Although this question has a bearing on a knife I may purchase, it really has nothing to do with the knife itself, rather it is about anodizing the handle of the knife-to do or not to do-that is the question.

I posted a question about the knife itself on another forum, so I won't belabor you with its particulars.

And since it's not really a knife question, I posted this in the Lounge.

The handle has one side of titanium, the other covered in G10. A seller anodizes the titanium on the metal side to a beautiful bronze. Other sellers just leave the knife as it comes from the factory.

I am clumsy, I have dropped every single handgun or knife I ever loved enough to keep, so it's a sure bet this one will hit the dirt/concrete/tile or ....

I asked the seller whether the anodizing would protect the titanium (which, as you know, scratches easily) and he said "the anodizing was the titanium itself so it behaves just like the titanium" which I believe means it'll scratch just like the un-anodized/colored titanium.

So, if I buy the knife (it's not cheap, by the way) and get one with just the factory finish, wouldn't I be better off when it gets scratched than with the pretty anodized one?

Price is the same. This seller just makes his prettier or more noticeable.

I think one can get a type of brush to lessen the appearance of scratches on titanium.

One side titanium the other G10?
Can just you get G10 on both sides?

__________________
NRA LIFE MEMBER

I could be completely wrong here, but they anodize aluminum. I have a titanium knife and it does not scratch easily.

Ok, so they do anodize titanium for dental implant (mostly). If you google anodizing titanium, there is a video for doing it at home. Good luck. I am wondering if you really have aluminum, then there are spot repairs available.

Nope, can't get the G10 on both sides.

And, it is titanium which is the material that comprises the handle of the knife. It is stonewashed except that this one seller anodizes in several colors, including an American Flag.

Well, I am thinking that this anodizing may not be the best thing since sliced bread for a big, EDC knife owned by a true klutz.

I was troubled by the very short answers I got from the seller about the finish and went to olne very reliable source I use when I'm not sure-my wife.

She looked at photos of both knives online-the anodized and the stonewashed and pointed out that, while the anodized was beautiful (is beautiful what you need in an everyday carry knife?), it would certainly show scratches worse than the stonewashed one.

So, overcome with a desperate need to spend money , I ordered it last evening and it will be here this afternoon-the stonewashed one that is.

It's the Zero Tolerance 0452CF and it's about twice the size of my old 940 which I have carried for twenty years.

Bob

Anodizing does protect the surface of the alloy (i.e. from galvanic corrosion), but any impact or abrasion that's hard enough will show.

I have yet to see any metal treatment or coating that will survive a bad drop against a hard surface without any marks/surface damage or wear. However, from a cosmetic standpoint scratches on uncoated steel/Ti etc would be easier to buff out. Black anodizing could be spot retouched with Birchwood Casey's aluminum black, but there probably aren't many options for other colors.