Blade Coating Importance?

gdeno

gdeno

Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
201
I am interested in taking the coating off of my beckers and am just curious how important it is. Does it really keep corrosion down or is it basically black paint for looks. Does anybody know?
 
Not sure if it's paint or not, I took mine off with paint stripper and a plastic putty knife, also used a small brass brush for tight areas.
 
Snowalker while I appreciate the response, I'm not having trouble taking it off, my question is it important or as long as I keep it oiled will it be fine. Or will I have to work harder to keep it from rusting.
 
gdeno said:
Snowalker while I appreciate the response, I'm not having trouble taking it off, my question is it important or as long as I keep it oiled will it be fine
Click to expand...

Keep it clean and keep it oiled and you'll be fine. The coating is there mostly to inhibit rust. There are a lot of people who take naked 1095 steel to the field without any problems at all.

Mineral oil (or the oil of your choice) is your friend.
 
gdeno said:
I am interested in taking the coating off of my beckers and am just curious how important it is. Does it really keep corrosion down or is it basically black paint for looks. Does anybody know?
Click to expand...

Look at how many knives were/are made from carbon steel and have survived YEARS. I just bought a Schrade 165UH from about 1968 that was not well cared for. Minor pitting is all it suffered. If you decide to strip it, wipe it down after use. For storage, maybe a light coating of Rig.

Me, I will leave mine coated. More than the protection offered by the coating I like the non-reflectivity (not sure that's a word) the coating provides.
 
Man,don't touch that coating ! your knife will rust apart within a month ! Just kidding,as long as you take care of your blade,no problem.
 
omg? you took it off? you blew the warranty ;)

and the rust! it's coming!

you'll have to oil and use it hard now.


Bladite
 
1095 and rust has been way overblown in my humble opinion. the last time i oiled my bk2 & bk9 was over a month ago. i've split massive wood here and there (i like to start a bonfire whenever i drink but that's another story :D) so it's not like it's been soaking in oil in the safe the entire time and it has yet to form any kind of rust. if you ask me just oil it once a month or so and after every hard use and you'll be fine...safe queen is another story and i have (thankfully) no experience with.


Bladite said:
omg? you took it off? you blew the warranty ;)

and the rust! it's coming!

you'll have to oil and use it hard now.


Bladite
Click to expand...

i heard muttering "tweener! tweener!" keeps rust & the boogeyman away? is that true? oh well, i'm going back to my fetal position in the corner...until bladeshow.
 
I wouldn't worry about rust. Like has been said, keep it clean and oiled. Heck, I don't even oil my stripped BK2 and it's fine. I do live in California, though. Also, I have a stripped Cold Steel SRK that is Carbon V (not stainless) which I left outside, dirty, in the sheath for a couple weeks, and it just had a little rust on it. I used to fear non-stainless knives, but now I look for fixed blades that aren't stainless because tool and spring steels seem to perform better in many categories.
 
The marketing dept of most knife companies will claim otherwise, but 99% of all blade coatings exist because it's cheaper to coat a roughly finished blade with some paint/epoxy/whatever, than it is to do a proper bare-metal polish.
 
The finish on mine under the paint was pretty ruff you could see grinding/sanding marks/grooves. I almost think its more of a cost saving by Kabar of being able to leave the knives in a rougher shape and paint them than for rest prevention.
 
I should say also I have a Tops tracker and a knife made by a maker here on BF also stripped of their coatings and they also had visible grind marks. Just s no one thinks I am badmouthing Kabar or anything. I am sure Tops and the maker here didn't pay as close attention to the finish of the steel where it would be coated and covered up too.

I have also heard the same form a knifemaker who has stripped and re ground several Busse's. That they aren't very pretty under the coating.
 
akthor said:
I should say also I have a Tops tracker and a knife made by a maker here on BF also stripped of their coatings and they also had visible grind marks. Just s no one thinks I am badmouthing Kabar or anything. I am sure Tops and the maker here didn't pay as close attention to the finish of the steel where it would be coated and covered up too.

I have also heard the same form a knifemaker who has stripped and re ground several Busse's. That they aren't very pretty under the coating.
Click to expand...

for some knives and makers, coatings are a cheap way out. paint hides many a flaw. i've seen some stripped knives that are downright fugly.

the KaBar coatings are PRETTY smooth, so there's not a lot bad under there, and they seem to clean up VERY well. nice.

course,


Bladite
 
Actually I didn't mind any of the marks on mine barely visible after beadblasting. I prefer a rougher finish to a smooth shiny knife anyways.
 
akthor said:
Actually I didn't mind any of the marks on mine barely visible after beadblasting. I prefer a rougher finish to a smooth shiny knife anyways.
Click to expand...

i'm rather temped to find out about a copper wash process now, or a hard-chrome like they did back in Cincinatti...

Koster had this bronze/copper looking coating from some outfit... never seen the like before... not sure what it was exactly, but it looks tough.

i'm thinking any kind of non corrosive metal on metal plating, with materials that wear well, will produce VERY interesting finishes, *and* will be tough as nails.


Bladite
 
Whats that "titanium" one SOG uses? Seems pretty tough.

I really like just a bead blast and micarta handles cuz when the blade and handles are all marked up and dirty enough say at the end of summer and its time to put them away for winter (still fondle them tho) I just pay the $10 or so to have them all thrown into the booth and reblasted and they come out and look brand new again handles and all.
 
How about Electro Polishing,I haven't heard it being mentioned at all for
knives.It's basically an acid bath with two electrotodes like a plating machine but
instead of adding a coating it removes metal to exposes the chromium in the steel.
In turn providing a highly polished surface commonly used for medical tools and equipment which is very rust resistant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top