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Beadblast vs Satin finish
- Thread starter AndrewT
- Start date
well satin finishes often cost more then beadblast that is why some of the lower end knives come with beadblast. However, some of the high end knives also come with beadblast because beadblast is less relective then satin finishes. The more polished a blade is the more corrosion resistance it is. However, the more polished a blade is the easier it is to spot blemishes and scratches.
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
- Messages
- 1,617
The only person who gains a real advantage from a beadblasted finish is..........
The manufacturer or maker. It's a cost cutter. It eliminates all of the polishing work. It hides scratches, discoloration, wavy flats. The knife can go right from heat treat to beadblast. Sure it's anti-reflective How important is that to a knife user? Maybe 1 of 100,000 users need this feature. There are better anti-reflective treatments that don't compromise the blade in the process. Parkerizing, Ti Nitrate, Kalguard, Powdercoating. Beadblasting can rust even the most rust resistant stainless by giving gunk somethig to hold on to. Then what do you do to get rid of the rust? Rub it with some sort of abrasive and polish out the beadblast.
At first it looked cool cuz it was only on a few knives, Now everybody is doing it, Why? because it saves money. It cuts dozens of steps from the production process and dozens of workers at the same time. It shortens the production process, IE more knives in the same amount of time from less workers. It cuts QC and scrap costs because with fewer processes comes fewer quality checks. With fewer processes there is less possibility that parts will not meet spec. And less product is rejected = money saved.
From it's inception beadblast was introduced as a cost cutter. At least in the Factory made knives. There may have been a few custom makers who used it occasionaly at the request of one of their customers. But soon they found out they could make more knives and do less work.
It is one of the "improvements" in the history of cutlery that didn't come about to improve the product.
Drew
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2003
- Messages
- 438
i kinda dig bead blast for titanium parts, cuz it really darkens it into a deep, flat grey, that's oh so very.. titanium-ish.
for the blade, satin just looks better to me. plus, if you scratch a satin finish, it's easier to refinish with wetdry sandpaper, 400 grit or finer.
for the blade, satin just looks better to me. plus, if you scratch a satin finish, it's easier to refinish with wetdry sandpaper, 400 grit or finer.
Bead blasted blades have severe pitting. This pitting, traps water particles hence the cause of our terrible friend....rust. I always get a Satin finish or I give the blade a satin finish myself. As far as bead blasting for covert reasons, I was an Army Ranger and there was no reason that a blade had to be subdued. It was only optional.
This is an issue that has come up several times in the past. Yes, quite a few steps are saved because the manufacturer only has to rough sand the blade before bead blasting, whereas satin requires quite a few more sanding and polishing steps.
But whether or not the bead blasting is actually good for the knife depends on what the manufacturer considers bead blasting. The proper bead blast, which few manufacturers use, is equivalent to shot peening or surface cold hardening. Steel pellets are blasted on to the blade, or the blade is rolled in a drum filled with steel pellets. This actually takes a long time to do and really needs to start out from quite a well finished blade. It will not cover scratches or a bad polishing job. This process is actually used a fair bit in industry to surface harden components.
What most manufacturers consider as bead blasting nowadays is closer to sand blasting. This will very quickly cover up rough sanding, but does not actually seal the surface or provide surface hardening. This type of bead blasting ends up leaving the blade vulnerable to corrosion.
But whether or not the bead blasting is actually good for the knife depends on what the manufacturer considers bead blasting. The proper bead blast, which few manufacturers use, is equivalent to shot peening or surface cold hardening. Steel pellets are blasted on to the blade, or the blade is rolled in a drum filled with steel pellets. This actually takes a long time to do and really needs to start out from quite a well finished blade. It will not cover scratches or a bad polishing job. This process is actually used a fair bit in industry to surface harden components.
What most manufacturers consider as bead blasting nowadays is closer to sand blasting. This will very quickly cover up rough sanding, but does not actually seal the surface or provide surface hardening. This type of bead blasting ends up leaving the blade vulnerable to corrosion.
A very fine ceramic bead blast over a well-finished surface will give a subdued appearance that is a pleasure to behold and does not rust very easily.
Like the stonewash finish, it can be done very poorly, but also like the stonewash finish, when it's done well, it's excellent.
Stonewash and beadblast are maligned for being cheap and fast solutions, but I like them because:
1- They don't show scratches that easily
2- They don't attract unwanted attention like a satin or polish finish,
3- They don't show fingerprints and oil smudges nearly as easily as satin -- you don't have to keep "denim polishing" the blade flats every time you use it.
-j
Like the stonewash finish, it can be done very poorly, but also like the stonewash finish, when it's done well, it's excellent.
Stonewash and beadblast are maligned for being cheap and fast solutions, but I like them because:
1- They don't show scratches that easily
2- They don't attract unwanted attention like a satin or polish finish,
3- They don't show fingerprints and oil smudges nearly as easily as satin -- you don't have to keep "denim polishing" the blade flats every time you use it.
-j