tenifer finish-reply to Sal

[Springer]

Sal, in response to your two questions from my previous post: 1-Glock's tenifer finish produces a 69 Rockwell Cone hardness(diamond being 70) by means of a nitrade bath at 500 degrees Centigrade. Any scratchs are actually deposits from the other object and can be removed by wiping. It's a black matte finish and 99% salt-water corrosion resistant. I think I read somewhere that its Gaston Glock's proprietary process, but not sure. Glock Inc. in Smyrna, GA can be reached at 770-432-1202. Just a thought, since you collaborated with Massad Ayoob, he would probably have some contacts to follow-up with(just placed an order for his knife) From a consumer perspective, the Military, Police, Endura, etc, in G-10 and tenifer finished blades would be hard to beat!! I think there would be a huge demand if you could do from a technical/business perspective. With your company's reputation and not being a competitor to Glock, maybe... 2-The KnifeCenter in their news section described them as the last of an old batch produced some years ago and were only able to get a few of each model(police, dragonfly, worker). Purchased on the assumption they were old ones you did with black titanium carbonitrate. Based on condition of boxes and a sticker indicating "BLAK-TI FINISH" would guess they are original. However, blade steel is ATS-55, not GIN1/G-2 as on my older police models?? Either way, they're good carry pieces! Thanks!

[sal]

Thanx Springer, we'll check it out.

sal

[cntrline]

I am not 100% sure, but I think that tenifer is a silver finish, the matte black finish on Glocks is phosphate.

[vampyrewolf]

You know, something like the Native(50/50) with a G-10 handle, Tennifer coating on the blade, would be the ideal knife. Not too big, big not about to weaken...

custom orders?

We all start with 10 fingers. Those with Spydies have 9 to spare, Still need a thumb. Good thing I still have 8 to spare...

[Fozzy]

I carried the same Glock on duty for almost 11 years. We replaced them last year with new Glocks because we were offered a deal we couldn't refuse. So I feel qualified to make a couple comments on the Tenifer finish.

First, the finish will show some wear over time. The rear of the slides and the points where the holster contacts the slide tend to show wear. HOWEVER- Even though the metal appears to have wear, the finish is still intact. My understanding is that the tenifer finish actually penetrates the metal surface by several microns making it almost impossible to actually 'wear' the finish. I believe the hardness rating of 69 on the RCH scale is correct. I also believe that the Glock has a black phosphate finish on top of the tenifer. The other noteworthy observation is that during 11+ years of holster carry exposed to all types of weather as well as periodically carrying the firearm close to the body, the only part of the pistol that ever exhibited any rust at all was one of the assembly pins. By coating a high-carbon steel with the tenifer finish, it becomes essentially rust-free. Great stuff!

I know what some people say but I'll take my Combat-Tupperware anytime!!




Ben

"No good deed goes unpunished."

[dirk_diggler]

Glock barrels and slides are made from quality steel which has been treated with a special "Tenifer" process. This colorless carbo-nitrate formula enriches the steel with oxygen, sealing its pores. Tenifer makes the steel extremely hard (as hard as industrial diamond on the Rockwell scale) and corrosion resistant. The steel will not scratch or rust, period! In fact, the slide is so hard you can use it to sharpen your knives.

The barrel is treated both inside and out. Because of this, Glock barrels do not show the normal wear associated with untreated barrels by other manufacturers. Glock, Inc., has one barrel which has fired one million rounds and still works; another has fired 300,000 rounds and still shoots better than 1½" groups!

Glock also parkerizes the slide and barrel to give them a matte black color. While the parkerizing might wear off showing "bare" steel beneath, the Tenifer is still there. In fact, it penetrates the steel to a depth of three microns. Even a Glock which has lost all of its matte black finish is still scratch- and rust-proof.

[The CoPilot]

This is an ancient, ancient thread, but I love the idea of a Spyderco knife with a tennifer finish treatment. All of you Glock owners out there know what I'm talking about. How about a new run of the Endura 4 with Glock armorer's tool and a tennifer finish on the blade and tool?! :eek:

[butch]

problem if true that the finish is put on at 500C then most steels would not be ok for use

HSS and some more wild CPM types temper at 1000-1100Fbut the standard spyderco steels would most likly not be worth using after tempering at the high end

[The CoPilot]

problem if true that the finish is put on at 500C then most steels would not be ok for use

Excellent point! :rolleyes:

Also found this in an old thread:


Tenifer treatment is colorless. It is an acid type treatment that cannot be used in the US, due to EPA Laws and Regs. Tenifer actually penetrates the metal down to 3 microns, and makes the metal extremely hard. (The Glock slide is actually a medium hard steel with the battlehard tenifer armored exterior.) Tenifer treatment would make a knife blade far too brittle, IMHO.

Mike - F/A Instructor & Glock Armorer