The study of the commutation of atmospheric pressure noble gas arcs on cold cathodes made of Al, Cu, Ti, graphite, Au, Pd, and Pt is extended to W cathodes. Rods with a diameter of 2 mm are inserted in a UHV tight stainless steel vessel filled with Ar 5.6 or Kr 4.8. The negatively biased electrodes are brought into interaction with arc plasma by a magnetic blast field. Their end faces are mostly polished with diamond grinding powder; some are electrolytic polished, others additionally covered with a thick oxide layer or pasted with W powder. Moreover, electrodes are investigated being doped with Al, K, and Si or doped with ThO2. The arc commutation is observed by short time photography, streak camera records, and temporally highly resolved optical spectroscopy for a lower and higher voltage applied between the arc plasma and the commutation electrode (CE). Varying the electrode properties revealed that basically ionized vapour of electrode material and less distinctly lowering of the work function by doping accelerate the arc commutation. It is initiated by plasma ions, which initially generate secondary electrons across the whole end face of the electrode. Since the electron emission varies locally, the multiplication of ions within the plasma layer by emitted electrons varies too. The positive feedback between both provokes a constriction of the commutation current and the power input into an arc spot. The electrode vapour promotes at first the development of an arc spot but finally quenches it by cooling the plasma layer in front of it.