What's The Best Blade Finish?

B

Bruise Lee

Joined
Aug 4, 2002
Messages
363
I've got a Kershaw Vapor II with a frosted finish, A Benchmade Griptilian with a Satin finish, a Buck Nighthawk with some kind of coating,....

O.K. I figure the black coated knives should be more corrosion resistant, but that coating can scrape away with use. I hear frosted or bead blasted or whatever it is is not that corrosion resisistant - I assume it's cheap?

What I'm asking is:

1) What are the major types of blade finishes?

2) What are the advantages/disadvantages of each finish?

Bruise
 
I will try to answer this the best I can.
machine satin finish-parrelel scratches running from spine to edge
Easy to put on by machine, looks alright
Hand satin- parrelel scratches from handle to tip, takes a lot of effort looks really nice when done right.
Stone wash- like a satin finish but scratches are random, easy to put on hides scratches from use
Mirror polished- lot of time to do right, looks very nice, will show any little scratch, most corrosion resistant
beadblast-glass, or a/o beads- easy to do, not very corrosion resistant
beadblast-ceramic beads- more corrosion resistant
any blade coatings should improve corrosion resistance, but many of them scratch off fairly easily and then look like hell
Kyle Fuglesten
 
Kyle pretty much nailed it.
It has much to do with what your objective is.
If you want better corrosion resistance, then polish off the bead blasting. They tend to trap moisture and make things rust easier. My CRKT KFF didn't stand moisture too well on the time I went to camp. It was raining pretty bad and the coating didn't help at all.
As kyle said, if you want to hide scratches, satin and stone wash maybe a candidate, but Boron Carbide coating or the newer Diamond coating from BodyCote would work well.
Other coatings like BM BT2 are known to scratch easily and looks pretty bad afterwards, and they can be used to hide blemishes and defects of the steel.
 
excellent post kile!

I should add that you can "repair" a hand-rubbed satin finish if it should get scratched but you would have to re-blast a bead-blasted blade...also, a bead-blasted blade "hides" flaws (or at least makers can get away with a rougher finish)

Bodycote's new tungsten DLC (diamond like coating) is said to be EXCEPTIONALLY scratch resistant...it would take quite a lot to get that stuff off!

RL

edited to add: oops, I guess I was typing while Calyth was posting...sorry for the repetition...
 
The only thing that ya might add is that stonewash and ceramic bead peening actually serve to "seal" the blade. The medium used not only creates a finish but "closes the pores" of the steel making it somewhat more rust resistant. Bead blasting leaves gazillions of scratches, crevices, and crud to develop rust. Normally, a scotchbrite type satin finish is the easiest to maintain or repair to me. The DLC process ROCKS! I only have one blade in it for now but the only thing that will cut it is my diamond stones. I have used sandpaper and left it over night in saltwater . . . NO affects!

My "order of preference"
1-DLC
2-Satin
3-Stonewash/ceramic peened

Rather not have any other finish cuz I always wind up tearing em apart and hand finishing them!:p
 
As far as coatings go, the black epoxy coat on my Recon Tanto is doing well. I can't really comment of the BT2 coating on my 806D2 yet, but it is fine right now.
 
My knives are subjected to a fair amount of perspiration. Stonewashed blades like the Sebenza tends to resist rust the best. I have not had anything DCL'd, but as soon as BodyCote reopens to individuals, I have several going in for the treatment.
Good luck,
Barry H
 
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