About to get my first Benchmade

C

crazyengineer

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Apr 2, 2011
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I am picking up my first bench made tomorrow. it is a Barrage AXIS lock.
I was chatting with a guy at my local outdoors store and he showed it to me and sold me on it
I have been carrying around a CRKT m16-13t and it has done good for me so far, so it is gonna be different, since there is no flipper on it

my question is though, how does the steel compare to what i have been carrying?

i realize it will be better, but how much better?

PS: is this one that is made in the US, I can't find if it is on their website?
 
Aus4 to 154CM, the change given use should be noticeable, depends on what your use is and if you'll re-profile.

I'm not much of a fan of flippers, AXIS locks changed my life.
 
how does the 154CM compare to the AUS 8, i know very little about the steels, just enough that i know what to avoid, but once it gets to decent steel (my standards at least) i dont know the differences
 
well you could look at it one way, i have never used 154cm, but have also never heard anything negative about it. I have owned one two knives with aus8 steel, and didnt see anything about them that made them any better than 440 steel on some of my chinese made knives, or my 8cr13mov blades on other chinese made knives, and have in fact heard plenty of negative comments on aus8. so take that for what its worth.
 
Skimo said:
Aus4 to 154CM, the change given use should be noticeable, depends on what your use is and if you'll re-profile.

I'm not much of a fan of flippers, AXIS locks changed my life.
Click to expand...

I wont reprofile.....i don't have near enough skill and don't trust myself trying to learn on this specific knife (yes, i do know about the lifetime sharpening for the knives), i may learn on one of my cheaper knives in the future though.

i got used to the flippers with a kershaw and this will be the first time i carry a knife in probably 3 years with out a flipper

oh, and the 13t has AUS 8 with the titanium handles (been through hell and back in the last year, especially working in a machine shop cutting dipseal off carbide)

its will be general EDC use, so it is probably gonna see everything form sticks when i'm bored, to pencils while doing hmwk to opening packages, to camping chores and whatever else i need it for
 
Well heat treated AUS8 and 154CM, it's hard for me to tell, and truthfully would be difficult for many to tell without producing the same edge geometry in both steels, treating them to optimal hardness for the task and turning it into a scientific study.

From what few M-16s I have handled, their steel seems very soft in use and is very noticeable when I sharpened them, at least compared to 154CM from Benchmade.

I could lie and say the difference is over the moon, but it's not, unless your use and need for a superior steel is significant, at which point there are several steels that would be better suited.

I'm sorry I can't give you any more than that.
 
Aus8 quality, IMHO, is highly dependent on the quality of the heat treat. I have a CS American Lawman and a Boker Action 2 which are both aus8. I have found both blades to be good quality. I have played around with other aus8 offerings which weren't nearly as good.

But I digress. 154cm is good steel, and you'll dig.....no, really dig the axis lock. I have a griptilian in my pocket right now. Love it!
 
I have several knives in AUS8 and several in 154CM.

The difference in edge retention between the two alloys is QUITE noticeable in every day use (assuming you do more than open mail with it).

That being said, 154CM is somewhat harder to sharpen. Ceramic rods, like those in the Spyderco Sharpmaker are the order of the day for sharpening. Diamond if you want to change the edge angle. AUS8 does OK with an Arkansas stone, though of course, ceramic and diamond work just fine on it.

Moving from a CRKT M16 to a Barrage? COOL. You will love it.
From one engineer to another.
 
One thing I can say, if the OP is satisfied with the M16-XXX, he'll be fine with the 154CM of the barrage. There's just something that he needs to understand, that sharpness and cutting performance might not be what he expects out of the box. He just needs to understand that that will not be the fault of the steel.
 
well, i picked up the benchmade today. I am very happy with it, been playing with it all day (in fact i am now) so that i can get used to not having a flipper. When the guy got it out of the case for me, he shut it and nicked his finger, the knife is sharp LMAO (i know the guy because o am in there so much, so it was funny)

The real test will be next summer though, so it will be awhile, but that is when i start working in the machine shop again. I'm just glad the blade is under 4 inches so that I
can carry it on campus
 
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Benchmade does a good job with their 154CM. My Griptillain blade is very nicely hollow ground and came very sharp from the factory. I rebeveled it to match my Sharpmakers 20 degree slots. Benchmade's 154CM takes a scary edge without much effort. No soft floppy wire edges to remove using every trick you know, crisp edges for a while, and, contrary to what you hear so often, my Benchmade's have been ground quite thin behind the edge. The angles of the actual edge can vary, and tend toward 25 degrees per side or so, but the steel behind the edge is quite thin. This means less time sharpening, since you don't have to remove as much metal. It also means more effortless cutting. Enjoy the Barrage. I'd love a new Benchmade, but the bank account doesn't support it now.
 
does anyone know if i can find a clip that puts the knife deeper in my pocket and still clipped to it?

also, what is my best bet for a sharpening stone for this?

i have hard arkansas stones, and i have ceramic rods, but i like the stones the best. Are there any stones that will work better?
 
usaknifemaker.com sells clips that should fit, or at least will come close enough that simply widening the holes a few fractions of an inch will allow it to fit. In my experience they bolt right up, but really benefit from a bit of sanding/finish work first. 154cm is my favorite steel! Its very well rounded.
 
You may have trouble with the natural Ark. stones. A Norton India or Crystalon stone or King waterstone work well. The King is really the cheapest around that I'd use, and Shaptons and many others are upgrades. However, try the Ark. stones first and see if they work. I've never tried 154CM on them.
 
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