154 CM

NPT

NPT

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Nov 3, 2018
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The knife I carry daily is a BM UFO II in 154 CM. It doesn't get abused, mostly cuts cardboard, shrinking wrap, plastic banding, tape, and an occasional rubber air line. I sharpened it recently, and it shaved hair & cut newspaper like nobody's business. I don't recall using it excessively since then, but yet, It seemed overly dull again. Wouldn't cut newspaper for shit. Little effort to get it back, but seemed to go dull quick. It's sharpened to 25 deg, I think.

Any opinions on this steel?
 
I don't care for 154 CM. I have two knives in that steel, a Grippie and an Emerson (which I reshaped to a V edge). Neither one holds an edge very well or slices well, the latter due to the rather thick blade geometry. CPM 154 is another matter altogether -- my BassPro 110 with its coated blade is a great slicer (due in no small part to the 110's hollow grind) and holds an edge significantly longer.
 
Doesn’t Grimsmo put it in their $950 Norseman? I’d say if it’s good enough for that it’s good enough for daily use.
 
I like 154CM. It’s what I learned to sharpen on at the beginning of my serious knife collecting 15 years ago. It sharpens easy , maintains easy and has good corrosion resistance. It has since been outclassed by other steels but 154CM remains a solid performer. It’s a great steel in my book.
 
I have no problem with 154CM. It's not as fancy a steel but easy to maintain and relatively good with corrosion which is why Emerson uses it. I wouldn't say it's the best at anything but decent/good at most.
 
This is another post to add to the numerous report of inconsistency with Benchmade 154CM.

Many other companies make knives out of the same steel, but none has I hear of problem as as much as Benchmade. Maybe their higher price ask for better quality?
 
Nothing wrong with 154cm in my opinion. For me at least there are some knives that just don't keep an edge the way I expect them too. I deal with this by sharpening at the end of the day, usually just using a strop. I have one knife that just will not get particularly sharp at all (a Remington Bullet Knife made by Great Eastern). I can get it sharp, but never scary sharp.

In any case, Benchmade contributes heavily to the same leftist politicians who want to remove our knife and gun rights, so that thing would go straight into the trash if it were mine. But that's just me.
 
I don’t mind 154CM at all. It’s easy enough for someone with novice sharpening skills (me) to maintain, and has never failed to cut what I need to cut. I have a bunch of Finch knives that use the steel and they have not let me down.
 
As mentioned, it may be a wire edge left from sharpening. It could also be that 154CM is an average steel compared to the steels offered today. Sharpens easily and holds a decent edge. Nothing special.
 
tokerblue said:
As mentioned, it may be a wire edge left from sharpening. It could also be that 154CM is an average steel compared to the steels offered today. Sharpens easily and holds a decent edge. Nothing special.
Click to expand...
This maybe the case about newer blade steels eclipsing 154CM but that doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with old blade steels. To me the handle shape, handle material, lock design and operation(if there is one), and blade shape is much more important to me than the steel the blade is made out of. There are limits to what blade steel that I will accept, I am not going to buy a cheap knife using Pakistani no-name steel, but 420HC from Buck knives? Sure, I have no problem with that if I like everything else about the knife.
 
NPT said:
The knife I carry daily is a BM UFO II in 154 CM. It doesn't get abused, mostly cuts cardboard, shrinking wrap, plastic banding, tape, and an occasional rubber air line. I sharpened it recently, and it shaved hair & cut newspaper like nobody's business. I don't recall using it excessively since then, but yet, It seemed overly dull again. Wouldn't cut newspaper for shit. Little effort to get it back, but seemed to go dull quick. It's sharpened to 25 deg, I think.

Any opinions on this steel?
Click to expand...
25 each side? 50 inclusive is a thick edge, 25 inclusive would be a laser beam.

If all else fails, send to BM for the lifesharp and they will service it for you.
 
I have a KME sharpener, that is set to 25 degrees. It has daimond stones, and like I said, I can get the edge VERY sharp. I'm betting that the 1500 grit stone is getting that wire edge off.

As far as Benchmade, yes, I have heard about their politics, though I don't know much about that. As it turns out, I have moved on from them, more because I think they could do better at their price point. But I'm certainly not going to chuck this one. I'll eventually sell it. If it was up to me, I'd buy knives in S35VN.
 
154CM will hold a good edge for a fair amount of time. Not as well as D2 or PM steels, but among melt alloys, it's good stuff.
I would suspect a wire edge. (I also consider that if you mean "25 degrees per side", then that is kind of blunt for slicing news paper. And if you mean 25 degrees inclusive, then that's a tad on the thin side for non-PM alloys. )
 
I have sworn off buying Benchmades with 154CM. I have several, including an AFO II that I have used a lot. In my experience, Benchmade 154CM is no better than 440C but costs an awful lot more, and it is inferior in all respects to S30V. My AFO II needs sharpening about three times as often as my Bugout in S30V. But if Benchmade made an AFO III with good steel, I would buy it.

knifesteelnerds.com

Knife Steels Rated by a Metallurgist - Toughness, Edge Retention, and Corrosion Resistance - Knife Steel Nerds

Steel Metallurgist Larrin Thomas uses tests of knife steels to rate the steels and explains the factors that control performance.
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My Grips in 154cm work well as an all around EDC. I have not noticed anything unusual about the alloy. It does a good job resisting chips.
 
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