Been playing around with a black oxide finish that I'm really digging and plan to be using more in the future.

 

These are the first two knives that I've sold with that finish.  Benghazi Warfighters in 5160 with black Tero Tuf handles and flared stainless tube rivets, black Kydex sheaths.  One went to Australia and the other to Canada.

 

 

 

And what the blades looked like without the black oxide.

 

how do you do the black oxide? i like the black (ish) finish, and try to get it on my blades. usually turns brown and mostly by luck. is it a chemical process?

I'm ok with the look either way. Both are appealing to me. My only concern would be the longevity of the oxide treatment unless it's baked on. There is a company in Portland,Or that does spray and baked on finishes for some of the big, high volume production makers.

I haven't taken the owner up on his offer to try it but will one of these days.

 

Question: I assume you are doing your oxide treatment in your shop? If so, will you please explain how you do it?

thanks,

John

It's a simple process.  It's a chemical solution from Caswell.  I dip the whole knife in for a while, rinse it off, then brush on the sealer that came with the kit.

We did gun blueing at the gunsmith I worked at for awhile. Some steel alloys, or hardened parts would come out with a reddish hue, and Brownell's sold a desperate salt for those.

Birchwood Casey , DuoLite, and others make solutions for black oxide. Some are a cold process while the one we used was done hot 292°F. The biggest thing we found affecting longevity was the final finish. Too smooth, or sealed by power buffing didn't last nearly as long as say a 230 grit hand finish.

Stormcrow have you ever tried Parkerizing?

ahhh, my neck of the woods. Where about is Aus did you send it Stormcrow. Also you might like a few things on Australian blade forums, have some ABS JS's here now among them. Few of the blokes are on here as well. Some of the work and inspirations on there is awesome. engravers, jewellers/knifemakers, sheathmakers to name a few of the craftsmen on there. 

Biggundoc - Nope, never tried Parkerizing.  I got turned on to the Caswell finish by seeing it on Daniel Winkler's Winkler II lineup, and then seeing the process on their website.

 

Aden - It went to a suburb of Sydney.  There certainly are some talented smiths down there.  :)

Are there more of these available?

Not right now.  I'm actually on hiatus from accepting new orders for forged blades while I work to catch up on the backlog of commissions I currently have.  The exception being for active duty military, law enforcement, or first responders.

 

These were left over inventory from a knife show that then got put up for sale.  Actually, they sold before I got a chance to post pics, but the customers asked me what I had on hand.

 

Got a batch of commissioned Benghazi Warfighters in the works right now, though.

the blackish finish i get is usually a combination of temper colours and oil from the quench. but i`ll be looking into the black oxide

Stormcrow,

Congratulations on the backlog of work. Nothing says good work like product demand.

Peter

You might want to explore Parkerizing. It is a simple finish to do, and just takes 15 minutes in the solution. Bead blast, and dunk, that's it.