Satin vs Black finish

I'm not sure what "tactical" use is, but I'm also anti-coating and pro-satin finish on knives. When I first got into knives I wanted black coated blades, but I've found that they just show wear more and can increase friction when cutting. Not all coatings are the same, and from what I hear Spyderco's DLC coating is actually quite good.

I have no need for a non-reflective blade since I like to let my enemies know I am coming by reflecting light into their eyes off of my mirror edges.

Joking aside, here's a coated knife I carried for several years:

Cynic2701 said:
I carried one exclusively for three years while in college. The 943 is very light, slim, easy to carry, and has enough blade length to deal with pretty much anything you might reasonably come across on a day to day basis. Mine has held up pretty well:

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exernet said:
HwangJino, Why won't you look at a coated knife? Sounds like you have personal experience with one? Is it for the same reasons others are saying, cause of scratches and friction when cutting?

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Sounds like Satin offer a better overall performance even for Tactical use.
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Personally it's not good looking, 2nd it does get sticky (when cutting through something), and once used it looks even more ugly and sticky.
I guess mostly has to do with looks, but for sure my hogue ex02 which is coated, will not effortlessly slice through items like my other polished blades.
I have no need for non reflective blade either, I like the shine.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
I'm not completely sure of that. The Busse group, for example, deliberately crinkle coats their blades to extend the life of the coating. A coating with more surface area will wear much better, but will cut significantly worse.
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it depends on the type of coating. PVD coatings which are the most common in the knife industry are very thin vapor deposits and the underlying finish is what determines the roughness. You can do a PVD DLC over satin, mirror or bead blasted finish. These finishes are very very hard and have slick properties and in those cases they wouldnt inhibit cutting performance given their own lubricity. Either way, I said "most" which is not to be confused with "all". Busse and a few other companies use coatings that are more akin to paint and others are powder coatings. Those, can in fact have their own textural properties but they arent as widely used.
 
PURPLEDC said:
it depends on the type of coating. PVD coatings which are the most common in the knife industry are very thin vapor deposits and the underlying finish is what determines the roughness. You can do a PVD DLC over satin, mirror or bead blasted finish. These finishes are very very hard and have slick properties and in those cases they wouldnt inhibit cutting performance given their own lubricity. Either way, I said "most" which is not to be confused with "all". Busse and a few other companies use coatings that are more akin to paint and others are powder coatings. Those, can in fact have their own textural properties but they arent as widely used.
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That makes sense. I was thinking more of outdoor blades, where it seems textured powder coating are more prevalent. I would actually agree that I don't have nearly as many issues with a PVD coated folder, as I don't think it's likely to have much of an effect on performance. Don't care for it aesthetically most of the time, but that's an entirely seperate issue.
 
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