940 comparison: M4 vs s90v???

pnsxyr said:
My outlook on certain steels often called "super steels" has certainly changed since coming to this forum (and buying an EdgePro). It seems that almost any steel can be upkeep by any user if they are OK with the learning, the longer time investment that wear resistant steels sometimes have on work beyond touchups, and have the right materials (with the "right" ones fitting many different products of different styles at different prices). That makes super steels a lot less daunting and at least for me has historically caused me to have reservations with some of these steels.

I only use diamonds for ceramics. Ben Dale told me more or less that many diamond products wear at an accelerated rate, and are unnecessary aggressive for most usage (that portion applying to the EdgePro offerings). And of course they are also usually expensive. I probably use the silicone carbide 120 grit EP stone once or twice for every 100 or more times I use stones 1000 & and up. When I stated sharpening with a SharpMaker, I purchased the diamond rods and upon using them a few times, I realized that I was wearing them heavily and not using them in appropriate situations (the medium stone would have been as effective and reduced time by not requiring the extra corse step and not roughing up the edge so much that you need to spend forever on the next stone to fix this.)

I've not ever been able to master hand sharpening. I think some of that is because my hands aren't all that stable and sometimes they tend to shake lightly (neurological thing).
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Keep it up with the EP and you will keep getting better, just don't over think it too much and it will get easier as time goes on..
 
richstag said:
I only freehand and I work by feedback, so I can feel the apex actually cut vs. the bevel alone. This is how I do minimal burr. It has worked well for me. Have a great week Ank! I have to get back into work mode.
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Right on. I like to do that way as well. I respect detailed comment on the forum. and question and comment by Jim makes perfect sense.

I do not want to make impression to anyone who is willing to sharpen harder (more wear resistant steel) that is difficult.

I personally had better luck with diamond stone with freehand feedback sharpening, but again that is m experience as well.
 
JNewell said:
The correct hardness for the 940-1 is right on the BKC website here: http://www.benchmade.com/products/940

That this is the correct figure was confirmed by a Benchmade rep in a thread that several people here posted in, so it's not like you have to be part of the NSA to get this info... ;) :D
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Right. At the time of posting, I took the number from here. HRC for S90V per http://www.benchmade.com/images/table_blade_steels.gif HRC 57-58), and http://www.benchmade.com/products/940 shows 59-61 My point is that BKC should fix this, because they are the one doing heat treatment. ;)
 
Yes, and I have gone to great lengths with my personal testing and monitoring up to 100x magnification just to be able to substantiate and prove my perceived results. Its great to really be able to see what your feeling.

It can be very complex, but once you figure it out its simple to do :)

MobileFireLord said:
Right on. I like to do that way as well. I respect detailed comment on the forum. and question and comment by Jim makes perfect sense.

I do not want to make impression to anyone who is willing to sharpen harder (more wear resistant steel) that is difficult.

I personally had better luck with diamond stone with freehand feedback sharpening, but again that is m experience as well.
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From reading other threads and test results I've gathered that S90V has carbides in the steel that give it resistance to dulling, while M4 is tougher. I have a different knife with M4 and I noticed that it got fairly dull from cutting some cardboard boxes that I had. Then I read where someone had done a tremendous amount of cutting with a blade of S110V before it got dull. My numbers didn't compare with their numbers at all. Now I have similar blades in M4 and S110V that I am going to test side by side when I get enough cardboard stored up, hopefully to prove that my previous experience was a fluke and M4 is better than what I experienced.
 
bdmicarta said:
From reading other threads and test results I've gathered that S90V has carbides in the steel that give it resistance to dulling, while M4 is tougher. I have a different knife with M4 and I noticed that it got fairly dull from cutting some cardboard boxes that I had. Then I read where someone had done a tremendous amount of cutting with a blade of S110V before it got dull. My numbers didn't compare with their numbers at all. Now I have similar blades in M4 and S110V that I am going to test side by side when I get enough cardboard stored up, hopefully to prove that my previous experience was a fluke and M4 is better than what I experienced.
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It won't....

CPM M4 needs to be at like 65+ RC ideally for max edge retention to pull all the alloy into carbide formation, MAX is in the 67 range... But it won't be as tough in that range........ At the normal 62-64 range we see it at in folders is does OK, but it won't reach it's full potential...

It only has 4% Vanadium content... Same as S30V so it really needs to be at high hardness.

S110V and S90V both have 9% Vanadium with S110V at the advantage because it can be pushed into the 62-64 RC range while S90V is max at 61 RC.
 
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Ankerson said:
Keep it up with the EP and you will keep getting better, just don't over think it too much and it will get easier as time goes on..
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Thanks! I am at a point now where I can get most production knives a good bit sharper than they are from the factory. Still, I don't think it's quite as good as what a friend of mine can do with just standard (but good quality) benchstones free-handed. The more I use the EP and more I read about it, the better I get at using it. 9 inch knives in Super Blue has been my most recent new undertaking.
 
pnsxyr said:
I think you could probably find someone on this forum or the Benchmade forum with a 940-1 looking to make some sort of a trade in which you may be able to negotiate a better deal than selling your 940-121 outright and then buying a 940-1! :)
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