A good coating can be an effective barrier between your favourite blade and also the wilderness. But which one?Posted by Schneider Lambert on June 15th, 2021 The visual appearance of knives are often linked to polished steel and glimmering surfaces. Some - mostly outdoor - knives, however have black or a kind of dark grey blades which contradicts the overall picture about cutlery. These blades involve some form of coating in it. Why coat a knife blade? A coating will surely have several purposes on a knife blade. The first is the most obvious: to avoid corrosion. Many millennia have passed with constant fight against rust. Stainless can be quite a solution, but also for some these days, 440C just doesn't work. A well made coating can decrease maintenance time on the carbon steel knife, that might be useful inside the field. Second, a coating eliminates shiny surfaces, that's a complete necessity on a mission. Sand or bead blasting serves a similar purpose, but many prefer black surfaces. Third, a coating is able to reduce drag within a cut. This is just not true for those coatings, and I haven't found any positive feedback despite having PTFE coatings. But the phenomenon is theoretically there. Fourth, PVD and CVD coatings increase the scratch resistance with the blade. This is purely an aesthetical aspect, but knifes have reached least partly about aesthetics anyway. Fifth, a coating might be pretty. Again, this can be considered a mall ninja thing, but I bet that there are hardcore users who still similar to their blades black, and merely to the look of computer. Why NOT coat a knife blade? The main problem on most blade coatings is that eventually they are presented off. While some such as the take down look of a coated knife, the scarred coating is known as more serious than bare steel by many. And once partially gone, the coating may fail its purpose: the blade will rust, drag, glean and search generally take down. Even when intact, the coating may build a wire edge”, which reduces cutting ability also it can make sharpening more challenging. Of course, the functions of an coating may vary greatly depending on its type. A DLC coating is not in comparison to powder coating, yet they look quite identical, therefore it is best to examine each type separately. Ye olde gun blue Gun blue could be the oldest steel coating besides rust, and it's still in use today. Its name originates from the blueish black color gun barrels got after under-going a surface treatment, which made a thin, dense magnetite (a type of iron oxide) layer on his or her surface. Actual gun blueing involves dangerous chemicals, but there are a variety of treatments that leave similar (while not as tough) finish while being safe to make use of. official website as an example earned its popularity for being a comparatively safe, a breeze and cheap process. Similar solutions might be purchased at gun shops for commercial use. Keep in mind however, the are intended for small touchups, so cold bluing an entirely knife blade using them is not recommended. Paint, powder and also other polymers I put these under the same title, because, are the name DuraCoat, Gunkote, Teflon, Powder coating, or whatever, they all are a type of polymer coating. Apart from the cheap dollar store knives, polymer coatings are stated to be surprisingly durable and to come off simply with prolonged or extreme use. DuraCoat, GunKote and CeraKote will be the three most popular paint-like coatings for knife blades - yes, these are paint, and not your usual DIY shop types. If applied properly, they will not peel from the lime, regardless of the punishment they get, but these are not too difficult to scratch. DuraCoat and GunKote are available in kits, while CeraKote may be applied only by trained personnel. Esee knife blades have black polymer coating with them. They're not told go easily Powder coating is like.. yeah, the same as it's. You give the blade for your local shop, specify the colour and have it back with a nice thick plastic coating about it. Not probably the most sophisticated technology, nevertheless it works, and it may be done anywhere. PTFE (a.k.a Teflon) can also be placed on some blades. The main reason for this is always that a PTFE coating should certainly reduce drag during a cut. Experience is, however, that this non-stick effect is barely sensible, if. Looks like the biggest advantage of polymer coatings is always that they can be applied relatively easily, even perhaps in your own home. They also appear in enormous quantities of colors, making a desert-camo blade absolutely possible. The downside of this sort of coating is the fact that it wears off without difficulty, whatever each of the marketing say. PVD and CVD coatings PVD and CVD are a symbol of physical and chemical vapor deposition. Although these two technologies are slightly different, their use are identical: to deposit a hard, ceramic-like layer onto a metal surface. This ceramic-like layer is composed with the combination of various nitrides and carbides (like Titanium carbide, Titanium nitride, Tungsten carbide and the like). This layer is chemically bonded on the metal surface which is much harder than any tool steel can ever be. In short: it's strong. PVD/CVD coating was originally utilized by the for coating cutting tools, plastic molds, sliding machine parts etc, nonetheless it was just a matter of time before knife industry discovered the technology. These kind of coatings are very hard which they can even make the blade scratch resistant. They are also chemically inert, so they protect against rust. Too bad they is not applied to carbon steels - the temperature in the process would ruin the temper of your carbon steel blade. That's why this state of the art coating demands state in the art steel. Another addition for the bling factor is always that the coatings can be found in various colors from black to golden. I always wonder when will I go to a bright purple Spydercos produced and marketed large quantities. DLC Another acronym, another high-end technology. DLC means diamond-like carbon coating and is actually a PVD/CVD process (no less than mostly). A DLC coating is pitch black, but that's not why it's sought for: it is certainly the hardest coating that may be put with a surface. It is so hard any time metal is cut with a DLC coated knife, the blade can get marked - through the metal which has been spread around the DLC coating! A DLC coated Spyderco Military Anyway, DLC can also be low friction, so it's designed to result in the cut easier. The greatest disadvantage is its cost: the value of your knife could even be doubled by it. Summary I didn't mention one of the reasons like blade coatings: it can be marketing. It is a sad practice that most knife making companies base their sales on hype and marketing as an alternative to quality. Knife coatings became a victim on this system and now these are loathed by most professionals. A knife coating however does have its purpose: it can significantly reduce maintenance time on the carbon blade, eliminate any glare and boost the aesthetics of a blade. If chosen right, it may significantly add for the value of your knife and result in the difference from your rusting wall hanger as well as an everyday utility knife.Like it? Share it! More by this author
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