154 cm benchmade

I like Emerson knives.
I dropped my gentleman jim and it hit the concrete tip first. It was damaged but not broken.
I have seen more than one thread of someone doing the same and showing off there broken tip.
In my opinion, that makes for great value in a knife.
 
It's awesome stuff @ 62 hrc but at factory hardness and HT its not so great, though really tough.
 
This was the first steel I recall carrying the label of "super steel". 440C had been the old standard of stainless steels for custom makers around here. Not well known until used by a certain well known knifemaker. It caught on fast and helped a whole generation realize the best knives didn't have to come from forging. Stock removal could make excellent knives that could keep up with the best from the forging crowds, which caused them to begin pushing the envelope as well, leading to better knives through better control of the whole process, cryo, etc..

154cm is, or acts like a stainless high speed steel with a high and low temper. It's a clean steel well ahead of 440A, and C when done well. Of course BG42 ( stainless M50 HS bearing steel) took it even further with clean steel, and better wear resistance along with higher attainable hardness levels.

We sure have come a long way since then. Now there are people proclaiming new "super steels" every other day usually on steels that are only new to them, or repackages of already existing steels.

And, yes. I still like 154cm, and better yet CPM 154. I also like 14-4or whatever Latrobe called their version. ATS 34, and RWL 34 have found their markets as well. To be honest I owned an ATS 34 bladed knife before an actual 154cm knife as when I finally had the money to buy the more expensive knives ATS 34 had made some inroads into the cutlery world.
 
154 CM is my favorite steel to sharpen; never takes long to bring it to a scary sharp edge, and stays a lot longer than most other steels I use. Excellent rust resistance to cap it off. I'd have to say it's my favorite user steel, even over S30V and VG-10, both of which are also great steels on their own merits.
 
To the OP's original point... I'll join the crowd that likes 154CM, even over newer steels. I haven't used anything that offers me more than I can get from 154CM. I'm just an average user. I carry a pocket knife (Emerson mini-CQC15), I cut stuff, I touch the knife up when it needs it. Some of the stuff I cut is natural material, some is synthetic warehouse stuff, some is even light metal (computer & electric wiring). I value toughness and corrosion resistance over extreme edge holding. I've never pushed 154CM out of it's performance range with my uses and likely never will.

As far as the cost of a knife compared to its value to me, a lot more than blade steel goes into my decision to buy a knife. I'm buying the whole package and how well that overall package works for me. I'm happy to pay more for a knife I really like and have confidence in regardless of whether it's a newer high-end steel or a more common run-of-the-mill steel.
 
I'm a fan of 154 cm, it's just a good all around steel. It doesn't do any one thing amazingly, but it does do a lot of things good enough. It's what is on my EDC right now, and I dig. it.
 
It´s not only the steel grade. It is, how the maker and his experience with the steel grade too, that makes the blade and edge.

I have had an older ATS 34 - Mini AFCK from BM that was terrible (i have send it to BM and got an new one, wich i sold) and have two BM from their HK - line in 154CM that are so great, i really love those blades. The edges hold up for long, no matter what was cut, no microchips or that. After seeking my good luck in carbon steel i found my trust in stainless back on those tow blades. I think BM really is experienced in that steel grade so it´s better this, than any other super steel off someone, who is new to it.

If you like the whole knife, everything is great.
 
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