BO on LM - has become a turn-off for me

[sawman]

I don't know at what point it happened, but I've come to dislike BO on my tools. Perhaps it's because it came off on my hands, I don't know, but to this day, I strongly prefer stainless for all my tools.

Which do you prefer? And Why?

[Etherealicer]

Stainless

I think its easier to spot how clean/dirty your tool is (especially if you also use your tool/knife for food). Easier to find when dropped in the dark.

Also I don't need my tools to be tacticool, so I don't see any benefit in BO.

[Kampfer]

I don't know at what point it happened, but I've come to dislike BO on my tools. Perhaps it's because it came off on my hands, I don't know, but to this day, I strongly prefer stainless for all my tools.

Which do you prefer? And Why?

Lol I always like stainless more.
LM known to have some sharp edges, I can file them down without that being visible on a stainless tool, it also maintain the new look much longer 

[ducttapetech]

BO. Less slick when wet or greasy. I also like the look better. Even more so when worn.

Nate
That's us mobile

[Breezy12]

I've always preferred stainless, even more so once I got into modding.

the BO look just doesn't do it for me.

[detron]

I think BO looks nicer,  BUT I seem to prefer SS    toss up for me I guess.

I do wish the BO tools came with a plain SS can opener,  then I would not worry at all   

[Zed]

Shinny SS for me !but worn bo does look cool 

[Lynn LeFey]

Not a fan of Black Oxide, here. For the same reasons Sawman mentioned. I hate getting that crap on me.

Visibility is another issue. I think I'd actually like one of those blaze orange LM tools.

I also just like shiny things.

And, the ONLY practical function of BO I can think of is all military related. There's a real dearth of Snipers in my area, so I don't tend to worry if I reflect light from my gear.

[Aloha]

I have no real NEED for BO other than I like the way it looks.  I do however LOVE my polished SS very much.

   did I answer?
 

[JNieporte]

I prefer black oxide.
1. It's less shiny. I hate shiny tools. Tools are made to be used, not look gleaming.
2. When worn, it looks much better. You can tell it's a tested piece of equipment.
3. It's less slippery when wet or greasy, or when your hands are.
4. Black oxide makes the tool spark less. To me, that's important.
5. The black oxide won't come off on your hands if you clean it when you first get it.

[Lynn LeFey]

5. The black oxide won't come off on your hands if you clean it when you first get it.

While I might not agree with your other statements, this one is simply not true. I had a SOG that was BO, cleaned the living smurf out of it. MULTIPLE times. Still left 'coal dust' all over my hands after several weeks.

Tools can BOTH be used AND be gleaming. The Swisstools come immediately to mind.

I very much doubt they'd use Black Oxide as a coating for spark plugs if it actually reduced sparking. Ala...
http://www.unitedplating.com/black-oxide.shtml

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just don't like statements that seem patently false to go unchallenged.

[rishardh]

I like the way BO looks but for the feel of opening the tools SS is nicer. Can't explain it's not that the BO tools has a rougher feel but SS tools has a nicer feel to it. It's like vanilla ice cream, local brands just taste better even though they are all good

[JNieporte]

5. The black oxide won't come off on your hands if you clean it when you first get it.

While I might not agree with your other statements, this one is simply not true. I had a SOG that was BO, cleaned the living smurf out of it. MULTIPLE times. Still left 'coal dust' all over my hands after several weeks.
Tools can BOTH be used AND be gleaming. The Swisstools come immediately to mind.
I very much doubt they'd use Black Oxide as a coating for spark plugs if it actually reduced sparking. Ala...
http://www.unitedplating.com/black-oxide.shtml
I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just don't like statements that seem patently false to go unchallenged.

My experience has been that cleaning the BO multi-tool with 100% acetone will get rid of the BO coming off on your hands. I acknowledge that your experience has been different.

One of the reasons SOG does the BO coating is to keep the tool non-sparking. This was mentioned by Chris@sog here in the past. A Leatherman rep also told me that this is a reason to go with BO. I've never had a BO tool spark on me before, but I've also never had a non-coated one spark.

[Lynn LeFey]

I've been reading on this since I posted it, and honestly can't find any reason to think black oxide reduces sparking. Magnetite (the material formed from black oxide process with a ferrous metal) will spark.

If anyone can come up with something solid to back up the claim of spark reduction, I'd be interested in seeing it.

For my part, I admit to not cleaning the SOG with acetone, as I had no idea what would do the trick, and that never came to mind.

[captain spaulding]

5. The black oxide won't come off on your hands if you clean it when you first get it.

While I might not agree with your other statements, this one is simply not true. I had a SOG that was BO, cleaned the living smurf out of it. MULTIPLE times. Still left 'coal dust' all over my hands after several weeks.

Tools can BOTH be used AND be gleaming. The Swisstools come immediately to mind.

I very much doubt they'd use Black Oxide as a coating for spark plugs if it actually reduced sparking. Ala...
http://www.unitedplating.com/black-oxide.shtml

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just don't like statements that seem patently false to go unchallenged.

I'm definitely not trying to get in the middle of this, but it all depends on how you define "clean". I am a person that is incredibly weird about oils, BO, or anything else being on my hands when I am not in a work environment and it can be cleaned off before going about my day. I have had people tell me that when they get a BO tool all they do is wipe it down with a paper towel and your good to go. No more BO on your hands. To me this is completely false and I have experience in doing this and can say they are incorrect. I will say that when I get a BO tool if I clean it under water with dish soap VERY WELL and dry it, it satisfies my insane problem with getting anything like that on my hands and I do not experience anything coming off on my hands. So it really depends on what you consider cleaning the tool entails.

[captain spaulding]

Looks like i'm a little late to the party. 

[JNieporte]

5. The black oxide won't come off on your hands if you clean it when you first get it.

While I might not agree with your other statements, this one is simply not true. I had a SOG that was BO, cleaned the living smurf out of it. MULTIPLE times. Still left 'coal dust' all over my hands after several weeks.

Tools can BOTH be used AND be gleaming. The Swisstools come immediately to mind.

I very much doubt they'd use Black Oxide as a coating for spark plugs if it actually reduced sparking. Ala...
http://www.unitedplating.com/black-oxide.shtml

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just don't like statements that seem patently false to go unchallenged.

I'm definitely not trying to get in the middle of this, but it all depends on how you define "clean". I am a person that is incredibly weird about oils, BO, or anything else being on my hands when I am not in a work environment and it can be cleaned off before going about my day. I have had people tell me that when they get a BO tool all they do is wipe it down with a paper towel and your good to go. No more BO on your hands. To me this is completely false and I have experience in doing this and can say they are incorrect. I will say that when I get a BO tool if I clean it under water with dish soap VERY WELL and dry it, it satisfies my insane problem with getting anything like that on my hands and I do not experience anything coming off on my hands. So it really depends on what you consider cleaning the tool entails.

For me, cleaning the entire tool with 100% acetone (including the insides of the handles with a flattened Q-tip) does the job and only requires one application. Even the plastic handle inserts of the Kick, Blast, etc. can be cleaned without harm.

[Lynn LeFey]

Maybe unrelated... some stuff on the corrosion resistance provided by Black Oxide seems to say that it's really only effective in combination with oil. So... do people with BO tools rub down their tools with a thin coat of oil?

All the examples I've seen have been 'dry', and didn't seem to have problems with corrosion.

[Aloha]

Is the entire spark plug BO?  I've not seen spark plugs with the terminal nor the electrodes coated?  I'm also not an expert but the article cited wasn't specific as to if the entire plug was BO, I have seen BO shells.

My BO Wave came to me used and has not made my hands black.  I did wipe my entire tool down with 3and1 so you might be on to something.     

[captain spaulding]

Maybe unrelated... some stuff on the corrosion resistance provided by Black Oxide seems to say that it's really only effective in combination with oil. So... do people with BO tools rub down their tools with a thin coat of oil?

All the examples I've seen have been 'dry', and didn't seem to have problems with corrosion.

I know for me personally I run my BO tools "dry".

[JNieporte]

Maybe unrelated... some stuff on the corrosion resistance provided by Black Oxide seems to say that it's really only effective in combination with oil. So... do people with BO tools rub down their tools with a thin coat of oil?

All the examples I've seen have been 'dry', and didn't seem to have problems with corrosion.

I clean mine with the 100% acetone then lubricate the pivots with a drop of TuffGlide. That's all. Never had a problem with BO rust resistance.

[Aloha]

Double post

[pietervn]

G'Day,

I have both SS and BO. In my opinion some LM's "looks" cool in BO i.e. OHT especially if a little used. My second favorite is the BO Surge. I usually wash them thoroughly with soap and hot water before use. I have had some BO come off, however that is only in the beginning of tool-use. Also, as mentioned before, one can see wear marks much easier on the BO tools. If one has notions to Obsessive Compulsive Behavior maybe stay with shinny SS. 

So, I'm for both, but only certain tools in BO.

Pete

[BASguy]

I personally like the look of a well worn BO tool.  I've go a BO MP600 that has not gotten any residue on me, but I got it used so it's likely it fowled its previous owner.  I've had a couple of BO Leatherman's in the past and have to say that since Leatherman's SS finish is not great, the BO seems to be more forgiving aesthetically anyway.
I don't really see BO tools as being very tactical.  Something about a tool and tactical just doesn't fit together for me. 
I've got to say, I've had light reflect off my Spirit more than one time that distracted me.  I wish it was BO


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[Monrogue]

I like both for different reasons.  I like the look of the BO and how they have character with use/wear.  However, I really like the looks of the SS, and think I prefer that a bit more.  I have primarily SS MTs, so I think that says which I prefer

[magicmike]

99% of my leatherman tools are stainless
but ive been collecting the bo models now

I like the matte finish and the black
I oil my tools weekly, and never had the bo rub off on my hands even new ones
but my hands are always dirty, oily, greasy because I work on stuff all the time

to me the bo has a better grip when your really dirty

[Miknitro]

Myself, SS, shiny please.
I was being lured by BO, but have since swayed from the feeling.
Or, a combination of both if done right, like how a shiny knife with blacked out handles appears might be OK though I don't know of any LT factory made though, it have to be made.

[Simian]

Took me a while to figure out why you didn't just buy your mulit tool some deodorant, I mean, if it has Bo then help it out. Then I figured it out, this is a black/stainless thing...

[Kampfer]

I like Shinny knfives. 

[Roche]

Stainless steel.  I understand what black oxide has to offer but I just don't have the need for it.