Black coated Stainless? Sales Gimmick?

[wildromanian]

Is there any real value to a black coated stainless knife? Stainless will usually not rust unless used under the most severe of conditions and then down right neglected. I can see the advantage of a black coated blade for military use but for hunting a brushed stainless reflects very little light.

Perhaps the black coating is much more of a sales gimmick than really having any real practical value. Thoughts gentlemen?

[philco]

IMO, a hunting knife does not gain a thing by having the black finish on it. Neither does a multi tool, but I've seen those for sale as well. I suspect you are correct in your assumption that the black coating is primarily a marketing gimmic. If that's what you like go for it. If you were using a knife in a situation where it was imperative to avoid detection, the black coating would have its merits, but on a hunting knife, the knife will be in its sheath and out of sight until the game is down. Once you are field dressing that big old buck, it won't care what kind of finish is on the knife you're using. That's my opinion, but to each his own. I'll admit I have a coated Buck Nighthawk and a Kershaw Blackout in my collection, though I doubt I'll ever use either one while hunting, and I'm way to old to be doing anything where I need to avoid detection.

Phil