What blade finish Poll

[Dr. Snubnose]

Recently I saw this answer to a question posted on another forum and I liked the guy's thoughts..what says you....

My preference is for a mirror polish for the following reasons.
A blade with a mirror polish has less resistance and slices thru stuff easier, bit like being teflon coated, it also has an intimidation factor, a shiny blade scares most folks as opposed to not seeing anything. Some would say you shouldn't let your enemy see your blade, but if you're in a knife fight you don't really want to leave an opening and a nice shiny bright blade intimidates the baddy more than a subdued blade he doesn't even know is there. Plus it'll slice flesh off his bones like a hot knife thru butter. I'd prefer it to perform it's primary function of slicing and dicing over not being seen not stalking a sentry who doesn't exist and you're never likely to encounter or might even be able to effectively sneak up behind.

What blade finish do you like
Mirror Polish
Satin finish
Black Coated
Other
Doc :D

[Puyallupknifegu]

Recently I saw this answer to a question posted on another forum and I liked the guy's thoughts..what says you....

My preference is for a mirror polish for the following reasons.
A blade with a mirror polish has less resistance and slices thru stuff easier, bit like being teflon coated, it also has an intimidation factor, a shiny blade scares most folks as opposed to not seeing anything. Some would say you shouldn't let your enemy see your blade, but if you're in a knife fight you don't really want to leave an opening and a nice shiny bright blade intimidates the baddy more than a subdued blade he doesn't even know is there. Plus it'll slice flesh off his bones like a hot knife thru butter. I'd prefer it to perform it's primary function of slicing and dicing over not being seen not stalking a sentry who doesn't exist and you're never likely to encounter or might even be able to effectively sneak up behind.

What blade finish do you like
Mirror Polish
Satin finish
Black Coated
Other
Doc :D

Sheesh Doc!!! You always make the choices so simple!!! LOL!!!
I guess I like the mirror polish for the above reasons and it's purty!!
I also like the black coating...just because I like it...don't need it for sentries..although I wish there was a black coating that wouldn't wear off!
Satin finish...probably the most common and most utilitarian...looks good on S30V...ahh...love that stuff...!


T :D

[smcfalls13]

Depends on the knife.

For a knife that gets a lot of use, I like a stonewashed finish, because it hides all the scratches.

For a knife that's going to be hidden on me for self defense, I'd have to agree with the Doc about the Mirror Polish.

For a non stainless blade, I like it coated.

[smcfalls13]

Depends on the knife.

For a knife that gets a lot of use, I like a stonewashed finish, because it hides all the scratches.

For a knife that's going to be hidden on me for self defense, I'd have to agree with the Doc about the Mirror Polish.

For a non stainless blade, I like it coated.

[cobrajoe]

Truthfully, I really don't care. I guess it depends more on the characteristics of the knife and what I'm wanting to do with it.

Although... Those shiny blades always look so cool :D

[dialex]

Hi Doc,
You are correct in your considerations regarding the mirror finish. However, I choose the satin finish. I gave a mirror finish to my "Dialica" (right after rigrinding it) and I think it was an uninspired choice. Not only the scratches became so obvious, but even the fingerprints were visible all the time. That's why I reversed to a matte finish - not so nice, but more utilitarian. Indeed, a polished finish slices better, but my Dialica performs pretty well even the way it is :D

[naggalowmo]

I like the satin blades but I wish the lines were horizontal and not vertical like how they are on current Golden Spydies.

[The Deacon]

For my EDC pieces, satin would be my choice. Mirror looks great on my safe queens, and may be fine on a dedicated SD knife, but for a knife that sees actual use it gets dirty or damaged too easily. Not disputing your claim Doc, and your theory as to the psychological impact of a shiny blade may very well be valid, but do have my doubts the difference in "cutting power" between mirror and satin would be statistically significant. I would love to see a scientific test of two identical blades, one mirror and one satin, used with identical force, traveling at identical velocity at the time of initial contact with several varieties of identical media.

[224477]

In average, the satin finish is perfectly fine for me.

[bh49]

I prefer Satin finish on my EDCs, it hide scratches. For Kopas mirror is better.

[matthewdanger]

I like a mirror polish or near mirror polish. Coatings and other finishes, like bead blasting hinder the cut. I also find that mirror polished blades seem to be more resistant to rust.

[dedguy]

I like a variety of finishes.

[bluemist]

is the finish on either the ss atr or stretch mirror?

[dedguy]

I'm not sure that Spyderco has put out an mirror finish blades. I may be wrong.

Edit: I should mention I only really like black blades when they're in handles other than black handles. The D3 with the green handle and black blade I always liked. I'd think I'd really dig a black blade with a cocobolo handle.

[Bolster]

Mirror polish or as close to it as possible is my preference, so the drag on the blade is minimal.

[CRS]

After performing several cutting tests on my forearm with a mirror polished blade and then a black blade, I have come to some conclusions:

Deepness of the cut and blood loss seem to be about the same with both finishes.

The time it took before going into shock was slightly faster with the mirror finish.

The ER Doc said he used about a dozen more stitches to close the wound inflicted by the black blade. BTW, the Doc now wants a Para Milly. OK OK I'm just kidding......he wants the full size milly.

So in conclusion, I think I need to have more coffee before I post, because I get too silly :D :D :D

Cheers
CRS

[Axlis]

I like the way satin looks, and the way it hides scratches.

[Agent Starling]

nothing like a mirror finish, in my estimation :spyder: :D

and i'll tell ya my least favorite: black blade! black handles, yes; black blade, no! :eek:

Ex Agent Starling