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Chrome plated blades
- Thread starter cmmcmh
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I would not recommend chrome plated blades because they love to rust. That technology was utilized back year ago and was discontinued. stainless-steel became the replacement for such metals. But it will also rust in time. I myself prefer good old carbon steel as in 1095-1084-52100. which can be highly buffed. In doing so, it will look as good as chrome. But not to mention the edge holding ability that it has. It what I recommend for a using knife. If you would take care of your knives as it was your toothbrush it would look great for a long time. And may last a life time. But that just my opinion. ---------
fitzo
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Actually, chrome plated knives have been used much more recently. However, rather than the shiny-shiny rust prone "bumper chrome", the knives have utilized industrial hard chroming on 0-1. Definitely a more resilient surface than the bare steel. From what a SEAL friend has told me, it works pretty good in the environments he frequents.
Look up MadDog knives.
Look up MadDog knives.
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When I was a kid I had a chrome plated lockback made by Sharp. Don't know if anyone remembers them, guess they were sort of Buck knock-offs. Anyways, it was cheap, but I always did like the way it looked. It was always my favorite knife, actually, even though it was only 3 1/2" or so open. It might look neat, never know what untapped market you could find.
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Some thoughts, as requested:
Chrome plating is not needed if you choose to use stainless steel. But they generally do not have near the toughness of plain carbons.
Considering some of the blade coatings and finishes that are gaining popularity today, you could make a very strong case for blades that are intentionally rusted and pitted, etc., rather than trying to keep them pristine looking.
I don't like cheap shiny chrome that flakes off. I agree with the others that I'd rather have a blade that aquired a nice natural patina versus flaking chrome & rust.
However, the above isn't a problem with modern coatings I've experienced. Hard electroless chrome is extremely durable, resisting scratches and protecting the steel beneath. Personally, if you're considering coating a carbon steel blade to protect it from rust, I feel it would be much better than the oxide and epoxy type coatings. Just look at it from the standpoint that it could wear off sometime down the road, and this only cuts down on the amount of care the blade will need compared to nothing at all. If you're coming at it from that philosphy, I think you'd be very pleased with it. I'd like to try it myself.
The modern stuff doesn't have to be shiny. I've usually seen it on guns with an attractive matte finish.
I carried a pistol with this type of coating for several years, as a beater gun for varmints around the farm. Since it was fairly inexpensive, I didn't hesitate to put it through abuse I wouldn't subject other guns to. The coating still looked great when I finally sold it (to pay bills).
Chrome plating is not needed if you choose to use stainless steel. But they generally do not have near the toughness of plain carbons.
Considering some of the blade coatings and finishes that are gaining popularity today, you could make a very strong case for blades that are intentionally rusted and pitted, etc., rather than trying to keep them pristine looking.
I don't like cheap shiny chrome that flakes off. I agree with the others that I'd rather have a blade that aquired a nice natural patina versus flaking chrome & rust.
However, the above isn't a problem with modern coatings I've experienced. Hard electroless chrome is extremely durable, resisting scratches and protecting the steel beneath. Personally, if you're considering coating a carbon steel blade to protect it from rust, I feel it would be much better than the oxide and epoxy type coatings. Just look at it from the standpoint that it could wear off sometime down the road, and this only cuts down on the amount of care the blade will need compared to nothing at all. If you're coming at it from that philosphy, I think you'd be very pleased with it. I'd like to try it myself.
The modern stuff doesn't have to be shiny. I've usually seen it on guns with an attractive matte finish.
I carried a pistol with this type of coating for several years, as a beater gun for varmints around the farm. Since it was fairly inexpensive, I didn't hesitate to put it through abuse I wouldn't subject other guns to. The coating still looked great when I finally sold it (to pay bills).
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You are completely wrong about the mechanical desirability of chrome. It is weak and brittle. It doesn't take an edge and gets in the way of sharpening the underlying metal. Its only redeeming feature is that it gets smooth and shiny. Sometimes that helps you to slide through material. Back when I was young chrome plated blades were very common. I sharpened lots of them and it was just a pain in the A. Even when I did grind off enough material to take a decent edge the unprotected edge steel would corrode rapidly and get dull. Chrome plating was the worst of all possible worlds.
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Respectfully I have to disagree with the above statement, how is what you stated any different than other coatings? Of course the edge is going to corrode, no one is trying to coat the edge. The thing about the edge corroding is that you simply sharpen it and you're fine again, this is more about protecting the sides. Also as stated in the thread previously, chroming has come a long way. Also when you talk about "Even when I did grind off enough material to take a decent edge the unprotected edge steel would corrode rapidly and get dull" that depends on what material the knife is made of... that whole statement just strikes me as highly nonsensical and biased.
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I certainly welcome your insights, Jeff, as most of my experience with it comes from guns. Dad has some chrome plated blades, but I've never used them extensively myself.
I admit I may well be wrong. I'd like to find out first hand with a (modern) plated blade. The above mentioned pistol was dropped on concrete floors a couple times, and several times I'd just drop it in a hurry on the ground or gravel so I could quickly draw my bowie knife. Know what happened to the finish? Nothing. Not a single ding or scratch. I'm pretty sure I know what would have happened if it the gun were just blued or parkerized. But, I haven't done destructive testing side by side. I also carried it all day in the rain, got it sprayed with blood, etc. The hard chromed areas never discolored, but the uncoated sights & controls got rusty. The barrel also got some flecks of rust, since I didn't think to look there for blood.
I thought it would be obvious that I wasn't talking about it on the edge, but I guess that was a bad assumption. Tell me Jeff, how well does parkerizing/phosphide protect the edge? Or gunkote? Or that krinkle coat stuff that the Busse guys use? Would the edge of a hard chromed blade "corrode and get dull" more rapidly than the edge of a blade (same steel & HT) with no protective coating whatsoever?
Perhaps we just have different definitions of "shiny". That pistol I posted above (maybe the picture doesn't show up for you? I can fix the link if needed) does not have what I would personally call a "shiny" finish. More like fine bead blasted and brushed satin.
I admit I may well be wrong. I'd like to find out first hand with a (modern) plated blade. The above mentioned pistol was dropped on concrete floors a couple times, and several times I'd just drop it in a hurry on the ground or gravel so I could quickly draw my bowie knife. Know what happened to the finish? Nothing. Not a single ding or scratch. I'm pretty sure I know what would have happened if it the gun were just blued or parkerized. But, I haven't done destructive testing side by side. I also carried it all day in the rain, got it sprayed with blood, etc. The hard chromed areas never discolored, but the uncoated sights & controls got rusty. The barrel also got some flecks of rust, since I didn't think to look there for blood.
I thought it would be obvious that I wasn't talking about it on the edge, but I guess that was a bad assumption. Tell me Jeff, how well does parkerizing/phosphide protect the edge? Or gunkote? Or that krinkle coat stuff that the Busse guys use? Would the edge of a hard chromed blade "corrode and get dull" more rapidly than the edge of a blade (same steel & HT) with no protective coating whatsoever?
Perhaps we just have different definitions of "shiny". That pistol I posted above (maybe the picture doesn't show up for you? I can fix the link if needed) does not have what I would personally call a "shiny" finish. More like fine bead blasted and brushed satin.
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I believe Mad Dog still does chrome plating on his knives.
You have to remember that you will chrome plate the blade and then when you sharpen the edge you will be exposing the underlying carbon steel ( Assumed)... This I suspect will setup galvanic corrosion, under certain conditions, that will likely focus the corrosion along the cutting edge.. Not really ideal. The edge holding properties of chrome is pretty irrelevant as it will never be the chrome that is holding the edge.. This kind of mirrors my cynical view of titanium coated drill bits.
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The galvanic potential between the steel and chrome is only about half as bad as the potential between steel and a nickel or brass guard.
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Chrome is weak and brittle? I've got a few chrome-lined rifle barrels that seem to indicate the opposite. A different kind of chrome, perhaps?
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There ia a huge difference between what we see in chrome bumpers and what is called industrial Hard Chrome. It is extremly hard and tough. Puma used it for many wears with good results. It was called Pumaster steel. Mike
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Hard chrome is only "tough" in the context of hard metal coatings. In the context of structural alloys it is "brittle" (only tolerates 2% elongation). When you want to make a blade tough you laminate it with soft outer sides, a softer spine, or just a moderate overall blade hardness. You don't make the outer surface hard for that purpose. Due to the brittleness of hard chrome it forms microcracks during the plating process. The microcracking is one of the reasons that you wouldn't use it as part of the edge.
Hard chrome really is "hard" in the context of blade materials. It tends to run up around 70 RC. This hardness could be very interesting right at the edge of a blade, but is a pain in the but when you need to hone through the chrome for edge reprofiling.
I assume that the problems that I have seen with edge corrosion on plated blades are accelerated by galvanic action. The chrome and the iron are different metals and set up some amount of galvanic potential. This may not be a serious problem. If you assume that this doesn't happen appreciably I would still point out the obvious, chrome on the sides of a blade doesn't keep rust off the edge of the blade. If your chrome plating is partly for corrosion resistance it leaves out the most critical part of the blade, the edge.
My general point is that chrome plating typically doesn't improve the performance of a blade. It does not make the blade stronger. It does not protect the edge from corroding away. It does make it more difficult to maintain the edge of the blade (makes it harder to hone). There are so many cheap Indian and Pakistani wall hangers that are chrome plated, that a chrome plated blade looks tacky by association with them.
Hard chrome really is "hard" in the context of blade materials. It tends to run up around 70 RC. This hardness could be very interesting right at the edge of a blade, but is a pain in the but when you need to hone through the chrome for edge reprofiling.
I assume that the problems that I have seen with edge corrosion on plated blades are accelerated by galvanic action. The chrome and the iron are different metals and set up some amount of galvanic potential. This may not be a serious problem. If you assume that this doesn't happen appreciably I would still point out the obvious, chrome on the sides of a blade doesn't keep rust off the edge of the blade. If your chrome plating is partly for corrosion resistance it leaves out the most critical part of the blade, the edge.
My general point is that chrome plating typically doesn't improve the performance of a blade. It does not make the blade stronger. It does not protect the edge from corroding away. It does make it more difficult to maintain the edge of the blade (makes it harder to hone). There are so many cheap Indian and Pakistani wall hangers that are chrome plated, that a chrome plated blade looks tacky by association with them.