What do you guys think of blade coatings?

[Skrapmetal]

Not a fan typically, but I don't usually care if a large chopper is coated. Worn coating on a chopper is just as cool as patina; shows the knife has been used like it should be.

I don't like coatings on small knives.

 

[jeremy1517]

I have a couple knives that has Tool Black on them. It has worn well. I don't know what tool black is. I think coatings came around so makers and producers can easily cover up flaws or cosmetic issues.

 

[Screwdriver]

I really do not like them...I understand the benefits, and this is just my opinion....gives a knife a tacticool look that I do not feel like explaining to the non knife crowd.

 

[22-rimfire]

I dislike ANY blade coating whether baked or painted. I can tolerate the coatings on machetes.

I believe that most of the coatings were developed to reduce manufacturing costs, and as mentioned above, cover up cosmetic issues. Hopefully visible flaws are rejected during inspection, but I'm not so sure of that either. Of the flaws that are covered up and later cause failure, my guess is that only 10% might be actually noticed and handled through some warranty. Most blades are seldom used and failure does not happen; of the ones that do fail, most are tossed.

 

[upnorth]

I'm to the point now that I don't care about coatings. On one hand I like them for reduced maintenance, which I am notorious for. Then on the other hand they usually end up being worn away over time anyway. Strip them off or wear them off, they all seem to go south eventually anyway.

 

[sechip]

Not a big fan unless it coats a carbon steel like M4... less maintenance and worry!

 

[Cereal_killer]

I love blade coatings, not cerakote or paint but DLC (and other PVD's), then when it does get scratched up I use an engraver to make my own Damascus pattern in the blade to hide the scratches.

 

[dskobli]

I like stonewashed the best because it hides dings and scratches so well but some knives look cool with black blades when new. I especially like the new zt blackwashed look although I'm not sure how that will hold up over time or if it is even considered a coating? I think it's still a type of stonewash with an acid bath first. Or that's what it looks like anyway.

 

[flarp]

I generally prefer uncoated blades, as the coatings get marked up easily. I like a good heavy stonewashed finish, since it hides wear very well. The new KAI blackwashed finish seems to provide the best of both worlds.

 

[ToddM]

I hate satin, silver, chrome etc. Best I can tolerate is a dull/matte silver coarse sandblasting.

I love black coated blades, and while I agree they don't look perfect for long I personally like the look of a well used black blade with the coating well worn, shows the user actually uses the knife.

 

[jobasha11]

I oil my carbon steel blades so I don't need them.

 

[aquaman67]

I like coated blades and (gasp) partially serrated blades too.

Neither of which are very popular here. Buy what you like.

 

[scotteboy]

I have a few coated blades but only because the knives didn't come without. not needed for my use.

 

[akula83]

I like how Spyderco and ZT does their coatings.

 

[sixspeeddreams]

I like knives both ways some knives, black coating looks best others a stonewashed, or polished blade looks the best

 

[S.Alexander]

I'm not a fan of them. I removed the coating on a blade once, and it looked so much better.

 

[Cereal_killer]

I like coated blades and (gasp) partially serrated blades too.

Neither of which are very popular here. Buy what you like.

Wow! I'm especially liking your blacked out 555 and mini-Ritter with Wilkins grips! Its to bad the 555's lock bar isn't black.

 

[XiaolongJackson]

Modern coatings are very different than even a few years ago. Stuff like Cerakote will outlast your grandchildren's grandchildren. And the lame excuse they're only there to cover up bad grinds is no longer applicable. Cerakote (and most modern finishes) goes on thinner than a layer of oil, yet is tougher than DLC. Because it's so thin the smoothness is still dictated by the finish of the object it's being applied to, so deep cutting ability remains unchanged.

The reason most like them is personal opinion, though they stretch for every invalid reason to discredit them. I like both depending on the knife.

I had no idea about this. I've hated the coatings used on the folders that I've had so far. Might need to try Cerakote out one of these days.

 

[utah_fish]

Terrible. Just plain steel and a patina from use. First thing I did with my new ESEE4 was get that horrible paint off of there. I see you can get them with just the plain blades now. Good move.

 

[sunandsteel]

My first Benchmade, which is being given to me for free, has a black coating on it, so I love it. Outside of that, I don't think I would buy one. The ESEE4 I plan on picking up within the next year won't have a coating.