The end of Kershaw/ZT DLC coating?

Ahhh.... I was once a near fan boy of Kershaw about 35 years ago. Loved just about everything they made and still have several in the collection box. It hasn't been fun to watch the quality go down, the lack of innovation (I thought they would never move on from 8cr), and the introduction of junk knives - respectfully referenced here as "gateway" or "starter" knives. I'll bet it has been nearly 20 years since I bought a new Kershaw.

Good to see them following the current American business model; less quality and value for more money. It may not fit their marketing strategy, but I am sure that for the right price they could work out the coating application problem.

I wouldn't buy a knife with cerakote on it anywhere. Sure, it is baked on, but it is still a baked on coating. Two of my firearms have cerakote finishes and I am stunned at how soft it is and how little abrasion resistance it provides.

Take a look on the net for cerakote failures and it will knock your socks off. I am trying to imagine how much abrasion the blade will face as someone actually uses it as a tool. I think the best benefit this will provide for Kershaw is the fact they can eliminate at least one step in the finishing process. Again, let's go to firearms and I have seen where someone has stripped off the cerakote finish and the metal surface underneath it surprisingly rough as the cerakote managed to fill in many different flaws and due to its texture hid even more.
 
^^ Thanks for posting their response. Their march towards a cheaper product using cheaper materials continues. Bummer, and noted. Their competition just doesn’t seem to suffer from these problems. Quality only seems to be going up.
 
Just bought a DLC coated Spyderco Manix 2 before DLC becomes a thing of the past. Living in Arizona it's sometimes nice having a blade you can't get blinded by from the mid day sun. It shall be fun to see how Spyderco's DLC compares to the DLC coating on my discontinued ZT0200.
 
Update: to me the DLC on Spydercos is indistinguishable from the old DLC on Kershaw/ZT. Maybe the same vendor was doing it for both companies? Doesn't matter I guess if I want any more DLC coated blades they're gonna be a Spyderco.
 
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Buck did some coatings (probably not in house) that were harder and more wear resistant than DLC. These included Titanium Nitride, Zirconium Nitride, Titanium CarboNitride, and Titanium Aluminum Nitride.
 
I normally dislike coatings as well, however the dlc 9n my ZT 0095BLK CPM-S90V has been fantastic, shows nothing.

The PVD on my much newer A Purvis Progeny is already showing signs.

Cerakote? No thanks. Might as well be paint imo.
 
DMG said:
Does it actually work?
Click to expand...
It works like a charm. The smooth hard surface is used as a finishing “steel” and lines up the “teeth” in the micro edge. Especially handy for bringing box cutter blades back to life.
 
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Just an update to my own thread: I purchased a Kershaw blur blem for really cheap a little while ago and the cerakote was as bad as we all speculated compared to DLC. I couldn't stand it so I sold the knife. It started showing wear after light cutting tasks and felt pretty rough. I wondered if it was labeled a blem because the coating was applied roughly but I handled a non blem Kershaw Launch 16 today I saw at my local Scheels and it too was quite roughly textured compared to buttery smooth DLC.
 
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