What finish is best for less recognizable scratches???

books1648

books1648

Joined
May 30, 2009
Messages
13
Hi, I'm still a newbie with knife features, so please forgive my naivete and ignorance. I'm looking to get a custom knife done and I have the choice of mirror, satin or matte flat silver. I definitely plan to use it and my one concern is the noticeable scratches on the blade. Is there a finish out of the three that fairs better with hiding scratches? Or more scratch resistant?? The knife would be made out of D2 steel.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
 
A rough stone wash, or the grinder belt satin spyderco uses. Those work pretty well to hide scratches.
 
Definitely stonewash. Black DLC with lots of user scar does look cool though.
 
It will really depend on the quality and texture of materials used in the applied finish. The applied finish usually serves two purposes-protection and aesthetics. Cheap Chinese stuff usually has cheap coating material applied to make it look cool, but just rubbing the blade aggressively will start tearing off material. The true mirror finish is kind of rare these days and is typically reserved for display pieces. Not always, but mostly. It will be very easy to scratch up and will likely start to look scuffed up after a few hard uses. Other than that, the color or finish doesn't really matter. The quality of the coating material will determine how well it holds up with use. If a belt grind is done to mimic a finish, that will always be better than a coating.
 
I try to get satin finish on my knives. I have an inexpensive bead blaster that I use glass beads in. When my knives get scratched it takes 10min in the bead blaster and they look like new.
 
I have to go stonewashed on this one. I have beaten up a lot of knives and all my stonewashed blades still look new unless they are rolled or a little jagged. Even then after some sharpening time they look new and just a little smaller!
 
Mirror or the highest polish available is my favorite, but not to hide wear! Nothing but a wash of some kind will hide wear well because they are pre scratched...boring! I just love a beautiful shiny blade gleaming like a katana showing all of the wear I've given it!
 
Last edited:
I find Cerakoating works best for preventing scratches: It is so tough scratches hardly ever get to the metal, and you can sand/polish the paint to hide its damage, much easier than sanding the metal itself.

For a satin finish, a sandpaper of around 600 grit, run carefully parallel to the grit, will allow erasing the scratches on the metal: It can be done and is easier than you might think if you keep the strokes reasonably parallel to the grit (it is best to use a 600 piece that is well worn).

On naked metal there is only erasing scratches: No naked metal finish will really resist scratches... I find that sheaths are THE prime source of the deepest scratches, even leather sheaths, and what I do on all of mine is to superglue "Detail Master" cloth sandpaper, with the cloth side facing out towards the blade, inside the sheath, with a ruler to flatten the glued pieces as flat as possible: This customizing of the sheath makes for a tighter fit, and usually less damage to the blade from the sheath, though it is tricky to get those flat near the tip...

Gaston
 
Of the three you name, probably the matte finish will hide wear the best, but ask how they're going to achieve it. Some matte finishes are essentially bead blasts and I would strongly advise against a bead blast finish on D2 as I've found that finish to just be a rust magnet. Mirror finish looks fantastic, gives corrosion resistance a big boost, but will show everything, even fingerprints. Satin finishes vary quite broadly, so it's hard to say there. A hand satin finish can be gorgeous, but many production knives go with a grinder satin that's very functional, in that it's a good compromise of hiding wear and not compromising corrosion resistance, but it's not as good looking as something hand finished.
 
I like to bead blast users or hand sand at 320 grit. I can tough any user up with a blast cabinet or 320 grit sand paper and it looks fine.
 
books1648 said:
I'm looking to get a custom knife done and I have the choice of mirror, satin or matte flat silver...

Is there a finish out of the three that fairs better with hiding scratches? Or more scratch resistant??
Click to expand...

Not mirror! It's my favorite finish, looks great, polished, but won't even hide finger prints let alone scratches... Flat matte is usually a pretty even and uniform surface also, so I'd recommend satin. It's not quite mirror, a bit less refined, and as such won't show any blemishes quite as much.

Of all finishes I'd say blackwash, since it already looks used.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top