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Blade finish and colour

Generally I don't like blades with a too tactical finish, beadblasted or coated black. I like a mirror finish generally , possibly a scotchbright or satin. Lately I've been looking at knives by some good makers, I mean traditional style pocket knives and they seem to have an almost gunmetal finish, not too shiny....they seem to be understated like so many quality products are..just wondered what other people thought

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Permalink Reply by Keelen Grimm on May 4, 2009 at 17:04

I don't like blades that scream "Look at me". Most of the time I find that blades that have a black coating or have a very shiny mirror polish tend to scream. I have all different kinds of blade finishes but I have fallen in love with a stonewashed finish. The look is almost grey and is somewhat subdued. Also, on my EDC knives a stonewashed blade is a great choice because it does not show every day wear, it blends in with the blade finish.

Thanks for posting such a great discussion ray!

Keelen

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Permalink Reply by Ray Wylie on May 5, 2009 at 13:48

Hi Keelan
I can say all the things that I hate in a knife, and then one pops up with all of them on it ,and I love the knife, it's crazy. ......I don't like black blades,serrations, chisel grinds or pocket clips...yet I do like the Jim Wagner Boker tactical knife which has got all of them
The other thing is that some folks will rave over a particular knife and the thing leaves me cold. ........and even whole collections have nothing in them that I like. I think it's cool when somebody only collects the same pattern and has a display case full of them.but me I could never do that, .cept maybe if a was a millionare

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Permalink Reply by Ian McEntee on May 17, 2009 at 18:33

Anything but mirror polish for me. Just shows finger prints and glares in the light. I prefer just plain metal, maybe bead blasted or stone washed. Something low key and not shiny

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Permalink Reply by J.T. [HELLZZARMY] on May 17, 2009 at 21:33

I'm partial to the Black-T finish on Emerson's Knives and the Tiger stripes on my ZEro Tolerance ZT 301/Strider Knives...

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Permalink Reply by kage on September 22, 2010 at 22:51

One of the things that we should remember is that these coatings do serve a purpose first and foremost, with esthetics being secondary. Sad to say, but a lot of knife makers put esthetics first and foremost as this is what they feel their consumers are looking for... form over function, or function over form. It's up to the individual to determine which is best for them.

A mirror polish finish can be a pain the rear to keep up its appearance. But if that finish is on a quality hunting or skinning knife, it will glide through flesh much easier than coated blades. Hence the reason why most "traditional" hunting knives have that finish on them.

A Teflon coated finish is primarily designed to protect the blade steel underneath it from the elements. This is particularly valuable when using carbon steel knives. Teflon coatings are somewhat porous and may need a light oil to be applied to it on a semi-regular basis. In order to lubricate and preserve/restore the coating's appearance. Many manufacturers indicate/claim that their coating adds in reducing the friction of the blade passing through material during the cutting process. But the reality is, that without that routine application of lubrication to the coating there will be little to none noticeable benefit during cutting, and the coating is apt to wear away more rapidly without rather than with oiled use. A caveat should be observed when using Teflon coatings with meat and food stuff. Teflon is a derivative of aluminium. As such, there is an aspect of potential metal poisoning with ingesting foods cut or cooked with Teflon products.

A bead blast finish uses small particles under high pressure that are slammed into the surface of the blade causing minoot erosion of the blade metal and partial bonding of the accelerant particles to the blade, forming its finished appearance. In normal urban use as an EC or EDC it's a very good long-lasting, wearable finish. However, with continued heavy use or within extreme environmental conditions, this can lead to premature pitting and the onset of rusting of the blade if not addressed quickly and regularly maintained.

A stone-washed finish is similar to a bead blast finish, but is much more gentler on the blade and there is no bonding of tumbler stones with the blade metal. Because of this less-than-aggressive process, there will be less potential to pitting and rusting than with the bead blast finish. So this makes for a good finish for EC or EDC blades in both urban and rural environments under normal weather conditions and usages.

The term Satin Finish covers varied of methods, that are fairly similar in purpose but different in application, and covers several types of finishes: Burnished, Hand Rubbed, Scotchbrite, Stonewash, Tumbled.

As with most things, there is never a "Right" or "Best" finish, in and of itself. There is only what is best or right for you and how you intend to use your blade... What works for you is what's best. ;)

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on September 23, 2010 at 0:53

.. the higher the mirror finish .. the more resistant to oxidation the steel surface will be .. that high polish also minimizes the available surface area ..

There's wisdom in the stmt .. what's best for you is what wks for you !!!

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on September 23, 2010 at 2:15

Re: the gunmetal finish ..

I have blued a couple of folder blades .. use either ferric chloride (rad shack .. if you can get anhydrous .. store in sealed non-metal container) or the weaker gun bluing solution (gun section of the hardware store) .. great corrosion protection !!!!

All steels will form a natural patina .. primarily due to reaction w/ acids .. analogous to bluing.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on September 24, 2010 at 0:27

.. anhydrous ferric chloride .. the powdered schtuff .. caustic as all get out .. we had to use it to etch ckt bds in ee224 & 324 labs .. wks great on cutlery steel too ..

.. I stored some excess sealed in a baby food jar & double zip-locked .. way up in the back of an out of the way closet ..kids in the house.. within 6 months .. nail heads, screw heads, everything metal inside that closet was extremely oxidized ..

I believe anhydrous ammonia is what the boys were using .. that's some dangerous schtuff too!!!

I'll PM ya for bulk pricing .. .. .. .. .. ..