Stripping black H1 blade

[40mm]

Has anyone tried to strip a black coated H1 blade? I'm guessing it wouldn't bother the H1 and it would be just like stripping any other blade but I'm not sure.

[Evil D]

It's anyone's guess what the blade finish looks like underneath. I wouldn't expect it to look just like it was never coated. I'd be interested in hearing what chemicals (if any) can remove it, you may have to grind it off which is probably not a good idea.

[VashHash]

I'm pretty sure it's not paint. You would have to use some kind of abrasive media. I bead blasted one and it came off easily. Being H1 it still doesn't rust with the bead blasted finish. It just shows scratches really well. You might try a scotch brite pad. The clips are just painted. Paint Stripper gets them cleaned up quick. It's one of the first things I did with my orange spyderhawk sprint.

[40mm]

If I gave it a go I figured I would just use the same stripper that I've used on blades and clips in the past. Thanks for the thoughts guys.

[Michael Janich]

The coating on Japanese-made blades, including all the H-1 blades, is TiCN (titanium carbonitride). It is designed to be resistant to most chemicals, so removing it with chemical strippers won't work. You'll need an abrasive of some sort to physically sand or grind off the coating. The safest (i.e., least destructive and most controlled) would be bead or sand blasting. A Scotchbrite wheel or belt would also be good. Standard abrasives like sandpaper would also work, but getting into the hollow-ground bevels would be challenging.

Or, you could invest in a non-coated version of the same knife.

I hope this helps.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Evil D]

Glass bead blasting would leave a nice finish, I had a friend who did it for a living and I've had lots of engine parts done. On a knife it would show scratches really easily though especially with how easy H1 scratches. I'm not sure it would get into every little crevice like sand will, I bet jimping would really be a pain.

I wonder how a laser would do?
https://youtu.be/CLaBFkeHG0A



But yeah, unless you have free access to this stuff, you'd probably pay as much to remove it as you would for a new uncoated knife.

[VashHash]

If photobucket still worked I'd post my blasted pacific salt. It looked really nice when I did it but it shows scratches really well. I even blasted the barrel screws and clip.

[jalcon]

Interesting. I always figured the coating was similar to say a Becker fixed knife....in which a paint stripper will work.

Are the PM2's DLC coatings the same way? Or would they need an abrasive as well?

[Evil D]

Interesting. I always figured the coating was similar to say a Becker fixed knife....in which a paint stripper will work.

Are the PM2's DLC coatings the same way? Or would they need an abrasive as well?

I'd say DLC is at least as good or better than what they use on Japanese models, so removing it would be just as difficult if not more so.

[JT]

800+1200 grit Sandpaper and Scotchbrite and some elbow grease did the trick on FRN Street Beat.