Blackout Collection

Providing coating to a knife blade serves multiple purposes. One of them is their solid aesthetic appeal which is always a part of a display for collections of high-quality knives. The solid black blade draws attention to itself effortlessly.

This is especially true in terms of collectors with their legacy collection knives or their masters collections. Be it a small collection or the largest collection of knives, black knives find their way.

Quality knives are something every knife enthusiast would love to have in his/her Knife organizer. Be it a board with bread knife, EDC mini knife, chef knife, automatic knife, Custom Knife, collectible knife, pocket knife display, or 5-6 different size knives, everything looks cool when it's black.

But, they do not just look good, they work fine as well. The other additional features provided by a black blade are as follows: 

> Preventing corrosion

Steel and rust are something that goes together since the beginning. But, that should not be the case. With the invention of stainless steel, many knife makers have switched to this alternative.

They have even moved to borderline stainless steel compared to old materials like 440C and other materials. With a properly designed coating, the knives improve their corrosion resistance and can even reduce maintenance for carbon steel knives.

> Improved scratch resistance

Knives should work and look great. Scratches do not hinder performance but, make the blades look unattractive. Aesthetics are a key part of owning a knife. With CVD and PVD coatings you can improve your knife's scratch resistance.

> Removing shine

Knifes used for certain purposes like tactical situations and hunting are crucial. The shining surface of the blade can prove fatal in such situations. This can be treated using sand or bead blasting. The black surfaces provide the best solution.

> Drag reduction

For regular knife users like hunters, drag reduction in the knife is an asset. As per many knife users, you can reduce drag on your knives by coating them.

Blackwash finish also known as black oxide coating is popular among folding knives, drill bits, and other cutting accessories. In the most simple sense, chemical conversion is used to coat the materials instead of the traditional electroplating process.

A black oxide solution is used to induce salts on the steel. They act as oxidizing agents. So, this solution reacts with the iron that constitutes the steel and hence creates a black coating all over the surface of the blade.

For knife blades, knife manufacturers first coat the blade and then put it up for a final edge. As a result of this, you can see a silver edge on the new blades.

This type of coating can be applied to a variety of materials like normal steel, stainless steel, aluminum, cast iron, zinc, brass, bronze, and copper among others.

Black oxide finish is one of the best finishing techniques used for ferrous metals like alloy steel, cast iron, carbon steel, and wrought iron. 

The coating provides nearly adds ten-millionths of an inch to the metal’s dimensions. So, the material retains its dimensional features. Hence, no compromise in quality. Also, since it protects against the chipping of metals, it provides overall corrosion resistance to the metal.

DLC coating (an acronym for Diamond-like-carbon coating) is the hardest form of coating that can be put on knife blades. This coating is normally used on products like guns and watches. the hardness after a DLC coating is nearly similar to what you get from a natural diamond.

The DLC coating is done via carbon atoms. And the higher the carbon content, the harder a material becomes. The color of the coating you get through DLC is black. Thus, it provides ant-reflection properties which are very useful for military purposes where they want to conceal their weapons.

And, if you are a knife enthusiast, the aesthetics of a black blade cannot be ignored. The performance and the pitch-black appearance are what make a DLC-coated knife so popular. The performance includes high wear resistance, enhanced hardness, and low friction on blades.

Black blades are known for their sharpness. This is why they are heavily recommended by people who prefer a sharp cut every time.

You can get silver blades which will provide you with more cuts and it does not get dull quickly. But, if you can get the proper material composition for black blades, you can get a great combination of both sharpness and durability.

To prevent the black-oxide-coated material from rusting, manufacturers coat the metal with after-finish like wax, or oil or add lacquer. There is a chance that the wax coating causes the treatment color to be dull but, it does offer the best form of resistance to rusting.

> Hand-Satin

One method of coating is to sand the blade in one direction with increasing grades of abrasive grit. This creates a layer that is free of reflective glare. This type of coating is suitable when you want to show the edge of the blade. But, it provides average corrosion resistance.

High-end knife makers value this approach. The result is a minimalistic and sleek design valued by collectors. The effort to create a satin finish knife is sometimes more. This increases in price and is the reason why they are seen as part of luxurious collector knives.

> Stonewashed Finish

The stonewashed finish is variable. The blade is put into an abrasive material. The way it is put, the abrasive that is used, and the way the blade is finished will determine the looks of the blade afterward.

At times, the knives are first acid-washed before they are stonewashed. This helps to improve the knife's corrosion resistance.

> Titanium Nitride Coating

This type of coating is used on steel, carbide, titanium alloys, and aluminum parts. This type of coating is also called TiN coating. This coating helps with protecting cutting, hardening, and sliding surfaces and providing non-toxic coats to surgical devices.

This type of coating is also applied to industrial knives. This helps in reducing blade surface friction and strengthens the cutting edge against premature wear.

> Gun Blue

This method of coating is probably one of the oldest. It is still used today, this method is in use. Its name is derived from the blue-black gun barrels that we get after going through the process. The process leaves dense thin layers of magnetite on the surfaces.

It is to be noted that the actual method involves hazardous chemicals. But, there are other safer treatments with a similar look. The method earned its name because of its easy use, cost-effectiveness, and safety.

Moreover, you can get these products at your local gun shop. But, keep in mind that this method is for touch-ups not for the entire coating of the blade. Also, you can only gun-blue your blade if it's stainless steel. Since they are not entirely rust-proof, you must avoid wet applications and oil their surfaces regularly.

But, as they are cheap they save you a lot of time in maintenance.

If you know a professional chef in your circle or you love to cook, you probably have heard about Japanese chefs’ knives. As Japanese knife makers have more than 600 years of sword and knife-making experience, they have crafted a perfect blade that is a must-have for your kitchen.

The weight of a black Japanese Knife separates it from other knife counterparts. These knives feel lighter and are more balanced in the hand. It is a feature steel that is thin, hard, and retains an edge for a long time.

This makes them an ideal choice for professional chefs to handle their precision tasks in their everyday life.