Stonewashed Blade

[Bodog]

I have carried a multitude of folding knives and a respectable amount of fixed blades. The majority being spyderco.

I'm curious about why on non-stainless steels spyderco doesn't do a stonewash on all of the ones not DLC coated.

Stonewashing a fairly polished blade keeps a lot of issues with non-corrosion resistant blades from happening to begin with. My current favorite is a PM2 with M4. This thing is a little beast. I like it A LOT. But the grind marks were deep and any time there has been any kind of corrosive marks on the blade, it's right in the groove of some piece of sandpaper. So i decided to smooth it out by hand. Man, let me tell you. It's not easy.

Had this knife been stonewashed and had all the little grooves from grinding removed, well, i would have to say it's almost perfect.

If I'm wrong about stonewashing less than stainless blades, please tell me why.

[Woodpuppy]

I like the burnished look, sort of a glow, and I’d agree that it seems like it would reduce corrosion’s ability to get a foothold.

[TomAiello]

I actually don't like the look of stonewashed blades. I'd prefer to have spyderco deliver them "plain" and let the end user decide what to do with them.

[abbazaba]

All of the Maxamet blades are stone washed for some reason, and they wipe clean easily. The Police4 on the other hand has very deep grind lines and mine developed a pantina immediately because it is hard to clean.

I'm not sure I have a preference. I like both but agree that a more polished finish is much easier to keep clean.

[bearfacedkiller]

I dislike the look of a stonewashed blade. The satin finish could certainly sometimes have shallower scratches. The smoother the better for corrosion.

I like satin blades because they are easier to refinish. If you refinish a stonewashed blade you lose the stonewash anyway and sometimes it seems harder to remove a stonewash than a patina. I may be in the minority though. I am unsure how many people refinish their blades?

[knivesandbooks]

Satin is strongly preferred for a knife imo. I love the strong grind lines of the taichung models. Corrosion is an issue but coating them helps enough. I would like to see mirror polished blades from Spyderco. I would take a mirror polished blade over a stonewashed any day. The only stonewash I really like is the kind on the Slsyz Bowie, that mirror polish over stone wash or whatever it is exactly.

[supracor]

I would like to see mirror polished blades from Spyderco.

Sooner or later they will listen to us too :D

[MichaelScott]

Don’t like stonewashed blades. Looks like they are covering something up. I like to see the grind lines.

[koenigsegg]

I agree that the blades should be stonewashed and polished. They used to do this at least on the Manix 2, my original Manix 2 is stonewashed and polished like the Slysz stuff. My friend liked it so much she got one but it was a year or two later and they switched to the satin finish. Aside from corrosion it also scratches way too easy and the scratches show way more than the polished finish. I'm assuming it saves cost but I'd rather pay for the better finish.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I dislike the look of a stonewashed blade. The satin finish could certainly sometimes have shallower scratches. The smoother the better for corrosion.

I like satin blades because they are easier to refinish. If you refinish a stonewashed blade you lose the stonewash anyway and sometimes it seems harder to remove a stonewash than a patina. I may be in the minority though. I am unsure how many people refinish their blades?

I am with you on this my friend. Stonewash = yuck!

Satin = AHHHH YES :)

[jpm2]

If stonewash is what the N5 maxamet blade is, I prefer it to all other finishes.
You can put a satin finish on any blade in 10 minutes with sandpaper and a flat surface.

[The Meat man]

I like the look of a well-done stonewash finish. I wouldn't want it on every knife but it does clean up easier in my opinion, and it looks pretty sharp (pun intended).

What I can't stand is a worn stonewash look. Reminds me of a pair of dingy jeans.

[steelcity16]

I really enjoy the stonewash on the Maxamet. I was very excited to hear Sal say that the Cruwear Micarta Shaman will likely have a stonewash blade! Cruwear seems like it would be a good candidate for the stonewash finish.

[JonLeBlanc]

I’m not sure how I feel about stonwash finishes overall, but I do like the sort of “matte finish” they give, and the way it obscures the grind lines.

[koenigsegg]

Here is a comparison between stonewashings. You can sort of see the screen reflection in the Maxamet (closest on bottom) but you can see way more detail in the amazing stonewash on my Manix 2 S30V, then the satin finish of the S30V PM2 at top.

[Sjucaveman]

I think my carbon fiber positron is stone washed as well.

[koenigsegg]

I think my carbon fiber positron is stone washed as well.

Yes it has the same polish as my Manix 2, love it!

[curlyhairedboy]

I'm a fan of the mirrored stonewash that I've seen on the bowie/Techno/Southard. The maxamet stonewash is fine too.

[abbazaba]

All this talk about the awesome finish on the Bowie reminded me of a photo I took a couple years ago... It was the summer of Slysz, my most carried knife at the time. Now I'm afraid to carry it and lose it since it's been disco'd I really do love a polished stone wash!

[Sjucaveman]

All this talk about the awesome finish on the Bowie reminded me of a photo I took a couple years ago... It was the summer of Slysz, my most carried knife at the time. Now I'm afraid to carry it and lose it since it's been disco'd I really do love a polished stone wash!

Carrying my bowie today actually.