Benchmade cerakote durability problems

K

knife chop

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Feb 11, 2014
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Aside from benchmade replacing blades, do they do re-coating? I don't know if it's just isolated with me but I have an M4 contego and adamas both cerakoted and it seems to wear off easily just by cutting boxes. I mean it chips away. I have survive knives sk4 and striders with a cerakote finish and they seem to be far more durable than Benchmades.
 
I really doubt they would re-coat your blade, but I've been wrong before. It may be worth a call to BM though and explain what it is doing.
The coatings will wear and scratch, but they shouldn't flake off.
I got my first Mini Grip right after they came on the market. It had a coated 440C blade, and it held up extremely well. I haven't had any long term use with the other coatings though
 
You can buy a whole new blade from Benchmade cheaper than anyone would recoat the old one.
 
Do you have any pic's you can post?

Reason I ask is there's a difference between wear and the coating just chipping off. If the coating is flaking off that means it wasn't applied correctly and they should replace the blade under warranty.

If it's wear from use then that's not covered under warranty and your stuck with it unless you pay for a blade replacement becaue they don't re-coat blade finishes.

You could call their customer service and see what they say and even send them pic's to give them an idea. Like I said if the coating is just flaking off that's not right and should be covered.

Best of luck!
 
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pbcg said:
Do you have any pic's you can post?

Reason I ask is there's a difference between wear and the coating just chipping off. If the coating is flaking off that means it wasn't applied correctly and they should replace the blade under warranty.

If it's wear from use then that's not covered under warranty and your stuck with it unless you pay for a blade replacement becaue they don't re-coat blade finishes.

You could call their customer service and see what they say and even send them pic's to give them an idea. Like I said if the coating is just flaking off that's not right and should be covered.

Best of luck!
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Thanks. I don't think it will be covered under warranty. I've had it for a year and there's some good amount of wear on it. as for the chips, I contacted a local cerakote applicator. they noted that chips only happens if a metal isn't degreased thoroughly or not properly heated.
 
No they won't re-coat the blade. The BK and Cerakote just plain suck that's all it is. Both these coatings are too thick and not durable at all.

The BK coated blade on the 525 I currently EDC looked like crap in less than a week after some vinyl coated foam board I cut at work murdered it. I don't mind the well worn look and it still keeps the blade less reflective which I like but I expected more. I guess I'm spoiled from the DLC I had on my Blur that I carried for years which wore like iron. For the price Benchmade should step up and use DLC for their coated blades...
 
Mine wore well. It more smeared than anything if that makes sense. Abrasive cuts would go right through to steel. I likes it.
 
Don't think Benchmade does DLC. I know the Contego is either black or gray Cerakote.
 
I believe that the coatings Benchmade offers are used to inhibit rust. There are a few threads on BF explaining that DLC coatings, at least so far as Spyderco knives are concerned, are designed to "inhibit light" -basically to reduce glare, not to provide any corrosion resistance whatsoever. I have read a post by Sal Glesser relating this information but cannot seem to find it now.

As far as I understand Benchmade not using DLC is a matter of functionality vs. cosmetics.


Anybody with superior search-fu care to chime in?
 
Fair enough, the Contego with it's M4 blade can keep the Cerakote. The rest of the Benchmade models should not have to be stuck with the crappy BK paint.
 
Redmasta said:
Fair enough, the Contego with it's M4 blade can keep the Cerakote. The rest of the Benchmade models should not have to be stuck with the crappy BK paint.
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All of BM's currently coated blades are coated with Cerakote and have been for years. The older BK1 coating was also a ceramic based coating but a different formula.

As for it being crap? I don't know that I can honestly say it's any better or worse then any other coating's used by other manufactures I've tried because all of the coated blades I've used wore with use and I never did a side by side comparison to notice that much of a difference one way or the other.

I hate to single out any particular manufacture but the only coating that ever struck me as being particularly "weak" or wore off faster then I expected was Cold Steels Teflon coating on my Recon 1. Old and new models. That coating seems to almost wipe off (slight exaggeration) but seriously it wore faster then any other coating I've ever used.

I hear DLC is pretty tough but have never actually tried it to say from personal experience.
 
Benchmade only seems to use DLC on of their $$$ gold class models.

I didn't know the BK coating they list on all their knives was actually Cerakote. I wonder why they only specifically mention it on the Contego.

If its a stainless blade and you don't need corrosion resistance DLC in my experience greatly outperforms the current coating in durability. I think for the current prices they should do DLC on all their blades offered with black coatings not just Gold class.
 
Redmasta said:
I didn't know the BK coating they list on all their knives was actually Cerakote. I wonder why they only specifically mention it on the Contego.
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I think it's to clarify that there is a choice between a Black or Gray Cerakote (That both blades versions are coated) but I'm just guessing.

A quick call to BM might just get an answer as to why they only specify that their are using Ceakote in the description on the M4 blade contego when they use it on all their coated blades.
 
richstag said:
Why doesn't DLC prevent corrosion? What is it?
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Pretty dry reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond-like_carbon

From what I gather there, it's main application is increasing abrasion resistance in tools and tooling (I admit I got glossy-eyed in the middle there and may have missed a thing or two :p).

In knives, it seems that it is an aesthetic application. If it is used for showpiece knives, like Gold Class, cool. For the additional cost of a knife with coating, I strongly prefer the cerakote, which has a utility application, and is not merely for looks. Stainless steel is great but working on boats, around saltwater, in irrigation, in the tropics, or any other of a multitude of consistently wet environments benefits additional protection of steel. In my opinion, utility trumps looks -in knives, not women ;).
 
The cerakote wears off so fast at the pivot and the rest of the knife after use anyway so the minimal extra corrosion protection on a stainless blade is worthless to me.

I much prefer DLC which wears like iron, its vastly superior in that regard. There's a reason other makers like ZT and Spyderco use this coating as well. I would also think that the materials Benchmade uses in their gold class models are not only for aestics.
 
Redmasta said:
The cerakote wears off so fast at the pivot and the rest of the knife after use anyway so the minimal extra corrosion protection on a stainless blade is worthless to me.
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It's my understanding that even when the coating appears to have rubbed off it still continues to provide protection to the surface. How much exactly I don't know. I oil my working knives regularly anyway (especially when in a salt water environment) so rust for the most part isn't much of an issue for me one way or the other.

from what I'm gathering from this thread, DLC may last longer but really only provides an esthetic value and reduced glare. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with that either.
 
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Thanks.

I don't get how an actual coating will not prevent corrosion though.

Is the coating porous?

DLC.

I would like to understand further.

I like the Gold Class mini grip with M4 and DLC, I would however find it to be garbage if the coating did nothing but change the appearance. I would rather have a patina.... or does it patina with DLC??? Why coat it for abrasion resistance?? Isn't M4 resistant enough?


?
 
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