Knives don’t look like complex implements, but any type of blade beyond the most utilitarian contains numerous distinguishing characteristics. Shapes of cutting edges, metal types, handle materials, lengths, widths, tip points, fixed or folding blades, methods of blade deployment — there are a *lot* of factors that make each knife unique. Many people, though, fail to take into account one incredibly important consideration: the blade’s finish. Imparting both practical and aesthetic qualities, blade finishes make an immense difference in a knife’s usage and appearance.

This article will highlight different blade finishes used on both Western and Japanese knives, discuss their production process, and explain their various qualities.

Common Western Knife Finishes

Western knife finishes have tended toward chemically and mechanically applied finishes that aren’t a natural part of the forging process. Think of them more as add-ons rather that organic parts of knife creation. As we will see in the section on Japanese knives below, Asian finishes are quite different.

Some of the most common Western knife finishes are …

Mirror Polished

Our first example differs from the Western pattern of primarily employing external means to create a specific finish. Mirror-polished finishes are instantly recognizable and most commonly found on display pieces rather than those intended for everyday use. Extensive, careful polishing give these blades their distinctive reflective surfaces, but another factor is the chemical composition of the steel itself. High carbon content enables that bright sheen and also makes it impractical to subject these knives to any sort of hard use.

Polished

Similar to mirror-polished finishes but significantly more practical, polished finishes aren’t as reflective as their close cousin, but remain bright enough to serve as display pieces. Polished knives are less likely to suffer highly visible scuffs and scratches when employed as an EDC blade. However, they simply won’t stand up to extensive field use without suffering significant damage.

Satin

Arguably the most common Western knife finish, satin finishes remain in the same family as mirror-polished and mirror finishes, but the end result looks remarkably different. Sanding in a single direction with varying grades of abrasive yields a finish that looks bright in the light, yet remains non-reflective. Stain finishes manage to meld practicality with striking looks, a rare combination.

Stonewashed

Stonewashed blades also use abrasives as part of the finishing process, although not with the regular, ordered application that produces satin finishes. Rather, steel gets bombarded with the abrasive material in a tumbler, creating a gray patina that looks somewhat uniform. Scratches and nicks tend to blend in with a stonewashed finish, and concomitant acid treatment helps prevent corrosion, which is why many knife makers tend to add it to stonewashing.

Bead Blasting

Almost a subcategory of stonewashing, bead blasting involves firing extremely small plastic beads or even sand at a knife blade. The end result looks very similar to a stonewashed finish, but it’s more even (and some would say more attractive). While bead blasting isn’t a dramatic look, its dark, matte appearance can prove quite striking.

Gun Blue

Some argue that gun bluing is one of the oldest coatings known to man. However, the process that gave this finish its current name is significantly newer. Bluing today involves starting a chemical reaction that causes a protective coating of magnetite — which is in the same family as rust — to cover the exposed metal. Though you’ll hear bluing referred to as a singular process, there are actually three different types. The most thorough (and the one most commonly used in industrial contexts) involves starting the previously mentioned chemical reaction by heating the substances to 300 °F. Cold bluing is a more consumer-friendly process that doesn’t involve higher temperatures, but the substance applied simply colors the blade and offers far less protection than hot bluing. The final process, fume bluing, has fallen out of favor due to the large investment of labor and time required, but it provides a very thorough covering and proves highly resistant to water. Rather than applying the required chemicals with heat, fume bluing involves placing the metal and chemicals in a hermetically sealed container and allowing it to slowly oxidize.

Titanium Nitride

Also known as TiN, titanium nitride is technically a ceramic that appears in many different applications, including guns, costume jewelry, tools, car parts, aerospace manufacturing, military equipment, and medical equipment. While TiN looks a bit like powered red rust in its raw state, it takes on a golden, brassy sheen after application. TiN coatings are extremely thin, incredibly hard, and with a low friction coefficient. Coatings get applied by various forms of vapor deposition.

Teflon Black

Virtually everyone is aware that Teflon plays an important role in the kitchen, but it has also started to appear on knives. Teflon Black (aka Black-T) is a heartier version of the traditional Teflon that appears on blades and different kinds of military equipment. Though tough, hard, and low-friction, Teflon Black shouldn’t be used in food-related applications. Teflon itself is non-reactive and safe to use, but some of the chemicals employed in its fabrication may not be. Teflon-coated cookware gets heated to a high temperature, which burns off these chemicals. The same isn’t true for coated knives, though.

Hard Chrome

A very common coating, hard chrome gets employed in numerous industrial applications, and it shows up on screws, hydraulic components, auto parts, press punches, agricultural equipment, pump equipment, and textile equipment. Also, you’ll often find it on inexpensive tableware. By placing an item in an electrically charged bath of liquid chromium, manufacturers can provide a tough coating that stands up to wear, impacts, and corrosion. Some look down on hard chrome, but it does provide an excellent degree of protection and facilitate low friction cutting.

Common Japanese Knife Finishes

As we mentioned in our previous section, knife finishes that come from the United States or Europe tend to be applied to a knife after its creation and aren’t an organic part of the forging process. Not so with Japanese knives. Many of the finishes that you’ll find on these kinds of knives are integrally connected with metal selection, the forging process, the way in which the knife maker hammered out the steel, and/or exactly how long someone polished the metal. Whereas Western knives enjoy a high degree of uniformity from blade to blade, Japanese finish styles will vary significantly from forge to forge while still remaining recognizable. These finishes also tend to more commonly appear on kitchen knives or chef’s knives.

Typical Japanese knife finishes include the following …

Migaki

Knives with migaki (磨き) finishes owe their name to the verb that describes the very process of creating it. Migaki means “to polish,” and knives with migaki finishes bear some similarity to satin finishes, although a few producers may manage to coax out an almost mirrored sheen. The selection of softer grades of steel, though, is integral to creating this finish, and it has a steeper cutting edge, like most Japanese knives.

Kurouchi

Called “first black,” kurouchi (黒地) finish originates from an intentionally “incomplete” blacksmithing process. While the cutting edge of the blade is sharp, uniform, and burnished just as one might expect, the length closer to the spine retains divots from hammering and thick, black carbon accretion. An intentionally rustic look, kurochi finishes are dramatic in addition to providing protection against accidental impacts. However, they require careful cleaning so as to not scour away the carbon.

Tsuchime

The dimpling that sporadically appears on kurouchi finishes is the main attraction for tsuchime (槌目) finishes. The term means “hammered mark,” and these blades feature hand-pounded stippling across almost all of the metal, excepting the cutting edge. Not only does this create a wavy, watery look, tsuchime finishes may also help the knife release materials better during cutting.

Nashiji

Nashiji (梨子地) finishes create a more subtle look than tsuchime finishes, although they are somewhat related. Rather than producing dramatic dimples, nashiji finishes feature wavy, speckled textures somewhat reminiscent of pear skin. (Indeed, that texture inspired the finish’s name.) More rustic than migaki but less rough than kurouchi or tsuchime, it strikes a balance between display-worthy and rustic.

We list all of our coatings on each and every product page. View our premium high-quality otf knives with different blade finishes here.