154CM dulling quickly on BM530. Similar knives with better steels?

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Bishop2Queen's6

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Jun 8, 2011
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Man! I am sharping this knife at least once a month. I'm afraid it will be a toothpick by the end of the year!

I EDC a Benchmade 530 Mel Pardue with 154CM blade steel. I open shipping boxes and cut tape with it primarily at my work, but I find myself sharpening this a lot more than my Spyderco Military with S30V which I rotated out in favor for a lighter EDC with a smaller pocket presence.

The S30V on the military I sharpened maybe once every 3-4 months, but this BM530 just dulls so quickly.

Is there a similar knife to the BM530 but with S30V, S35V blade steel? I want to keep the light weight, slim style blades.
 
I think the REI 530 used S30-V.

Once a month isn't bad at all.. I've had 154-CM and ATS 34 that's needed sharpening within a day of use.
 
asdf12345 said:
I think the REI 530 used S30-V.

Once a month isn't bad at all.. I've had 154-CM and ATS 34 that's needed sharpening within a day of use.
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I use 154cm pretty heavily and I also have to sharpen within a day of use frequently. Heavy use though.
 
M390 Ritter grip is a nice suggestion. Once a month isn't bad at all though! You may be better off with weekly touch-ups rather than waiting for your knife to get dull. Maybe even just stropping every day or two.
 
spketch said:
M390 Ritter grip is a nice suggestion. Once a month isn't bad at all though! You may be better off with weekly touch-ups rather than waiting for your knife to get dull. Maybe even just stropping every day or two.
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This^^^
 
Bishop2Queen's6 said:
Man! I am sharping this knife at least once a month. I'm afraid it will be a toothpick by the end of the year!
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How are you sharpening it?

If you're not using a strop, I'd recommend trying one. I regularly use soft 154CM blades, all it takes to get them back to scary sharp is a few swipes on a loaded strop (with Bark River stropping compound). Very little material is removed, and it makes it easy to get a very sharp edge.
 
I prefer "soft" 154CM as well since I only carry Emersons. I can go at least a month of use without a sharpening but I'm not afraid to sharpen daily if the need requires it. I'll echo what MatthewSB said and use a loaded strop to maintain the edge. My personal preference is well used 2000 grit sandpaper. It buffs the edge and doesn't remove too much material.
 
Bishop2Queen's6 said:
Man! I am sharping this knife at least once a month. I'm afraid it will be a toothpick by the end of the year!

I EDC a Benchmade 530 Mel Pardue with 154CM blade steel. I open shipping boxes and cut tape with it primarily at my work, but I find myself sharpening this a lot more than my Spyderco Military with S30V which I rotated out in favor for a lighter EDC with a smaller pocket presence.

The S30V on the military I sharpened maybe once every 3-4 months, but this BM530 just dulls so quickly.

Is there a similar knife to the BM530 but with S30V, S35V blade steel? I want to keep the light weight, slim style blades.
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I agree about a different knives. I used to have a 530 myself. In my opinion, the blade stock is too thin for anything other than light use. I think a Spyderco Para-Military 2 would be a better choice if you are looking for a lightweight, medium use knife.
 
154CM has a lower carbide content than S30V, so won't hold an edge as well. There may be other factors affecting edge-holding, as well, such as heat treat, hardness, geometry, etc. Both Benchmade's and Emersons 154CM isn't particularly great at edge holding, judging from my Grippie and my CQC-7A. Wish they'd both switch to CPM154, which is reportedly twice as tough as 154CM.
 
MatthewSB said:
How are you sharpening it?

If you're not using a strop, I'd recommend trying one. I regularly use soft 154CM blades, all it takes to get them back to scary sharp is a few swipes on a loaded strop (with Bark River stropping compound). Very little material is removed, and it makes it easy to get a very sharp edge.
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I sharpen with a WSKS.
 
Another thing you can do is try to clean the blade with Benchmade Blue cleanser or another similar cleaner. I daily carry a 470 Emissary and primarily cut tape and boxes as well. Many times I clean the blade and it is back to working sharp. I know the 470 is S30V but I think the tape residue gets gummed up in the micro edge and causes premature dulling. Similar to gutting and Elk and your knife gets dull from all of the fats that build up in the micro edge.

I don't know if this will help but it has worked well for me.
 
Sell the BM and get a LW Spyderco Manix 2 in CTS BD1 or another similar steel. I am still a BM lover, but after using Spydercos I see a great deal of difference in the cutting abilities. I love BM knives, but have seen the same situation you are experiencing. They dull quickly.
 
Para 2 is a little too big. I really like the form factor and light weight of the BM530, just not the blade steel. I guess I'll rotate in the para 2, see how that goes.
 
I don't have any experience with 154cm. Is CPM154 any better at holding an edge?
 
Bishop2Queen's6 said:
... I open shipping boxes and cut tape with it primarily at my work, but I find myself sharpening this a lot ...
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TheBladeMerchant said:
Another thing you can do is try to clean the blade ... I think the tape residue gets gummed up in the micro edge and causes premature dulling ... I don't know if this will help but it has worked well for me.
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:thumbup: I've seen this problem as well - blade loses penetration ability as tape-residue thickens the edge. Stropping with a fine abrasive as others have suggested may "sharpen" the edge without having to remove ANY metal if it just cleans off this gum. But be careful not to round-over your edge too much. I keep a green (1200 grit) DMT around to clean/restore an apex on any steel with ease, though you might prefer the edge-finish from just the red (600 grit) or blue (325).

Also consider how thick the angle and edge-shoulder of the blade - a blade that is 15-dps but 0.030" at the shoulder will take a lot more effort to cut and will build up residue more quickly than one that is 15-dps and only 0.010" at the shoulder. *shrug* just a thought.
 
As many have suggested try to touch up the edge at least once week. I do that with all my knives and they stay extremely sharp.
 
tsa1 said:
I don't have any experience with 154cm. Is CPM154 any better at holding an edge?
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It's the same steel.

OP,

Sharpen to a coarse finish, DMT coarse, Fine India, belt sander are all good options. I had trouble with edge retention on 154cm until I started using a very coarse edge.
 
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