HAIII finish. Is black as strong as gray?

[Patsplace]

I've got to replace my Dereelight CL1H and when I bought mine they came in gray and I was really happy with the finish. Now they come in black and I'm wondering whether the black stands up like the gray. Sure looks nice.

Thanks,
Pat

 

[Jarl]

They'll be equally tough, but the contrast between black and bare al will be more noticeable than the contrast between grey and aluminium, so damage to the black anodise will be more noticeable to the human eye.

 

[45/70]

Don't quote me on this, but I believe natural anodize is a bit harder than any of the colored varieties. What ever is used to make the color (I believe carbon black, in the case of black) dilutes the overall product, and reduces the hardness. I don't think it makes much of a difference, but still.... In addition, as Jarl pointed out, natural wears better due to it's color being similar to aged aluminum. Keep in mind however, that black anodize can be touched up with a Sharpie! This doesn't do much good on knurling or places that really get rubbed though.

Dave

 

[carrot]

Don't quote me on this, but I believe natural anodize is a bit harder than any of the colored varieties. What ever is used to make the color (I believe carbon black, in the case of black) dilutes the overall product, and reduces the hardness. I don't think it makes much of a difference, but still.... In addition, as Jarl pointed out, natural wears better due to it's color being similar to aged aluminum. Keep in mind however, that black anodize can be touched up with a Sharpie! This doesn't do much good on knurling or places that really get rubbed though.

Dave

This is also what I heard.

 

[Patsplace]

Thanks guys, much appreciated. I think that I'll order another gray one and then find myself a belt sheath that is good quality and fits the CL1H well.

The last one that I used was a DealExtreme unit that worked not too badly but the sewing packed it in and the light ended up in my check through luggage and the bag got stolen.

A fella does get attached to things like that.

Regards,
Pat