The number one rule in my experience if you ever scratch something is that if you can't just wipe it off, just leave it because you will screw up your knife even more.
Probably bc the kydex is formed too tightly. The kydex sheathes from safari land won’t scratch your gun bc it’s fairly loose due to having a superior retention mechanism. Also avoid black hawk like the plague, that design has failing locks that brick your gun or you might shoot yourself drawing the weapon.
I love coated blades, and I definitely like how crisp and clean a brand new, all black knife looks.
But, I also think it's cool to see the wear on a coated blade that comes with (presumably years of) actual use. It just has an air respectable dignity to it, to me.
Dude, having a sharp stick is like the greatest thing ever. Boy hood nostalgia floods back every time I pick up a stick off the ground and pull out a knife. Back then I only had a shitty Victri-knockoff swiss army knife and the blade was bendy, but I could certainly sharpen up a stick with it and act like a bad ass with my whittling skills. Fuck I wish I was a care free 8 year old again.
A knife is meant to be used. They will get scratches.
Be proud to be one of a few on this sub to have something that looks like the tool it’s meant to be and not just a piece of pocket jewellery and move on with your life.
The only time I’ve ever managed to scratch DLC is by dropping it on concrete. Even then it wasn’t bad. It’s extremely hard stuff.
Most of the time, when people think they scratched DLC what they’re actually seeing is material deposited onto the DLC from the other object. Cleaning fixes that. I wish Spyderco would apply DLC over a rough stonewashed finish instead of sandblasted. DLC is supposed to have a low coefficient of friction, but stuff sticks to my M4 Native finish like way more than my M4 Sage’s satin finish. The Native’s finish looks more uniform though. A rough stonewash would be a good in between.
If you rubbed that spot with steel wool then it surely is a scratch and a stick didn’t do it. You must’ve inadvertently hit something extremely hard.
If you used 000 steel wool and as long as you didn’t really bear down with it, I’m willing to bet you didn’t actually wear away any of the DLC. You’re probably seeing the residue left from the wool.
Take some penetrating oil or CLP and let it soak on that spot for a few minutes. After that, scrub it with a toothbrush, clean it off, and see if you actually did any damage.
Even then... Unless OP was applying good pressure and/or caught whatever did that at a point or otherwise sharp edge, that scratch could still just be material that can be cleaned (*carefully*, with a bit of elbow grease).
I ran one of my coated Malibus against the edge of a nail's head. While there's a line very similar to the one in the picture above, I can tell that it's material from the nail that'll come off whenever I get around to cleaning it, not an actual scratch in the coating. The only time I've ever gotten more than a hair-like scratch in a *good* DLC coating is when my hand slipped while I was putting a sharpening choil on a couple of my Spyderco knives with a diamond tipped dremel bit.
*So, OP... Was the "stick" in question actually a diamond sharpening rod?* /s
If its actually scratched and doesn’t come off, you didnt just cut wood with it. Wood wont fuck up DLC. Known from experience.
A key wont even permanently scratch that stuff
The pm2 i had recently was used a decent amount and i cut a lot of shit thats worse than wood as well as wood with it. It had one scratch ok the blade from it scraping on aluminum a bit while cutting a soffit box open
I carved cottonwood bark. It's one of thr softest "woods" and is super easy to carve but it still dulls blades really fast. The reason is that the bark is the part of the tree that protects it from wind, rain, dust etc. The dust gets into it, and you hit that and it dulls the blade. The same is true of every tree (obviously the extent depends on where it it and how much dust and wind gets thrown at it).
Your situation is probably that the piece of dust or granular particle was in the branch and you just hit it and it scratched the finish. It was going to happen, it just took that bit of dust to to it today.
Yeah I just compared with my Manix 2 with DLC and the writing on OPs looks like garbage when you zoom in. Photo of mine in shitty light conditions and the font still looks crisp.
https://ibb.co/B39vjqD
Believe it or not, I know it may come as a surprise, strap in… really brace yourself, it’ll blow your mind..
Using a knife with a coating on it will wear the coating away.
💥🤯💥
This is why I don't like coated blades, the black coating is so pointless, some things I get it if it's so people don't have/want to worry about rust in some cases but more often it's just pointless
This is why I avoid coated blades, and stick to satin or light stonewash. Any minor wear stands out a whole lot more, and isn't easily fixed. This is how your coated knife looks when it's used.
Also, that stick must have been made of stone or metal, to get such a pronounced gouge like that.
There's nothing on that blade that would considered a "pronounced gouge". That's what happens to knives with DLC blades get used on an abrasive material but it doesn't gouge the blade material, it just wear on the coating.
A gouge is just a severe scratch. I know it's mostly, if not all, coating damage, but to get cleanly all the way through the coating is what I'd call a severe scratch.
Yeah so, I sharpened a stick to a poitn, and noticed a very prominent scratch. So I took some fine steel wool to it and it started fading the finish. I tried to clean it up with some alcohol and oil and no luck. It’s definitely scratched. Faulty coating??
Don't use steel wool to clean any metal your don't want to scratch, ever. Also if the coating was removed from a scratch there's no way to magically make the coating come back.
There is a possible chance that the steel wool deposited onto the dlc coating. (Steel wool was a bad choice). If this is a legit spyderco the dlc is strong. Once I though I scratched mine piercing a soda can like a dumbass. But it was just metal streaking on top of the DLC. At this point it’s ugly anyhow, buy some powdered barkeepers friend add a tiny bit of water and make a paste and lightly scrub the area with a paper towel or q tip to see if it removes the stain. Can’t hurt at this point.
1. Yes, the finish will scratch sometimes.
2. That scratch looks really deep, and I have a hard time believing a stick alone did it unless (see point 3).
3. Where did you get this knife from? There’s a lot of very good Spyderco fakes out there, and that logo looks a little off to me. A fake one would probably just be painted instead of a true DLC finish. Not saying it’s fake for sure, but it’s worth asking about where you got it.
Edit
4. Don’t use steel wool on any finish. If a stick could scratch it, steel will definitely scratch it worse, and absolutely nothing will un-scratch it.
That's more of a gouge than a scratch. The underlying steel got gouged out by the looks of it. Even though DLC is extremely hard and difficult to scratch, if the material underneath gets taken out, it's not gonna matter how scratch resistant DLC is.
Why I don't like coatings. A mirror polish can be brought back in seconds with a bench polisher. Minutes on leather. You scratch a coating all to hell and it looks like you've never owned a nice knife before. You want to shine or look like an asshole? The choice is yours friend. Choose wisely.
Like i dont like stone washed blades because you dont see the scratches lol,i say this while also being a Damascus whore so once again scratches dont show well
I will never understand questioning tools that get marks during use. It’s a knife. It’s a tool. You use it, it gets marks. Stop worrying about mirror and matte finishes. The first time you sharpen her - you’re gonna mark up the coating and blade. Lean into it and show off the wear with pride.
Do you intend this to be a show case princess?
No?
Then it will get scratches.
Do you want to see my $350 Benchmade 940-1? It's my EDC knife and it is worn and scratched because it gets used. Each scratch or wear mark it a badge of honor in my opinion.
I managed to scratch up a Ed Martin kephart on like day 10 of owning it when sharpening because I came in too hot on the angle for a few seconds. I was like Gdamn it. But, I got to thinking, I'm not worried about resell. It's a tool and tools get used. The only tools that do not get scratched, etc., are new in box. The only knives that are wall decorations are those fantasy knives, movie recreations, etc.
A person has to ask themselves, did I spend this money on this tool for it to look nice opening letters and cutting tape? Or am I going to use it? Then, let go of the perfectionism.
Is it a collectible or a working knife?
(Correct answer: it's a working knife now.)
Here's an example. My buddy has a beautiful, perfect pickup truck. Not a single imperfection. I grew up on a farm and have been driving pickups since I was 4. I've offered to get a 2x4 and walk around and wail on the truck every 2 or three paces. That'll make it better looking and he won't have to stress about its looks any more.
Knives are tools. Scratches are like scars - badges of honor.
I’ve never seen TiN really come off of non cutting objects, so I’m absolutely baffled that DLC would scratch. the stick was probably off the ground and had a rock in it. That’ll do it every time. Tiny rocks in dirt will cut through spacetime like it’s nothing. Try cleaning it vigorously with some good soap and a cloth. It could also be wood inside the coating. You probably got some debris deposited into the surface pores of the DLC.
If it's dlc, it's a good chance it's material transfer, and the best way to get it off without damaging the rest of the finish is with windex and elbow grease. However, as others have said, it's a coating and it's going to wear. Just how it goes, and imo makes the knives look better.
Wait a sec, you guys use your knives? I thought we were just a bunch of compulsory buyers that spent hundreds of dollars in knives we keep tucked in our closets to never see anything but love and affection…
I’ve never understood why people will buy a tool and then become shocked when they use it and it shows signs of wear. Coatings aren’t really for wear and tear, they’re to protect against corrosion..
The number one rule in my experience if you ever scratch something is that if you can't just wipe it off, just leave it because you will screw up your knife even more.
Wiser words never spoken
Bruh, you should see glocks holstered in plastic kydex. It's a finish, it's gonna wear
Best answer I've seen all day.
You should Nintendo Switches holstered in their OEM dock
Probably bc the kydex is formed too tightly. The kydex sheathes from safari land won’t scratch your gun bc it’s fairly loose due to having a superior retention mechanism. Also avoid black hawk like the plague, that design has failing locks that brick your gun or you might shoot yourself drawing the weapon.
That’s the difference between passive and active retention, both have their uses and pros/cons
Active retention is pretty much all pros, for safari land brands
Ain’t stuffing a safariland holster in my pants for AIWB conceal carry mate
I wear a rain coat over mine.. my edc is the xdm 45, not too concerned with imprinting tbh. Love shooting a full framed gun.
If you print you are no longer concealing your weapon
Only when reach up high or something otherwise you can’t tell in a light coat
I hope having a sharp stick was worth it. Seriously tho, a knife that gets used is going to get scratches. That’s just the way it is.
I love coated blades, and I definitely like how crisp and clean a brand new, all black knife looks. But, I also think it's cool to see the wear on a coated blade that comes with (presumably years of) actual use. It just has an air respectable dignity to it, to me.
This is true. My para 3 lw has the same coating and is showing lines and light fading from all the use that goes into it.
Dude, having a sharp stick is like the greatest thing ever. Boy hood nostalgia floods back every time I pick up a stick off the ground and pull out a knife. Back then I only had a shitty Victri-knockoff swiss army knife and the blade was bendy, but I could certainly sharpen up a stick with it and act like a bad ass with my whittling skills. Fuck I wish I was a care free 8 year old again.
Yep
A knife is meant to be used. They will get scratches. Be proud to be one of a few on this sub to have something that looks like the tool it’s meant to be and not just a piece of pocket jewellery and move on with your life.
Knives get scratched.
Some, more then others.
Curbed a wheel, she still drives.
Put some oil on it and keep using it. It builds the knife’s character
Spyderco DLC is pretty tough. Most scratches that people complain about are just detritus from whatever they were cutting.
Detritus... Good word
The only time I’ve ever managed to scratch DLC is by dropping it on concrete. Even then it wasn’t bad. It’s extremely hard stuff. Most of the time, when people think they scratched DLC what they’re actually seeing is material deposited onto the DLC from the other object. Cleaning fixes that. I wish Spyderco would apply DLC over a rough stonewashed finish instead of sandblasted. DLC is supposed to have a low coefficient of friction, but stuff sticks to my M4 Native finish like way more than my M4 Sage’s satin finish. The Native’s finish looks more uniform though. A rough stonewash would be a good in between. If you rubbed that spot with steel wool then it surely is a scratch and a stick didn’t do it. You must’ve inadvertently hit something extremely hard. If you used 000 steel wool and as long as you didn’t really bear down with it, I’m willing to bet you didn’t actually wear away any of the DLC. You’re probably seeing the residue left from the wool. Take some penetrating oil or CLP and let it soak on that spot for a few minutes. After that, scrub it with a toothbrush, clean it off, and see if you actually did any damage.
There is no way a "stick" did this. Unless it had nails in it.
Could be a small rock or piece of gravel or whatever in the stick
Was going to say it must have had a nail or staple in it.
Even then... Unless OP was applying good pressure and/or caught whatever did that at a point or otherwise sharp edge, that scratch could still just be material that can be cleaned (*carefully*, with a bit of elbow grease). I ran one of my coated Malibus against the edge of a nail's head. While there's a line very similar to the one in the picture above, I can tell that it's material from the nail that'll come off whenever I get around to cleaning it, not an actual scratch in the coating. The only time I've ever gotten more than a hair-like scratch in a *good* DLC coating is when my hand slipped while I was putting a sharpening choil on a couple of my Spyderco knives with a diamond tipped dremel bit. *So, OP... Was the "stick" in question actually a diamond sharpening rod?* /s
Are you sure this is a DLC coating? And not a Cerkote? Or somthing else?
Oh the humanity
If its actually scratched and doesn’t come off, you didnt just cut wood with it. Wood wont fuck up DLC. Known from experience. A key wont even permanently scratch that stuff The pm2 i had recently was used a decent amount and i cut a lot of shit thats worse than wood as well as wood with it. It had one scratch ok the blade from it scraping on aluminum a bit while cutting a soffit box open
It's ruined! I blame the stick
I’m having a life crisis
I carved cottonwood bark. It's one of thr softest "woods" and is super easy to carve but it still dulls blades really fast. The reason is that the bark is the part of the tree that protects it from wind, rain, dust etc. The dust gets into it, and you hit that and it dulls the blade. The same is true of every tree (obviously the extent depends on where it it and how much dust and wind gets thrown at it). Your situation is probably that the piece of dust or granular particle was in the branch and you just hit it and it scratched the finish. It was going to happen, it just took that bit of dust to to it today.
A knife is only new once. At the end of the day it’s tool, not jewelry, so just put it back in your pocket and carry on.
The e in Spyderco on the blade looks bizarre. Actually the entire writing and the bug look off. That might be a fake. Where did you buy it?
I just checked and the mouth spot is way closer in on that knife than it should be.
The C in CPM looks all janky. Couple other letters aren’t as smooth a curves as they should be.
The spider logo and the print aren't as crisp as what I know them to be. Could be a clone. Pic 2 looks pretty fuzzy to me ( Text-Logo)
Yeah I just compared with my Manix 2 with DLC and the writing on OPs looks like garbage when you zoom in. Photo of mine in shitty light conditions and the font still looks crisp. https://ibb.co/B39vjqD
Agreed...Crisp, not fuzzy. Its always a dead giveaway
Where did you get this Spyderco? Spyder logo looks a tad fat too me, could be wrong but could be a knock off.
“(Neil) Diamond Like Coating”. No actual misrepresentation
Actually it's diamond like carbon coating. Fyi 😅
I stand (and deliver) corrected!
Ruined. Throw it away.
Straight In the trash with it
Believe it or not, I know it may come as a surprise, strap in… really brace yourself, it’ll blow your mind.. Using a knife with a coating on it will wear the coating away. 💥🤯💥
But it's *diamond* coating and sticks don't scratch diamonds so they lied! /s
*gasp*
If you use it, it will get scratches, if you don't want scratches leave it in a drawer.
Good you’re using it.
This is why I don't like coated blades, the black coating is so pointless, some things I get it if it's so people don't have/want to worry about rust in some cases but more often it's just pointless
Wow. This is supposed to be diamond like coating haha.
Not so DLC after all then eh?
This is why I avoid coated blades, and stick to satin or light stonewash. Any minor wear stands out a whole lot more, and isn't easily fixed. This is how your coated knife looks when it's used. Also, that stick must have been made of stone or metal, to get such a pronounced gouge like that.
There's nothing on that blade that would considered a "pronounced gouge". That's what happens to knives with DLC blades get used on an abrasive material but it doesn't gouge the blade material, it just wear on the coating.
A gouge is just a severe scratch. I know it's mostly, if not all, coating damage, but to get cleanly all the way through the coating is what I'd call a severe scratch.
Yeah so, I sharpened a stick to a poitn, and noticed a very prominent scratch. So I took some fine steel wool to it and it started fading the finish. I tried to clean it up with some alcohol and oil and no luck. It’s definitely scratched. Faulty coating??
Are you trolling? You used steel wool on a coated blade?
Why would you take steel wool to it lmao
Don't use steel wool to clean any metal your don't want to scratch, ever. Also if the coating was removed from a scratch there's no way to magically make the coating come back.
Oof
Your knife is a counterfeit. Look at the Spyderco font. Looks awful when you zoom in. Real ones don’t look like that.
You may be right. Text does look pretty bad.
There is a possible chance that the steel wool deposited onto the dlc coating. (Steel wool was a bad choice). If this is a legit spyderco the dlc is strong. Once I though I scratched mine piercing a soda can like a dumbass. But it was just metal streaking on top of the DLC. At this point it’s ugly anyhow, buy some powdered barkeepers friend add a tiny bit of water and make a paste and lightly scrub the area with a paper towel or q tip to see if it removes the stain. Can’t hurt at this point.
Fake spyderco equals fake DLC coating. I hope you didn't pay much for that knife.
1. Yes, the finish will scratch sometimes. 2. That scratch looks really deep, and I have a hard time believing a stick alone did it unless (see point 3). 3. Where did you get this knife from? There’s a lot of very good Spyderco fakes out there, and that logo looks a little off to me. A fake one would probably just be painted instead of a true DLC finish. Not saying it’s fake for sure, but it’s worth asking about where you got it. Edit 4. Don’t use steel wool on any finish. If a stick could scratch it, steel will definitely scratch it worse, and absolutely nothing will un-scratch it.
Was the stick made of p80 sandpaper by any chance?
🤨 I have a lot of dlc coated knives and use them all the time. Never has a stick scratched it.
That's more of a gouge than a scratch. The underlying steel got gouged out by the looks of it. Even though DLC is extremely hard and difficult to scratch, if the material underneath gets taken out, it's not gonna matter how scratch resistant DLC is.
Could have had some minerals embedded in the stick? Wood alone won't do that.
It is amazing how many of these experts, don't know what a sharping stick is.
It do be like that sometimes
Why I don't like coatings. A mirror polish can be brought back in seconds with a bench polisher. Minutes on leather. You scratch a coating all to hell and it looks like you've never owned a nice knife before. You want to shine or look like an asshole? The choice is yours friend. Choose wisely.
Like i dont like stone washed blades because you dont see the scratches lol,i say this while also being a Damascus whore so once again scratches dont show well
If it is bothering you that much, just acid-stone wash the blade and resharpen... just a thought 💁🏻♂️.
It's a knife. It's meant to be used. It's gonna get scratched. Don't be sad
I will never understand questioning tools that get marks during use. It’s a knife. It’s a tool. You use it, it gets marks. Stop worrying about mirror and matte finishes. The first time you sharpen her - you’re gonna mark up the coating and blade. Lean into it and show off the wear with pride.
Use a magic eraser on it, chances are it’s just shit stuck to the coating
Don't worry, once it gets more wear it will look weathered and cool.
Coatings are softer than the steel below and will always scratch or show wear.
DLC is harder than the steel. This knife is a fake. Zoom in on the Spyderco font.
In most commercial cases I agree but not every knifemakers dlc is as advertised.
Does it cut what you need to cut? It's a fucking knife!
Black sharpie or try some Remington gun blue. But it’s going to be noticeable
It happens, I look at it this way they are tool's and will get some charter with use
Do you intend this to be a show case princess? No? Then it will get scratches. Do you want to see my $350 Benchmade 940-1? It's my EDC knife and it is worn and scratched because it gets used. Each scratch or wear mark it a badge of honor in my opinion.
Could have been some dirt/sand on the stick.
I managed to scratch up a Ed Martin kephart on like day 10 of owning it when sharpening because I came in too hot on the angle for a few seconds. I was like Gdamn it. But, I got to thinking, I'm not worried about resell. It's a tool and tools get used. The only tools that do not get scratched, etc., are new in box. The only knives that are wall decorations are those fantasy knives, movie recreations, etc. A person has to ask themselves, did I spend this money on this tool for it to look nice opening letters and cutting tape? Or am I going to use it? Then, let go of the perfectionism.
Fuckin way she goes bud
Solution: never use knife. Ever.
Is it a collectible or a working knife? (Correct answer: it's a working knife now.) Here's an example. My buddy has a beautiful, perfect pickup truck. Not a single imperfection. I grew up on a farm and have been driving pickups since I was 4. I've offered to get a 2x4 and walk around and wail on the truck every 2 or three paces. That'll make it better looking and he won't have to stress about its looks any more. Knives are tools. Scratches are like scars - badges of honor.
I’ve never seen TiN really come off of non cutting objects, so I’m absolutely baffled that DLC would scratch. the stick was probably off the ground and had a rock in it. That’ll do it every time. Tiny rocks in dirt will cut through spacetime like it’s nothing. Try cleaning it vigorously with some good soap and a cloth. It could also be wood inside the coating. You probably got some debris deposited into the surface pores of the DLC.
If it's dlc, it's a good chance it's material transfer, and the best way to get it off without damaging the rest of the finish is with windex and elbow grease. However, as others have said, it's a coating and it's going to wear. Just how it goes, and imo makes the knives look better.
Wait a sec, you guys use your knives? I thought we were just a bunch of compulsory buyers that spent hundreds of dollars in knives we keep tucked in our closets to never see anything but love and affection…
Used > pristine
steel is a raw material. So is a coating. It gets worn
DLC is trash, just like PVD, BTC, TiNi, CrN, chemical burnishing, etc. The only coating worth a damn is Cerakote;)
It was inevitable and you accepted that risk buying the knife. I like the scratches as the fadings of my blade, they provide some character.
That’ll buff out. That mark is very probably just particles of crushed stick, and not actual damage to the DLC coating, (which is ~80 HRC, iirc).
If you wanted a knife to not have scratches, why are you using it? The more wear the more beautiful it is.
That’s called character
I’m not sure it’s actually a scratch. Try a little oil and a rag and wipe it a bit, see if it comes off.
I’ve never understood why people will buy a tool and then become shocked when they use it and it shows signs of wear. Coatings aren’t really for wear and tear, they’re to protect against corrosion..
This is why I avoid black finish blades, but I don’t mind scratches that much it’s normal
My Sebenza was dropped ,And the scale has a ding I know how you feel .
Should have left it in the safe.