Smooth coat versus crinkle coat on the good ole' Basics.....

dtmbinb

dtmbinb

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Feb 22, 2011
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I'd appreciate any feedback on which holds up better. User pics welcome. Cheers!
 
crinkle coat holds up way better.

the smooth coat had a tendency to chip and flake off.
 
While I've never had a crinkle on a basic. My Basic 9 smooth coat seems as tough as the M-Infi beneath!!!!

And a few other series smooth has "chipped" in places. All my users with smooth coat has been a beast to wear
 
I have to agree with Dave on this one. The smooth coat wears very quickly.
 
Well, I have two new B7's. One smooth and one crinkle. Decisions, decisions.....
 
Only experienced crinkle but for some reason black crinkle always chips off for me. Especially my DSSF. Every time I took it out to admire it, another piece was missing. I just ended up stripping it. My black NMFSH seems to be holding up better but still not as good as my tanker grey blades.
 
Bark and gunk seem more readily to stick "permanently" to the black crinkle. The smooth coating gets shiny spots from wear from occasional use and then over time begins to visibly thin out, eventually wearing down to bare steel--but that's after a lot of use. In my experience, edge thickness from the factory on the earlier smooth-coated blades was noticeably less than the thicker-edged crinkles which came later. Because of this I found the smooth were better cutters, but the thicker edge on the crinkle may hold up better to impact and/or contact with hard objects. When I was using Basic 9's a lot (before the B11), I preferred the smooth because it cut better and the blade coating was easier to clean.

I now carry a smooth-coat asym Basic 5 from the old days (my first Busse :) ) quite a bit for day hikes on familiar trails--cuts like a demon and at a full 1/4" thick is strong enough for any prying/battoning chores. If I'm in a less familiar off-trail situation where I may need more blade length and weight for chopping, such as to make shelter or deal with firewood, I typically carry a crinkle-coat Basic 7. I'm glad to have the "bullet-proof" thicker edge for any potential survival situation and the asym edge grind is a decently efficient cutter for those kinds of tasks even in the thicker cross-section.

A Basic 11 is so much knife for so little extra added weight that if I actually plan to clear trail or prep a campsite, I'll opt for that (factory satin/asym edge).
 
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Ah, Will covered the thicknes of edge. I will say I like the smooth coat due to is slicker and easier to clean. Plus its like the original coating .

THe biggest difference to me besides the edge is the choil. THe smooth coats had a larger almost usable choil where as the crinkle coat has the elf choil.

Photo courtesy of JimmyJones:thumbup:

basics_no_pants.jpg
 
I try my best to make the crinkle coating into smooth coating. I do like the looks of the smooth coating.
 
Great feedback. Thanks to all that posted. I think I'll use the smooth coat and keep the crinkle as a spare. I'm starting to really dig the asymmetrical edges!
 
Good choice. You'll enjoy using that knife. :thumbup:

Isn't your smooth B7 a little longer blade than the crinkle, also? As I recall, my smooth B7's had just a bit more blade length. Nice to have a smidge extra for batonning, etc.
 
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