benchmade 100SH20

I spent a week in the carribean in july and carried one everywhere. Theyre made of X15 now instead of H1. I takes a hair popping edge extremely easy and retains it pretty well. I did get a couple of spots of surface rust but they were the result of no less than 6 hours in the ocean a day and they were wiped off with one pass of a flitz'd paper towel.

After carryin that knife exclusivly I realized how much I like small fixed blades. Its worth carrying even if you arent going to be in the water. Its a quality knife.

BTW there are no markings at all that will help you differentiate the older H1 steel from the newer X15. I called benchmade and they couldnt tell me from the knife or the box. The only way to tell if you got an old or a new one is to see if you get any rust at all. If you do its X15.

I actually used the spongy insides of a baby coconut to clean a spot off the blade while sitting on the beach at one point.
 
I bought one in H1 recently. You can still find them new on the web if you look hard enough. I was suprised at how small it really is.

Another option for you might want to consider for a dive knife is the Tusa FK-230. I picked up one of these recently too. It has a strange, almost chisel, grind on the cutting edge, but it will shave hair. I will probably put it on my belt grinder and put a more even convex edge on.
 
We use the older H1 versions on our Inshore Rescue Boats.

I think Benchmade made a bad decision swapping to X15TN.
 
Well, I ordered one online last night...advertised as H1 - but most seemed to be. Maybe its H1, maybe its X15TN. I'll dunk it in water and find out.
 
LHD said:
Does yours have an indentifying mark? I cant find shit on mine.
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Now that you mention it, mine doesn't have any marks on the blade that I can see (haven't removed the scales yet). Even the box doesn't indicate what type of steel it is. I guess I just have the salesman's word for it. Not a very comforting thought. :(
 
Chris Meyer said:
Now that you mention it, mine doesn't have any marks on the blade that I can see (haven't removed the scales yet). Even the box doesn't indicate what type of steel it is. I guess I just have the salesman's word for it. Not a very comforting thought. :(
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I was very curious which steel it was since there were no markings and the only way I found out was based on the small spots of rust that formed after about 3-4 days of continuous exposure to saltwater for 5-9 hours at a time. Apparently H1 wont do that at all.

BM couldnt tell me which steel after 2 phone calls. I like BM but thats not encouraging.
 
LHD said:
Apparently H1 wont do that at all.
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H1 will not rust. Our H1 100SH2O knives get the worst possible treatment:
Out on the sea in a small inflatable boat in large swells, getting soaked in salt water spray. Then back to station, into the boat house - usually without getting a rinse.
They have put up with this treatment for years without developing any sign of rust.

It is a shame that, in the event of their loss, we won't be able to replace them with the same knives.
Rust resistance is much more of a deciding factor for us when purchasing rescue knives. They will rarely get used, so edge retention isn't as important.
 
You could always get a salt folder or one of the hopefully soon to be released salt fixed blades.
 
Carry mine on every dive. Been to 150 and deeper many times...fresh and salt. No problems.
 
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