Coatings of Many Colors

Very thin surface coatings can be applied to nearly any knife or blade. Almost 20% of American Cutting Edge's customers choose to have an after-market coating applied to their blades before shipping. Why? The main purpose of a coating is to increase the wear life of the blade. Increased blade life is achieved through coatings in two ways; the coating will increase the hardness of the cutting edge and the coating will fill out the small valleys that form during the sharpening/grinding process. The reduction of these grind lines provide a more uniform and smooth cutting surface, increasing blade life. Because coated blades are both harder and smoother, friction is effectively reduced, performance and life are significantly improved. Coated blades increase production by reducing machine down-time due to build-up edges on knives; reduce tool breakage; reduce scrap rates by holding close tolerances and finishes; reduced tool costs by reducing the need for replacement blades; and increased productivity by increasing speeds and feeds by as much as 50% in some cases.

American Cutting Edge’s coatings are applied by a valued partner with whom we have worked for almost a quarter of a century. The proprietary process layers on very thin coatings only angstroms thick, building the final result and providing absolute control over thickness and uniformity. The processes and equipment used allow the blades to be coated at temperatures less than 250 deg, assuring that there is no annealing or softening of the substrate and no warpage to affect dimensional stability.

Why do we call them the “Coatings of Many Colors”? Because they are just that. In most cases, each coating has a very individual physical appearance that makes it stand out. Such as:

*   TiN: Titanium Nitrate has a bright gold* surface color. Customers will often call in and request a “gold blade”. TiN provides the least added wear life to blades, but can be a good choice when price is critical. TiN will typically cost less, depending on blade size and quantity, but the added wear life can be 5 to 10 times longer than a carbon steel blade.

*  TiC: Titanium Carbide has a gray* surface color. TiC can be a high performing surface coating and may add additional wear life of 20 to 30 times over a standard carbon blade.

*  Boron Carbide: is a black* colored surface coating that is often referred to as “ceramic” or “extreme”. It is one of our biggest selling coatings. The added wear life can be up to 20+ times longer than a carbon steel blade.

*  Teflon: this is usually a clear* coating that is generally used to increase the lubricity of the blade surface. Teflon can be good for adhesive cutting applications to keep the blade edge and surface free from “gumming up”.

A number of coatings are FDA approved and allow you to run tool steels in applications that would typically have been “stainless only” in the past.

American Cutting Edge is proud to have been one of the fore-runners in the offering of the cost-cutting products since their introduction into the marketplace. Our long relationship with our coating partner gives us the ability to work with customers to determine which, if any, coatings is best for their application. (As discussed in our previous newsletters, sometimes the re-engineering of a cutting angle or a different material can improve blade wear and performance.) Our product managers are well-versed in the different qualities of each coating and look forward to discussing customer’s needs, based on application, quality, and cost. If you think coating application might be something to consider to reduce your costs and increase your blade life, please contact us or give us a call:  888-252-3372 

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