Benchmade S30v Steel Questions

sabre cat

sabre cat

Joined
Jul 4, 2014
Messages
6,155
Hi Everyone,

Just picked up a Volli and have to ask about the S30v blade steel. I have heard that it chips pretty easy.

What can you folks tell me? I really don't know much about steels.


Thanks.
 
I have a 610, 808, & 940 all in s30v..no issues and keeps a lasting edge. I am fond of Benchmades D2 and s30v.
 
I currently only have one BM in S30V. It is a Mini Grip from the custom build program. I carried that one daily for awhile, and while it hasn't seen hard use, it never chipped on the factory edge.
I re-profiled and lightly polished the edge, and while it hasn't seen very much use since, it is still chip free.... Some people complained in the past of chipping, but IIRC the issue subsided after being sharpened once or twice. Benchmade does a very good job with heat treating on all of their steels.

Out of all the BM's I have owned over the years, the only one I have had that had chipped, is a Cabelas Mini Grip in D2. In all fairness, I bought the knife used and it came to me that way, so I have no idea what kind of use it had seen to make it chip...
I re-profiled and worked on the edge twice, and was able to get all of the small chips out. I've been carrying it for a few months now, and it hasn't been babied, but it is still chip free.

Don't get caught up in everything negative you read. Especially about the various versions of blade steel. You will find their are some people who will complain about something, even though they may not have actually used it, or used it long enough to form a true opinion. Or, some will complain about certain steels claiming little, or very easy use, only to find out later, they actually were abusing the knife.

Use the knife the way you normally would, and see how it holds up for you, under the conditions you use it for.

We have a member here who has done very extensive testing on most of the steel used today and from various makers. His reviews are great, and he always posts a lot of pictures during the process...
Click on this link http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...based-on-Edge-Retention-cutting-5-8-quot-rope and it will take you to his thread. There is a lot of great reading in it.
 
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The only s30v blades I have are benchmades north fork and 3150 auto.
They are the least "chippy" stainless blades I've tried so far.
Reaming stainless tubing did not damage the edge. Benchmades' 154cm and d2 didn't fare as well.
I have chipped/rolled s30v with rougher use.
 
338375 said:
I currently only have one BM in S30V. It is a Mini Grip from the custom build program. I carried that one daily for awhile, and while it hasn't seen hard use, it never chipped on the factory edge.
I re-profiled and lightly polished the edge, and while it hasn't seen very much use since, it is still chip free.... Some people complained in the past of chipping, but IIRC the issue subsided after being sharpened once or twice. Benchmade does a very good job with heat treating on all of their steels.

Out of all the BM's I have owned over the years, the only one I have had that had chipped, is a Cabelas Mini Grip in D2. In all fairness, I bought the knife used and it came to me that way, so I have no idea what kind of use it had seen to make it chip...
I re-profiled and worked on the edge twice, and was able to get all of the small chips out. I've been carrying it for a few months now, and it hasn't been babied, but it is still chip free.

Don't get caught up in everything negative you read. Especially about the various versions of blade steel. You will find their are some people who will complain about something, even though they may not have actually used it, or used it long enough to form a true opinion. Or, some will complain about certain steels claiming little, or very easy use, only to find out later, they actually were abusing the knife.

Use the knife the way you normally would, and see how it holds up for you, under the conditions you use it for.

We have a member here who has done very extensive testing on most of the steel used today and from various makers. His reviews are great, and he always posts a lot of pictures during the process...
Click on this link http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...based-on-Edge-Retention-cutting-5-8-quot-rope and it will take you to his thread. There is a lot of great reading in it.
Click to expand...
^ this
 
My wife and I have each had Benchmade 943 knives with S30V for EDC for years without chipping or other problems. We don't deliberately abuse the knives, but they have been used a lot. S30V is one of my favorite steels.
 
S30V has been around for a while now, and is used across a very wide number of companies and models. I'd be very surprised if you got a bad batch of S30V nowadays. So given its typical characteristics, I don't find it particularly chippy. I wouldn't do any chopping with it, but you're certainly not going to have any problems with it on a folder.
 
I have a 940 in S30V that Ive used for edc with no issues. I have a other knives that were S30V that were a little chippy but they were bigger, harder use knives. I have found that they chipped less with a more polished edge over a toothy one. Ive had no issues with spyderco or benchmade S30V. I doubt you'll have any issues.
 
I own a Volli and used it for utility tasks when both packing and then moving cross country. For all of the boxes we closed and opened, the edge still doesn't need sharpening. Benchmade's S30V is good stuff.
 
I have a 940, 943 and a 477-1.....all in S30v and all used......never broke up any sidewalks with them tho!
No issues whatsoever!
Great steel that touches up very easily.
Don't sweat it!
Joe
 
I have a Volli. Great knife, love it! My ex GF dropped it on tile once and it now has some small chips in the blade near the tip. It is nothing that can't be repaired, though. FWIW, it had the factory edge on it and I've heard that s30v benefits from a more refined edge.
 
sabre cat said:
Hi Everyone,

Just picked up a Volli and have to ask about the S30v blade steel. I have heard that it chips pretty easy.

What can you folks tell me? I really don't know much about steels.


Thanks.
Click to expand...
Just sharpen it really well, and after that any chipping issue should be gone. Sometimes during sharpening, the very edge gets a little too hot and makes it more brittle, but once any chips have been sharpened out, it's good to go.
 
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DeadboxHero said:
^ this
Click to expand...
I totally agree. I have had a lot of different steels.most r very good.im using s90 right now.people say it hard to sharpen. I dont find it to be true.if u work at it it gets sharp just like any other.but it holds an edge for a long ass time.
 
jpm2 said:
Wouldn't heating the edge make it softer?
Click to expand...

Depends on how you do it... heat above upper crit. temp. and then cool at a slow, controlled rate gives you pearlite formation. That's annealing and yes, you can soften metal that way. However, heat above upper crit. temp. and then cool in a hurry and you end up with a bunch of martensite, which is harder and less ductile (cool quickly = not enough time to form pearlite, stuck as martensite instead). That's basically quenching right there, heat and then cool quick to lock in martensite to make it hard. Then temper to add toughness as desired.

If I had to guess, the argument that "burning" an edge while sharpening causes chipping goes something like this:

Edge is relatively thin and so gets hotter than people expect while sharpening, especially on power tools.
Edge gets in the range of the upper crit temp and excess martensite forms, making it harder, brittle, and less ductile (more chip prone).
Edge is thin enough and heat is localized enough that it cools down in the air fast enough to lock in the extra martensite - basically air quenching.

That would leave you with a chippy "burnt" edge.
 
Skywalker31 said:
Depends on how you do it... heat above upper crit. temp. and then cool at a slow, controlled rate gives you pearlite formation. That's annealing and yes, you can soften metal that way. However, heat above upper crit. temp. and then cool in a hurry and you end up with a bunch of martensite, which is harder and less ductile (cool quickly = not enough time to form pearlite, stuck as martensite instead). That's basically quenching right there, heat and then cool quick to lock in martensite to make it hard. Then temper to add toughness as desired.

If I had to guess, the argument that "burning" an edge while sharpening causes chipping goes something like this:

Edge is relatively thin and so gets hotter than people expect while sharpening, especially on power tools.
Edge gets in the range of the upper crit temp and excess martensite forms, making it harder, brittle, and less ductile (more chip prone).
Edge is thin enough and heat is localized enough that it cools down in the air fast enough to lock in the extra martensite - basically air quenching.

That would leave you with a chippy "burnt" edge.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks, reason I ask is because I have softened a couple edges and tips from grinding, but never hardened.
 
So far, the use of my Volli has been limited. I am finding that I like the thin, drop point blade but I love the S30v steel. I used the knife to bone some super thick pork chops the other night and found out that the blade size and shape is perfect for my needs.
 
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