bp. :)

I'm curious about whether or not heat ano is considered ano too. At first I thought it wasn't, then someone told me that it is. Ano on ti isn't like aluminum where a dye is sort of absorbed when pores are open on the surface, but rather a change to the surface that simply reflects light and appears as different colors to the human eye. I guess when the process is done with heat instead of electricity it achieves the same goal. Not exactly sure how correct that is, but it's what I was told.
 
In electroplating, the part to be plated is the cathode in a plating bath. The metal to be deposited is the anode. We're talking direct current here. In anodization, the current is reversed. The part to be coated is the anode, and the cathode does not release metal into the bath. This is because you are not building a metal coat, rather you are building up an oxide.
The parameters for anodizing Aluminum involve a 20% sulfuric acid bath at 120 degrees F, and a reverse DC current. The time in the bath is about 20 minutes to yield a coating of pure Aluminum Oxide which will stand up to exterior automotive use. The coating is clear and about 0.0003" thick. This coating is hard (Al2O3 is an abrasive), but it is applied over a soft substrate, so it does not withstand glancing blows.
The point is, anodizing is an artificial rust. If you try to anodize steel, it won't look artificial. It will look like sh#*. Hot bluing will put an artificial rust on steel, but it will be a dark blue Iron Nitrate rather than a red Iron Oxide.
So when anodizing, you are trying to build up a compound (salt) on the surface that is hard, resistant to corrosion, and is stuck fast to the substrate. The huge problem with Iron Oxide is it is exfoliative. The coating sluffs off and fails to protect the base metal.
The reason Aluminum and Titanium are so resistant to corrosion is they are very reactive and form a coating when exposed to air (Oxygen) that does not flake.
 
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