4.7 Naked ?

[Methuselah]

So I picked up a 4.7 in cruforge V Steel pre-production sample. Previous owner tested the steel or what looks like a simply tested the cerakote as it's pretty scratched up from every direction. I'm considering granted that's considering, removing the cerakote at least on the spine and the handle of the Tang itself maybe I will leave the cerakote on the blade as my idea is to attach new Ironwood scales to this knife and I will need to polish the top and the bottom along with the scales to flush them up with the tank. I will not be using specialized sandblasting media I will not be shipping it out anywhere. So my concern at this point is what is the surface of the steel going to look like under the cerakote I'm waiting on Guy s and a phone call to discuss what the steel looked like previous to the cerakoting I have a pretty good idea but has anybody scrape this off yet other than what I've already read on the forums weather for guns or for knives? For my understanding so far to forge steel is excellent for forging and Edge holding with all its vandyam content however hand finishing seems like a tedious time-consuming process that nobody wants to do after 400 Grit. Cuz lastly I am considering to polish this to a mirror finish I don't really care how long it takes me. I think it would look super cool who's got a mirror finish SK knife?

Sent from my SM-G930T

 

[Methuselah]

I could be wrong but I'm under the impression the knife in the center with the red check mark is what the blade will look like or did look like previous to cerakote. So if that is true, I have a lot of work to do on a steel that doesn't like to be finished to get to a mirror polish. Or would 400 Grit look pretty good?

Sent from my SM-G930T

 

[Hard Knocks]

Someone else was trying to strip one of these, maybe Grogimus?? Can't remember. Anyway, I DO remember they were having a helluva time getting it done.

ETA: I'm not really trying to deter you, big believer in 'it's your knife you do what you want with/to it.' Just saying you might indeed be in it for the long haul.

 

[Riz!]

Cerakote is not an epoxy powder coat. Its a baked on ceramic. You are probably going to have to grind it off. Its tough stuff and I believe it keeps hardening for a significant period of time after its baked on.

 

[supertac916]

I have a 4.7 in CFV and I couldn't imagine trying to get the coating off. It's much harder stuff than my Swamp Rat coatings that seem to chip off pretty easily. I don't have any experience in removing coatings because I figure they put them on for a reason. Good luck and looking forward to seeing what your blade looks like afterwards.

 

[chiral.grolim]

Don't do it! Or do but... it's gonna take some effort, as Grog has been hard at it, starting here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1399643-NEW-4-7-Thread?p=16624741#post16624741

TRfromMT posted this:

If you do some reading around the interwebs, the general consensus is that chemical stripping is just a waste of time on cerakote. It requires abrasives...

When I had the pre-production sample 4.7 CFV I tried to clean out some scuffs with various things and nothing touched it. I did some reading and came to the conclusion the scuffs were permanent and the stuff is tough as nails, and the S!K cerakote is especially well done!

Somewhere there are photos of the SK-4 that someone stripped...

Anyway, if you succeed at stripping the CruV blade PLEASE post pics of the end-result. The surface beneath will be smooth, none of the rough-finish present on Bussekin and Beckers to help retain the traction coating.

 

[Methuselah]

well gents , at this point after two days of brief study of the wisdom of others re: cerekote, and given the tools i have and speaking w/ Guy S. (great person) , i see no logical reason to remove a perfectly good, durable well appiled coating on a blade designed for heavy use. however, i still think it deserves some ironwood. and sold to someone who will USE it as the blade is already shows that someone tested the coating. thank you all for your replies.....

so, lastly, what pouch sheathe do you recommend for this w/ ironwood scales??

 

[OBX351]

Late to the thread and knowing the decision has been made I just wanted to ask the group if they thought that removing the cerekote would generate enough heat to effect the temper or heat treat? I've spoken with the folks at Busse and read a few threads about removing the coating of their knives and the Busse folks strongly suggested not to do it because it could effect the temper. Thoughts??

 

[Fancier]

Based on the alloy composition I think you'd have to get the blade up to at least 350°F or so before you'd start changing the temper.
Tempering times are generally measured in hours, although some of that time is for good consistency.
I suppose if you got the blade red hot using a grinder you could mess it up, but I don't see how you'd generate that much heat by hand.
What makes me cringe is when I see a fire starting video and the dude is moving live coals around with the flat of his blade.

 

[Hard Knocks]

I don't know if the cruforge v in these 4.7s is a low-temperature ht like the d3v is, but just the knowledge that more blades with low-temperature ht are hitting the market has me being careful about the mods I do. I agree with Fancier that it would be hard to build that much heat by hand, but I think if a person really wanted the cerakote removed in a timely manner, then it would be a good idea to do it in a blast cabinet. That should be a much more effective process than chemical stripping, with less chance of affecting the heat treat than powered abrasives.

There are places that provide this service professionally, and they WILL have a medium that will blast it down to bare metal. It would then be up to the user to leave a heavy bead-blasted finish, move to a finer media for a less heavy blasted finish like the Busse 'double cut', or begin the process of hand finishing it. Another option would be to send it in to someone like Josh at RazorEdgeKnives who has the tools and knowledge to regrind without damage. I've also seen regrinds that are left 'two-toned' so that the flats, spine, and tang are left coated/protected, but the primary grind is reground and bare. A nice option for a user blade, and might make sense for the Cruforge V steel.

 

[scout1sg]

Unless you're putting it on a belt sander I wouldn't see the temper being affected. Would certainly take some effort but starting out with a paint stripper than progressing through scotch brite pads and various sand paper grits (by hand of course) you'll eventually get there. I've done it with a couple Swamp Rats and turned out nicely, just a paint stripper in many cases will give it knives a distinct rustic look and the coating for the most part is removed.

 

[Fancier]

Somebody (Grog?) tried to remove cerakote from a CFV 4.7 with circuit board etching solution. He finally had to grind it off.
The material is designed for use on firearms so it tolerates routine exposure to solvents.

 

[scout1sg]

Somebody (Grog?) tried to remove cerakote from a CFV 4.7 with circuit board etching solution. He finally had to grind it off.
The material is designed for use on firearms so it tolerates routine exposure to solvents.

I could certainly understand that and the effort it would than take to remove the cerakote finish must be a bear, in my opinion anything that'll protect the blade I'd just as soon keep it on and from what I've seen from the examples and field tests out there the finish is certainly not causing any drag in its cutting efficiency.