Benchmade steel

[whp]

I’ve owned many Benchmades in S30V and 154cm. I really couldn’t tell much difference between the two in any way. Both had good edge retention, and sharpened up very easily. I really don’t understand their reason for dropping 154cm as a standard blade steel. However, it did give them an excuse to increase the prices of their Griptilian line.

Benchmade hasn’t t needed any excuses to raise their prices in recent years.

The Griptilian in s30v is still on of the best values in the BM lineup. Benchmade doesn t offer many bargains.

 

[TradTrapper]

I’ve used both their S30v and 154cm models and they are both good to go. I see little reason to upgrade from 154cm and at the same time have zero issue with their s30v. In my experience, Benchmade knows how to do both of these steels as good or better than anyone.

 

[Whitedog]

If the steel type was not printed on the blade I would not know or really care as long as it is reasonably easy to sharpen. I have owned BMs in 440 C 154 and S30. All good and cut well. A lot of this edge retention is going to depend on ones sharpening style. Just my idea.

 

[MBG]

Amazing, take a super tough steel, use it in a lightweight folder, and then run it softer than normal because, uh, maybe people were looking for a 3" splitting maul?

It was an odd choice for that knife, but it was a deliberate choice, not a manufacturing defect. In the scope of this thread, I think that distinction is important.

With all the battoning videos and conversations/threads out there, it's no surprise that they might think people were looking for a 3" splitting maul.

 

[Pilot1]

I was thinking of getting a Bugout or Mini Bugout. (A lightweight, slicer) Slicer being the key word here.
Now I've had S30V knives, and they were just ok. I hoped Benchmade would do magic on the steel.
Frankly, I like the S20V, M390, 204P line.

BM makes several knives in S90V, including the Bugout CF, and they are excellent.

I have their folders in 440C, 154CM, S30V and S90V and all work great with good heat treatment.

 

[AntDog]

It was an odd choice for that knife, but it was a deliberate choice, not a manufacturing defect. In the scope of this thread, I think that distinction is important.

With all the battoning videos and conversations/threads out there, it's no surprise that they might think people were looking for a 3" splitting maul.

Nah. They couldn’t possibly have thought people were going to baton a 3” folder. They actually made that deliberate choice, and have stated as such? I’d think that was an error on somebody’s part.

At that blade length nobody is caring about toughness. It’s all about edge retention.

 

[Fixall]

Nah. They couldn’t possibly have thought people were going to baton a 3” folder. They actually made that deliberate choice, and have stated as such? I’d think that was an error on somebody’s part.

At that blade length nobody is caring about toughness. It’s all about edge retention.

My theory is that they wanted to save money and wear and tear in their machines so they opted to run the 3V a bit softer. Considering 3V is well known for being extremely tough, maybe they thought they could head off some warranty claims from people who decided to test its toughness too.

Whatever the reason, 3V testing at 56rc was ridiculous. My recently purchased S90v and M4 Benchmades are performing how they should at least.

 

[Chronovore]

As Knarfeng mentioned, S30V will hold an edge longer than the 154cm used previously.

One thing I really like about the 154cm however, is how tough it is. For an average user it takes edge impacts and resists chipping better than S30V in my uses. It sharpens very easily as well.

S30V is no slouch though. It’s a nice middle of the road steel choice.

Looking at Larrin's charts, S30V and 154CM are pretty close on toughness. In fact, they share a text spot on the graph in the Magnacut paper. Are the steels just run differently?

 

[MolokaiRider]

Looking at Larrin's charts, S30V and 154CM are pretty close on toughness. In fact, they share a text spot on the graph in the Magnacut paper. Are the steels just run differently?

That’s possible. I only base my comments on my experiences with both steels from a few different manufacturers.

I have experienced chipping more often in S30V when used against harder medium or twisting.

I am sure, as you mentioned, that treatment and geometry play a role.

 

[tony281sc2]

I don’t own any of their new s30v Grips but I have a couple in 154cm and it holds up very well.
Edge retention may be a spec behind the cpm-154 and s35vn that I’ve used quite a bit also (kershaws/ZTs), but it’s still a great steel, and I probably wouldn’t notice the difference if it wasn’t labeled. If I end up buying another grip it’ll be more based on color than the steel upgrade.