Buck alaskan guide with ceracote blades

RAZORBLADES

RAZORBLADES

Joined
Aug 14, 2006
Messages
2,247
i was very excited to getvany of these and do some testing in the outdoors with them,I can say after some good solid use that the ceracote blades' coating does not hold upwell at all,even with gentle use it wears off quickly .The original coating from black widow was the best DLC coating I've seen on a blade,which makes we wonder why Buck Knives would use ceracote knowing it isn't as durable .

I still have and use original ag knives from when they first came out with the series ,and the coatings are still like new,showing little if any wear on the blades coatings.

I used my new ceracote 110 to cut some cardboard boxes and coating has worn away wuite a bit just from that,also in the pivot area from opening/ closing it has worn a fair amount.

I brought it out lobster fishing in the atlantic for 3 weeks and now the coating is almost a bronze color compared to the black it was before,also the blade is rusting a fair amount from the salt which was normal I guess once the coatings wore off,but the original dlc coating I had tested held up to the salt no problem and really did a great job at corrosion resistance.

I sure hope Buck will go back to the original dlc coating that was not just for looks,as this new ceracote from what I see is only for looks,offering little rust resistance as The coating wears away much too fast.
 
Buck purchased all of the equipment to paint in house. I would imagine small cost savings on switching?
 
I haven't taken my cerakoted blades to that level, but I did cut up some cardboard to show member here what happened to it. also some wood chopping on a gck. it does mark easily. what I didnt realize until recently is it smooths back out again from using on softer materials that don't gouge into it like sand and grit...which is about everything down here and outside is covered in.

once its removed thought thats that. I have few spots it came off and well you already explained that well enough.

im okay with cerakoting for my kinda using, and for most peoples uses it will fair well enough..... but I prefer the old version in the ag line far better.

like to see both offered and just change the price points of them.
 
Thanks for the cerakoted AG blades update. I was worried this would be the outcome of trying to save a few $$$$ on production cost. As is often the results of switching from a superior time tested product to an inferior product results in failure. I hope Cabela's/Bass Pro Shop's demand the return of the DLC coating. Just think about a new sportsman spending their hard earned money and getting the results RB got, they would never buy another one and by word of mouth sales will plummet then this once great product line will go away for ever!

RB, you should return your knife to Cabela's and ask for a replacement if enough folks do that it may spur so change one way or the other! Another thing you can do is leave a customer report on the Cabela's catalog site telling it like it is.
 
This is my son’s knife, the August botm 830 marksman that he uses on the farm and ranch cutting feed sacks, hay bale twine and wrap, cutting rope and nylon strapping, card board boxes, wood and a variety of materials. It’s showing a fair amount of coating wear mostly at the tip. Hay wrapped in poly twine is very abrasive with dirt and debris amongst the prairie grass hay. It doesn’t show any signs of corrosion or rust which the 20cv blade should do very well just by itself.
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edited, I forgot to mention the coating is Cerakote.
 
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I should know this stuff but I guess not. I thought the Alaskan Guide knives were Titanium Nitride on S30V steel. Did that change? What is the difference between Titanium Nitride, DLC, and CeraKote?
 
DeSotoSky said:
I should know this stuff but I guess not. I thought the Alaskan Guide knives were Titanium Nitride on S30V steel. Did that change? What is the difference between Titanium Nitride, DLC, and CeraKote?
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From what I gather the Alaskan guide knives are now using ceracote on their knives. The one I have, 2012 ? is aluminum titanium nitride coated and is still going strong. At one time I heard they were using DLC, (diamond like coating) but not sure how long ago or for how long. Each type has its own merits to the type of use and materials it’s used on but I’ve liked the alum-ti nitride best for my usage.
 
TDLC (Tungsten Diamond Like Carbon) is the same as DLC (Diamond Like Carbon). It is Tungsten Carbide applied by Physical Vapor Deposition in a vacuum chamber. It is a ceramic material with a hardness of 72 HRC (Hardness Rockwell C scale). As used on the Alaskan Guides, it was a glossy deep black coat.
TiN (Titanium Nitride) is a dark Gold colored PVD coating which comes in at 82 HRC. ZrN (Zirconium Nitride) is a light Gold or Champagne colored PVD coating which comes in at 85 HRC. TiAlN (Titanium Aluminum Nitride) is a charcoal colored PVD coating which comes in at 92 HRC. It doesn’t look as shiny as DLC, but it is much harder. TiN, ZrN, and TiAlN were all used on the BuckCote Ion Fusion blades.
Cerakote is a baked on paint which has some ceramic filler to improve wear resistance. The deposit is much thicker than PVD coatings, but the bonding is not as tight. Cerakote lends itself to color changes and mottled (camouflage) appearances. Most of the Cerakote surfaces I have seen are low gloss, so they are not as resistant to corrosion as high gloss finishes such as found on automobiles.
I use ceramic coated blades as finishing steels for uncoated blades. Cerakote would not work for this application.
 
What I do not understand is they had a great product with the original ag series of knives,and decided to go with cerakote ,did they not do testing beforehand and know it was inferior to what they already had in a time tested knife?

I won't be buying anymore of the cerakote ag series of knives as I already know they are not what I want ,I sure hope they ditch it and go back to the original ,durable coating they used before cerakote.
 
I suspect the cost of having Buck send the blades out to get the DLC took a turn upward, and in order to keep the cost of the AG knives at their (Cabela's) desired selling "price point", Cabela's probably was told they could switch to Buck's in house Cerrakote, to still get the same look while keeping price steady.

I wonder just how much of cost increase took place with DLC to knock it out, if cost was indeed the deciding factor?

When it comes down to it, for reasons other than looks, is a coating even necessary on a S30V blade?
 
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I agree that s30v, S35vn, 20cv, cpm154 and other stainless steels don’t need a coating except around salt water and such harsh conditions. I’d prefer them without coating for my usage. That said I think the Cabelas AG knives are very visual appealing with the older titanium nitride coating and that’s what caught my eye when I first saw them along with the s30v blades. I was fortunate enough to acquire the Vanguard and a 110 Alaskan Guide knives back then and I’m glad I did. So far they aren’t wearing off like the ceracote I’ve seen. They’re fantastic knives but I don’t think l would get the ones with ceracote after seeing how it wears off in a short time. They look cheap and ugly after getting worn off if you use them. Idk maybe a lot or most of them don’t get used and are just for looking at and don’t reflect that in reviews.
 
The original coating was a great idea,made clean up quick and easy after a hunt,and if you couldn't get your blade cleaned up quickly,they didn't rust or corrode,the new cerakote is still a good idea,it just wears a lot faster than the old DLC coatings.

Canelas has raised the price of the alaskan guide 110 ceracote to $129.99 plus taxes and shipping here in Canada .That works out to close to $170 and in not intested in paying more money for less quality.
 
Not an AG model but has the DLC coating over CPM154. Im not familiar with the wood on the handle or why the Paul Bos logo is inverted. Maybe there was another run that had this blade.
Nickel framed with Buck on one scale.20210103_081833.jpg 20210103_081839.jpg 20210103_081851.jpg 20210103_081859.jpg 20210103_081919.jpg 20210103_081940.jpg 20210103_081951.jpg
 
RAZORBLADES said:
Those were made for bass pro shops to compete with the alaskan guide models,after the buyout there was no more competition,Buck only made those coated 154 blades a short while.
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Thank you
 
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