Would you recommend a firearms finish for a knife?

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Obvious

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Aug 7, 2017
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I plan on making a ring dagger, similar to the socp dagger by benchmade, out of O-1. However I'm worried about rust, normal wear and tear, etc. It'll probably be a while before i get this knife to where I want it, but I figured i'd ask if you guys would recommend a firearms finish before I buy some because it's fairly expensive.
 
What kind of firearms finish are you taking about? Duracoat-Ceracote type epoxy based? Bluing, hot, cold, Brown? Parkerizing?
 
kuraki said:
What kind of firearms finish are you taking about? Duracoat-Ceracote type epoxy based? Bluing, hot, cold, Brown? Parkerizing?
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I was looking at the different finishes and since I don't have air brushing equipment I couldn't use a lot of them, I believe it was duracoat that sold single application spray paint like cans. I looked on Amazon and if I decide to use one, I think it'll be Aluma Hyde II. Lots of folks said it was better than duracoat and it's less expensive.
 
Personally it's not something I'd use on my knives. Parkerizing would be about the extent I'd consider on a monosteel blade.

Personally I'd mirror it, but then I mirror almost everything. Even carbon steel is surprisingly rust resistant at a high polish.
 
I found that alumahyde is easy to apply, just follow the directions. These types of finishes will show sheath wear, and wear from cutting things like cardboard. For that style of knife I would use alumahyde. It will keep the O1 from corroding. keep in mind the un-coated edge will still rust.
 
It's not something I do with most of my knives, but I did have some 1080 folder blades successfully professionally Cerakoted last year. One of the knives shown below has been my EDC for the last 16-months and still looks great... though, admittedly, being the EDC of a desk jockey, it doesn't see a ton of hard use. ;)

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Erin
 
TILLER said:
I found that alumahyde is easy to apply, just follow the directions. These types of finishes will show sheath wear, and wear from cutting things like cardboard. For that style of knife I would use alumahyde. It will keep the O1 from corroding. keep in mind the un-coated edge will still rust.
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Any recommendations for protecting the cutting edge?
 
Just maintenance. Probably keep it lubed, keep it sharpened. Not sure where you are coming from on this knife, but if it's the type of knife you intend to have on your gear that is going to see weather, then you are going to have to keep up on it.
 
TILLER said:
Not sure where you are coming from on this knife, but if it's the type of knife you intend to have on your gear that is going to see weather, then you are going to have to keep up on it.
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Everyday carry horizontally on the back of my belt. Thank you
 
May I ask if you have any experience with a carbon steel EDC?
I live on an island on the west coast, and really don't take care of my personal carry knives. They've been left with blood on them, not cleaned or oiled nearly as often as they should, and just generally abused. Over the last 4 years I've carried two different knives, both small bird and trout sort. One was O1 with a ~220 grit belt finish just lightly hand rubbed down with scotchbright (back before I really learned blade finishing) and the other A2 with a mirror finish.
I honestly can't say I've ever had a speck of rust on either. And they've dressed animals, been on saltwater fishing trips, ect

With even the most minimal care, you shouldn't have any rust issues.

If anything I'd be more worried about getting a scratch in a coated blade, and having rust form before I could see and correct it
 
I'm not sure I would recommend any gun finishes for a knife ... the only exception might be cerakote ... but just wash and dry the blade and apply a drop of oil and rub on the blade after its been wet and shouldn't have any issues.

As far as protecting the edge ... a good sheath is about the only protection you can give an edge ... nohing you can put on an edge to protect it from general wear when using it.

But having a small field stone like the Baryonyx Artic Fox Field Stone to keep the edge sharp protects it from needing alot if attention ... just a few passes after use should keep it good to go.
 
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I really wouldn't worry about it. If you either mirror finish the blades, or hand sand to at least 6-800, preferably 1500 or more, rust really won't be an issue short of real neglect like leaving it out in the rain. Day to day use kept in a sheath, I wouldn't worry in the slightest. If you do something like gutting a fish or dressing an animal, just hand wash it with warm soapy water, and give it a light wipe down with gun oil before putting it back away.
A cost of wax on the blade can be a bit of extra insurance as well. Furniture wax (such as Johnson's or minwax paste wax) will work, but microcrystalline (Renaissance wax and others) or carnauba wax will be a bit more durable.
There isn't anything wrong with bluing and parkerizing for a knife, just don't expect them (bluing in particular) not to get scratched up over time. The paint like coatings I'd personally never use, but that's just a combination of my personal taste, and how many knives I've seen with them look real bad after a few months of use.
As surprising as it may seem, a mirror finish will both resist scratches better, and not have them be as noticable as something like cerakote, durakote, ect
 
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