Why strip a knife?

B

bowieknifenick

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Dec 7, 2015
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I see this on Youtube a lot, people don't like the finish of their knives so they strip the coating and leave it bare metal. Why?

Yea, the coating usually ls usually ugly as sin after some usage, but it's there for a reason, to protect the blade and keep it from rusting? Why strip a protective coating?

Sort of seems like getting a new car and saying I don't like the paint and stripping it down to bare metal. The paint is there for a reason.

Can someone please explain this to me?
 
It's probably because those people (myself included) think that blade coatings look dumb or ugly. And the truth is, most coated blades don't need it for protection, there mostly coated for a "tactical" look. There are definitely non-stainless blades that have coatings as protection, but even then, if you live in a dry climate and/or take extra care with the blade, you probably don't need the coating. Cars are very different. Body panels are made of mild steel that corrodes easily, and paint is an important protection. Also, bare car panels look terrible, but bare blades look nice.
 
Muaddib1116 said:
It's probably because those people (myself included) think that blade coatings look dumb or ugly. And the truth is, most coated blades don't need it for protection, there mostly coated for a "tactical" look. There are definitely non-stainless blades that have coatings as protection, but even then, if you live in a dry climate and/or take extra care with the blade, you probably don't need the coating. Cars are very different. Body panels are made of mild steel that corrodes easily, and paint is an important protection. Also, bare car panels look terrible, but bare blades look nice.
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I hadn't planned on stripping the coating on my BK2 but was on a trip and needed to open a can of pumpkin late at night for my dog and no can opener around. So,the BK2 came into play, it opened the can but that did a number on the coating. When I got home I stripped the rest off and added a patina.
 
It's looks dumb on many blades, I'm not a ninja or airsoft operator so I don't need the uber cool tactical look...many of the coatings are ruff or gritty which creates drag when cutting many things. They look HORRIBLE after some heavy usage. And when used for food especially raw meat the ruff coatings are harder to keep clean and I believe would hold bacteria or cross contaminate meat.

Then there's the reason bc it's my knife and I can. My carbon steel blades have been stripped for a long time and there's not one spec of rust, general maintenance goes a long way.
 
Don't strip them myself - yet - but if one comes along for sale, will usually purchase. Easier to maintain, and prefer the look of it. Don't mind light colored blade paint like gray or sand, but find a black blades unattractive. And if I regularly sliced, hacked, and chopped through wood, brush, and food with my Nissan, it'd get stripped also.
 
Rtak2 was coated in this thick bed-liner crap paint. Scraped of easy and slowed the blade down when going through material. Took that crap off, works and looks better now.
 
Traction coating increases your coefficient of friction and reduces cutting efficiency. Also, the part of the knife I worry most about rusting is the edge and there's no coating there, anyway. Doesn't take much more effort or oil to care for the whole blade instead of just the edge.
 
Blade coatings aren't always about preventing rust. In some cases, they are a less expensive way to "finish" the blade. Dipping or spraying batches of blades, then baking them in a large oven or on a conveyor system is faster and cheaper than putting a satin finish on every blade.

Blade coatings can conceal a lot of imperfections in the surface of a blade. After removing blade coatings, it's not unusual to find a lot of grinding lines on a blade. If such grinding lines were visible on a knife sold with an un-coated blade, fewer people would want to buy them.

Putting a thick, cheap coating on a blade and marketing it as "tactical", non-reflective, etc, is a less expensive alternative to a satin finish. Sometimes knives with coated blades are priced lower than the same knife with a satin finish blade option.
 
killgar said:
Blade coatings aren't always about preventing rust. In some cases, they are a less expensive way to "finish" the blade. Dipping or spraying batches of blades, then baking them in a large oven or on a conveyor system is faster and cheaper than putting a satin finish on every blade.

Blade coatings can conceal a lot of imperfections in the surface of a blade. After removing blade coatings, it's not unusual to find a lot of grinding lines on a blade. If such grinding lines were visible on a knife sold with an un-coated blade, fewer people would want to buy them.

Putting a thick, cheap coating on a blade and marketing it as "tactical", non-reflective, etc, is a less expensive alternative to a satin finish. Sometimes knives with coated blades are priced lower than the same knife with a satin finish blade option.
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Some cases the "tactical" version costs more...the price of stealth blade operating ain't for the bargain shopper lol
 
Im no expert but i wouldnt want to consume chips and flakes of paint or glue or blue or what ever the heck it is.
 
BK-15 is a great slicer, but while that geometry cuts and slices well, it is hampered by the drag of the coating. So off it came. First I tried using it off, but it was so tough it remained. Then sanding, to smooth the slicing. Still too much grip in whatever was being cut, esp. food. Then citrus stripper. Now a better knife.

That's why in my case.

Zieg
 
I recently stripped and patina'd a BK14. I don't want whatever the coating is getting in my food, and making it harder to slice in the first place.
And I think the patina looks better.
 
Jens Schuetz said:
Simple. Don't want to eat paint.
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What are you guys eating where cutting it wears off a coating?
Silicon carbide impregnated meat?
Concrete carrots?

Since I don't buy chicken that has had sand rubbed and injected into the meat, I don't have to worry about if there's coating or not. ;)
 
stabman said:
What are you guys eating where cutting it wears off a coating?
Silicon carbide impregnated meat?
Concrete carrots?

Since I don't buy chicken that has had sand rubbed and injected into the meat, I don't have to worry about if there's coating or not. ;)
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Do you really think that if you cut various normal foods for a year that your coating will remain 100% pristine? Even where the bare edge metal meets the paint layer? Some Busse knife had a triangular flake coming of at the spine tip before I even used it. No biggy since I'll strip it. Maybe thats an exception for coated knives anyways?

Simple wood leaves marks at your first cut.
Carrots then will make marks too but take a bit longer. Potatoes even longer.
While most foods don't create big flakes they all will rub of some molecules at least and if it's something nasty which accumulates in your body it doesn't matter how little it is at a time. What counts is the total of that stuff in the 80 or so years you are exposing yourself or your kids to it.
 
Worn down coating looks downright ugly. Not that it looks good when new but i do understand that some prefer the black finish. I prefer bare metal finish.
 
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