Are ALL Black blades doomed to scratches?

B

BLM4L

Joined
Jan 19, 2006
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194
For some reason all the blades I want to get right now seem to come in Black.
However, after my recent experiences I was wondering if ALL black blades are going to have the factory coating come off with even light usage.

Are there some finishes of black that hold up a lot better than others without scratches or the finish coming off?
 
if it's a coating, it will come off. even shiny satin polished blades will get ugly scratches eventually.

when my black-blades gets ugly i just polish them off with my belt sander.;)
 
Hey bro...

I have a couple of Benchmade's black coated blades, both are Grips. I have a Cabelas mini and a mini-RSK that have seen some warehouse usage (tape, zip ties, cardboard at the edges of a box, paper, etc). All that's happened to the coating so far is some smudging that has come off with a Tuff-Cloth wipe down. These are only a couple of months old, though, so they haven't seen a lot of usage yet.

Benchmade's coating is good, but I would guess that any coating is going to come off with use. The heavier the use, the faster it scratches. Also, if you cut something that separates easily, like paper or zip ties, that's different than cutting something stiff like cardboard or wood that will ride up the blade and rub against the coating.

OTOH, I can look at any knife I have and be reminded that the scratches and wear came from something we did together... sort of like a mental photo of the things we've done. I like that. Knives, to me, are... well, let's say they're more than just tools.
 
I've heard that the benchmade coating (never used it) is far worse than the spyderco one (which is tough as nails). I personally am extremely dubious about buying all black blades (said the guy looking at the all black kershaw leek and all black para on his nightstand) for the very reasons you listed. The kershaw coating isn't holding up as well as the para, and this para has seen a lot of use, with me and with the guy before me, whereas the leek has seen very little.

So in short, The black kote varies from blade manufacturer to manufacturer. Hope that helps.

Phil
 
I bead blasted the black coating off some of my Cold Steel blades. In case you don't know, bead blasting is about like sand blasting, but it's done with tiny round glass beads (looks about like sand) inside a cabinet with a window where you can see what you're doing. Bead blasting results in a soft satin or matt finish, depending on what grade of glass beads you are using.
 
All of my blades are heavily scratched, coated or not. They all get ugly or beautiful with use, depending on your point of view.
 
sog has a TiNi coating that seems ok, up on the spine right at the tip it has worn a little but i also messed up the very end of the tip so i mist have hit something tough that i didnt realize and that probably got a little of the coating off.

the TiNi coating by sog is suposed in the 70s-low 80s (i cant remember the exact number) in RC so it shouldnt scratch more easily than the steel. now i had a very cheap knife with a "black coating" that i could probably polish off with just a rag and a little time.

basically you have 2 options in the long run. get a knife and dont use it so it looks pretty or get the knife and just use it. the sog i got was the first "good" knife ive owned and i didnt want to get it messed up and tried to keep it all pretty then i realized "hey stupid, its a knife use it dont baby it" so meh, i still try to keep the blade as clean as i can just to keep it from getting damaged but meh.

so basically to respond to your question the Titanium Nitrate (there are other titanium what not coatings that all seem to be similar) should stay on the blade and scratch less than plain steel but if the steel was not prepared correctly (i am not sure how the coating is applied but im 99% sure its electrically and thats what my assumptions go by) the coating might not hold well.

if you get a knife and the coating seems to come off way to easily call the company

-matt
 
I remember wondering about coatings too when I first got them. Most good makers even coat underneath the scales/handles before putting them on. This makes for better corrosion resistance, a good thing.

Non coated blades need special work to get them smooth and perdy, which brings up cost. A good coating (like crinkle coat) lasts a long time and keeps your blade better, of course over time with hard use it will come off, but like many said, it shows you've been using it and gives it personality...
 
if it's a real user it's going to look rough with time.

if it's a collector piece don't use it.
 
Spyderco uses a great black finish that wears well. It dulls more than scratches and looks good.
 
Thanks to everyone for all the input. This has given me food for thought.
Now I just need to decide if I should just not worry about it, or go ahead let the blades get scratched. I can use the palm sander with 2000 grit to shine them a bit. Of course, my final option is to sell my black ones and get stainless. For some reason I have always found it easier to hide scratches with polishing when it comes to SS or at least uncoated knives.
 
let the blades scratch, any good coating will wear better than the steel it self (at least going by their RC hardnesses) and if you are around sheeple it wont draw as much attention since it wont be as shiny.

if you like the black blades no reason why you shouldn't get them.

-matt
 
Uh huh. But it doesn't have to be a bad thing. I love the marks on my Busse Skeleton Warden.
 
just about anything will scratch if you try hard enough and that includes all blade coatings
 
I think CRKT has one of the better coatings, when I owned a M16-13M the coating was only damaged after I stabbed dirt, and I assume I hit rocks or metal because it left 2 lines on one side of the blade in the black coating, other than that its tough.
 
CRKT, at least all I have seen, use TiNi, which falls under the category of PVD coatings.

It's a completely different thing from other coatings. Google it for all of the technical details. The end of the story is you get a coating more resistant to scratches than the steel itself.

EDIT:
most of the Kershaw Leeks/Chives use this. These are the really smooth shiny models.
 
PVD treatments are the best. They do not rely on mechanical bonding with the stainless substrates, like the early Teflons, or the really good Gunkotes now out.

Of course, an all black blade on a user will get trashed. It's mostly a marketing gimmick to sell tacticool stuff, which is hard to justify for EDC. Just how much do I need to stop shiny reflections at work? Even when working in tactical situations for training, etc., a dull finish will do. Eyeglasses, watch crystals, headlights, windshields, binoculars, scopes/red dots, flashlights, even map cases are all more common problem areas for shiny reflections. Much less the noise, noise, noise, noise, noise! Even ten soldiers in Ranger file can be heard further than seen. And only two or three bother to carry knives, but they have to deal with all the rest first, because the knife blade is usually concealed unless used - and that is actually rare in real ops.

Black blades are targeted for, (searching for a nice term) ah, civilians.
 
Thank you VERY much. You have just put into words the exact thought that I had after speaking with my local knife shop. Bottom line is.... If I want a black knife to look good then put it in my drawer, leave it in the original box, and take it out to look at it once a year.
 
Exactly. They don't tend to scratch in drawers.

Otherwise, it's coming off. Learn to enjoy the well-used look.
 
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