What to do with old coated blades?

[simplespeed]

So i got this new ZT0350 with a black dlc coated blade. Iv never been big on coated blades but whatever. I like it alot but can tell from only two days of mild use at work that this coating isnt gonna last long. Its not a big deal really cause every knife i own is a user and i think they look great with wear. But a worn blade and scratched up paint are two different things. So what do you guys do once its all busted looking?

I stripped and patinad my esee 4 and love it. But, s30v wont patina will it?

 

[pwet]

DLC is no paint, it's a very thin and ultra hard layer that's actually harder than the steel itself and bonded to it's surface. it won't wear that fast. actually it's easier to put a light scratch on most blade steels than to scratch a DLC coated blade to the steel.

i've got a DLC milie and a DLC M4 ritter grip, both have seen quite a lot of use and both show no scratches.

the milie as has seen a lot and actually there are a couple of spots on the spine where you see the steel, but that's because the blade itself is nicked pretty bad. i've even cut some mild iron banding with it, it ruined the edge and i was pretty sure the coating was gone where i cut but in fact it was just iron on the coating, it disapeared after scrubbing it with a scotch brite pad....

 

[simplespeed]

Well thats good to hear. Maybe ill clean the blade up and see how it looks when i get home. Sure looks like scratches at a glance though.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

+1 to pwet's reply.

I've got a ZT-0350 (also DLC-coated). It's sort of interesting, in that on my knife when new, it seemed prone to blemishes from sharpening/stropping/etc. It even seemed to fade a bit, after I'd wiped down the blade with some isopropyl alcohol. These changes only affected the very surface of it, though. The DLC underneath, as pwet said, is bonded to the steel (electrostatically), and is extremely tough. Short of grinding with a belt grinder or similar means, it won't come off easily at all. I think that's how the stuff is designed to protect the blade; it doesn't really stick that strongly to itself (as with a thick surface coating), but forms a very strong bond with the steel itself. On my blade, in the area near the edge where I've done a lot of stropping with compound (green), it looks thinner and a bit glossier, but still black.

It might be possible to soften or even out the surface scratches/blemishes with a Scotch-Brite as mentioned. Perhaps also with some wet/dry sandpaper, or a buffer/Dremel & felt wheel with some compound.