What's the Deal With Blade Coatings?

I personally dislike "shouty" colors on knives. I'm fine with black, gray, dark green, tan, brown, and any other drab color, but avoid brightly colored knives.
 
Swoop03 said:
I understand the "tactical" nature of it. How many of yinz seriously need it though?
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I dunno. How many need Digi Artic Camo scales for a Para 2? And what's a "yinz"?

Back on point, my favorite blade coating is "none."
 
Swoop03 said:
When I think of a marine or navy seal I think of a traditional Ka-Bar with the stacked leather handle and satin blade. None of these fantasy knives come to mind with that thought.
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Only SEAL that I personally know carried a Benchmade from the Px.

We discussed "tactical deanimations" over drinks once, he said that they preferred shooting targets in the head with a supressed M4.

"Tactical" knives are for the wannabe set. They may as well be coated with cake icing and have sprinkles on them.
 
I'm not sure who makes it, but I've seen a knife with a glow-in-the-dark coating on the blade that has a white appearance in daylight. The handles were also white as I recall. although, a glowing knife would stink for concealed work at night lol.
 
Swoop03 said:
Why is the coating on a folding knife always black?
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You're right about folders, as you don't often see one coated in anything other than black.
As you know, and many have said, its a tactical marketing ploy.

I despise blade coatings myself, even on a fixed blade. I know some like a coating on a carbon steel fixed blade, but I would rather use other methods for protection.
 
CWL said:
Only SEAL that I personally know carried a Benchmade from the Px.

We discussed "tactical deanimations" over drinks once, he said that they preferred shooting targets in the head with a supressed M4.

"Tactical" knives are for the wannabe set. They may as well be coated with cake icing and have sprinkles on them.
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negative as usual. A knife is still quieter then a suppresed m4. Non reflective is a must for them. Fixed blade or folder.
 
Sig_Op said:
negative as usual. A knife is still quieter then a suppresed m4. Non reflective is a must for them. Fixed blade or folder.
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Riiight!

Try sneaking up on someone for real sometimes loaded-down with gear.

Or were you talking about the sprinkles?
 
Swoop03 said:
I understand the "tactical" nature of it. How many of yinz seriously need it though? I also stated that I knew about the ontario and such fixed blades that come in eye popping colors as well. I was asking about folding knives. TiNi is alright, but it never is put on any knives that I like.
When I think of a marine or navy seal I think of a traditional Ka-Bar with the stacked leather handle and satin blade. None of these fantasy knives come to mind with that thought.
Emerson Knives are built to harm things, they are weapons, I understand them being black for the tactical reasons.

I could duracoat I guess. Its more work than I want to do though.
I just want to see a nice sensible "EDC" folder with maybe a white blade or light grey possibly orange to for a hi vis option for emergancy type knives. Red or blue or yellow would make it cheesy I agree. I think some colors would work though.
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Personally, I think it would be awesome to have some folders and fixed blades in an arctic camo, both because I like the white to be predominant, and because it'd still be easy to find it out in the woods.
 
The deal on blade coatings is they suck.


Form should follow function, and coatings only hinder cutting performance.

They're there to sell knives to the Tacticool crowd.



Big Mike
 
RemyKaze said:
Personally, I think it would be awesome to have some folders and fixed blades in an arctic camo, both because I like the white to be predominant, and because it'd still be easy to find it out in the woods.
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x2 not down with the zombie colors,black blades are ho-hum / tacticool looking, i would however be interested in maybe the arctic camo or OD green, but nothing will ever take the place of a good shiny steel blade, i've always thought the scales were for decoration....that said though if someone wants a colored blade and they think it looks good, more power to them, just not my thing...
 
RevDevil said:
Have tou ever heard of:
Ontario
Busse
Scrapyard
Swamprat
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+1 on this for fixed blades there are plenty of options and great knives

Personally I've grown to appreciate carbon steel with a good patina over any coating, but it seems most folders these days are stainless, I have to shop around to get one in carbon that I like.

Here's one coating I like, and wont get stripped til I've worn most of it off.

IMAG0143_zpsc900df16.jpg
 
William Henry uses a DLC coating (black) that has a Rockwell hardness of 88!, actually harder than the ZDP-189 blade it covers. I don't know if all DLC coatings are that hard.
 
BluegrassGuy said:
+1 on this for fixed blades there are plenty of options and great knives

Personally I've grown to appreciate carbon steel with a good patina over any coating, but it seems most folders these days are stainless, I have to shop around to get one in carbon that I like.

Here's one coating I like, and wont get stripped til I've worn most of it off.

IMAG0143_zpsc900df16.jpg
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If you don't use it, the coating should last forever.





Big Mike
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
William Henry uses a DLC coating (black) that has a Rockwell hardness of 88!, actually harder than the ZDP-189 blade it covers. I don't know if all DLC coatings are that hard.
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DLC, Diamond Like Carbon. I've looked it up once and its a carbon type coating comparable to the hardness of a diamond and has certain lubricity properties that make it good for high wear applications. Such as bushings and bearings. So if it is a proper coating I would have to say it's generally going to be harder than the steal it covers. I'd have to say the DLC on my para 2 isn't quite as hard as the one Henry uses. It's got a bunch of tiny scratches and my lansky synthetic stones will scratch it I found out.


marcinek: I don't NEED digi artic cam scales on it. I want them, I saw a para 2 with a set once and it looks really good IMO. It is also white, which I like. Honestly I don't even NEED a knife at all. I want them and like using them. As for my original question it has been answered. The coating are always black due to popularity, mall ninjas, and functionality of the non reflective coatings. Tho a lot of black coatings I've seen are shiny which I feel defeats the purpose of even coating the blade. Carbon steels I've heard many say a patina does a better job than a coating I can't say for sure myself though. and I feel it looks better.

Also, a "yinz" isn't a thing, its a slang word used by southwest Pennsylvanians. Hence "certified yinzer" in my sig.
 
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Well as far as the "Arctic Digi" nonsense, the guy that made them originally was banned for being a liar and a thief. Be careful who you do business with. The coating on the Para2 isn't designed to protect from corrosion, it's designed to prevent glare from light sources.
 
Jesse B. said:
Form should follow function unless aesthetics factor into your value system.
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There are always those that will sacrifice performance for looks.

I still contend that form should follow function, and sacrificing performance for aesthetics hardy qualifies.



Big Mike
 
Appealing to the tactical crowd is definitely plays a part, yeah, but I think the main reason most blade coatings are black is the same reason most cars are black. Black is somewhat of a "neutral" color. Not many people love black, but even fewer people hate it. A black coated blade will appeal to the widest audience, more than any other color.

Big Mike said:
The deal on blade coatings is they suck.
Form should follow function, and coatings only hinder cutting performance.
They're there to sell knives to the Tacticool crowd.
Big Mike
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There's also rust resistance.
 
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