BG-42 vs. S30V...

Kaizen1

Kaizen1

Joined
Jan 4, 2006
Messages
6,288
Hello All,

I'm planning on getting a CF Military for my next knife. I'm wondering if I can get some insight on the magical stuff known as BG-42 and how it compares to S30V in your experience. Seriously, all opinions are welcome, but please give your reason for your preferences. Whether its through personal experience or reason, I'm interested in hearing what ya got ta say. Thanks!
 
They are both very fine top of the line premium stainless steels .Argueing which is 'best' is futile.
 
mete said:
They are both very fine top of the line premium stainless steels .Argueing which is 'best' is futile.
Click to expand...

While I appreciate your input, I never asked which was best. I asked if people preferred one over another and if so, why. I'm considering getting a CF Mili and I believe the S30V blades are the cheaper ones, so I'm trying to figure out if the price hike is worth it.
 
Personally, I'd go with which ever one you can get cheaper. I've heard that the newer (bg-42) ones have some sort of steel imbedded in the carbon fiber, but I don't see that as an big issue. As to the s30v ones, there were only 400 made, and I don't see that as an issue either. I have no experience with bg-42, but have had slight rusting issues with s30v (including on my carbon fiber military), but I realize that isn't a problem for most people. If I knew more about bg-42, perticularly that it was less prone to rusting, I'd recommend that one. But that's just a personal thing and for all I know bg-42 may be more prone to rust -I'm just not sure. Like I said, personally, I'd get which ever one comes along for less money, unless one is better over the other in the rust resistance area.
At one time I decied I was going to buy a s30v cf mil and then buy a regular blackened g-10 model and switch the blades on them. -Though it would look cool, be unique, and I'd not have to worry about rust. I bought the black one and kept it around for a while, but by the time I was able to get the cf one, the black one was no more. So, the switch never happened. But that woulda been a cool knife if it had.
 
The BGCF Military is a fine piece of craftmanship. The steel takes a razor edge and hold it well. In my experience (limited though it may be) the BG-42 takes a finer, smoother edge than S30V, and holds it better in moderate use. That said, I prefer S30V because I seldom indulge in moderate use :D

I had been using my Mili for a couple of weeks when I found a finish nail in a rafter I was shaving down to fit an exhaust fan. It didn't nick the edge, it chipped it pretty badly. I ended up completely reprofiling the edge to get the chips out.

Similar collisions between the S30V blade on my Manix and hardened decking nails resulted in very minor nicks, easily removed by a normal sharpening.

I still love my BGCF Military, but I don't take it to work any more. I use S30V, VG-10 and ZDP-189 there.
 
S30V, ATS34 and 154cm are the holy trinity in my book. BG seems like another wonder metal overhyped and underwhelming.
 
I have two knives with BG-42 (both from Buck), and five with S30V (two from Spyderco, two from Buck, and one from Benchmade). In my experience, the BG-42 holds an edge slightly better (very marginal difference), and the S30V is slightly easier to sharpen. I haven't noticed a difference in corrosion resistance.
 
lambertiana said:
I have two knives with BG-42 (both from Buck), and five with S30V (two from Spyderco, two from Buck, and one from Benchmade). In my experience, the BG-42 holds an edge slightly better (very marginal difference), and the S30V is slightly easier to sharpen. I haven't noticed a difference in corrosion resistance.
Click to expand...

This is my experience also. I haven't found any corrosion on either material yet. Personlly I perfer BG-42 but not by much. I have had very good experiences with S30V also.
 
The only reason I have a BG42 blade is that the Spyderco BG42 Military is the best of the Military versions - and that design was offered only in BG42.

Testing for edge damage, both blades showed slight edge-chipping with final edge of 25 degrees included, testing by high pressure locked-wrist pointings of a hickory hardwood rake handle. Both required final edge taper of 30 degrees included for edge stability in this test.

Edge-holding seems slightly better for BG42, but I suspect this may be due simply to slightly higher hardness of the BG42 blade. Any advantage here for BG42 is so slight as to be negligible.

Two small advantages for BG42:
- The BG42 blade seems easier to sharpen and easier to touch up.
- Wire edge production in sharpening seemed less, and easier to remove.

Hope this helps!

Edit:
Comparison blades were Spyderco BG42 Military versus Spyderco S30V Manix.
 
I prefer BG-42. I have knives of both BG-42 and S30V. BG-42 holds a finer edge and S30V doesn't hold the edge as well in my experience.
 
I prefer the BG-42 myself.

I've had a CR Sebenza since, I believe '97, in BG-42 and it was my EDC for at least 5 years. I was in the military at the time, and it saw use in SE Asia, PNG, and a few other places.......never a hint of rust, even in the salt water climates. Held an edge without anything but a few minor touch ups on the Sharpmaker. To this day, it's my favorite blade steel.

Now, my S30V Microtech Filet knife, along with my Spydie Military and another MT auto, don't seem to hold the edge nearly as well, and I feel are more difficult to put a keen edge on as well. It doesn't seem to "bite" as well as the BG-42 either.

YMMV, but I can only relate my personal experiences.
 
mete said:
They are both very fine top of the line premium stainless steels .Argueing which is 'best' is futile.
Click to expand...

BG-42 has shown to be consistently higher in edge stability without the frequent problems reported with S30V.

-Cliff
 
I was in the same position as you about a month ago and I went with the BG-42 millie. Im glad I did because I've noticed higher edge retention than the S30V blades I have. BB-42 is also easier to sharpen, however I've noticed that both steels will take just as sharp of an edge when taken to a high grit.
 
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