Benchmade Corrosion Resistance of the Benchmade Outlast

D

David Crosier

Joined
Jun 11, 2020
Messages
4
Hi all!

I’m new here to BladeForums, but I’m excited to finally be part of this community.

So this weekend I am going kayaking at Lake Natoma in Folsom, CA, and I am going to have the Benchmade Outlast in the pocket of my life jacket in case anything goes south.

I am very interested in seeing how the blade will hold up, particularly in the corrosion resistance department. The curious thing about this blade is that it sports three distinct steels on three different blades. The primary blade is a plain-edge S30V drop point, which I have found holds up wonderfully against moisture.

The secondary blade is a beautifully designed fully-serrated 3V edge with a blunt square tip. This secondary blade fascinates me, mainly because I was told by a beautifully bearded employee at Benchmade’s factory store that this blade is warranted as a pry bar, which is a huge deal! As far as corrosion resistance goes, I have only needed to remove rust from the blade once. It was on a hot day and my pockets were quite humid.

The third and final blade is a rescue hook, which I believe is 440C like Benchmade’s other rescue hooks. I have been impressed so far with it, and I use it regularly for various tasks.

I am very interested to see how these three distinct blades hold up to The fresh water of Lake Natoma. Stay tuned for more!
 
S30V is highly rust resistant. You should have no problem in fresh water. Let us know how your 'yakking trip goes and how the knife performed.
 
Alberta Ed said:
S30V is highly rust resistant. You should have no problem in fresh water. Let us know how your 'yakking trip goes and how the knife performed.
Click to expand...

The one that I am curious to see about is the 3V steel. I definitely will let y’all know what happens!
 
Alberta Ed said:
S30V is highly rust resistant. You should have no problem in fresh water. Let us know how your 'yakking trip goes and how the knife performed.
Click to expand...
That depends on your definition of highly rust resistant. I've had it rust on several spydercos from not much more than humidity in my area of the mid Atlantic/North East. Had it rust from not wiping it off after cutting a sandwich in half over night. In my experience, I wouldn't call it highly rust resistant.

OP, let us know how the knives do. What is the 3v blade? 3v rust resistance can vary based on heat treatment (other steels too). Delta 3v, like from Carothers, is very rust resistant for a non-stainless steel.
 
3v is a tool steel. It has 7.5% chromium. It will resist rust better than other simple high carbon steels and some other tool steels. But it is not stainless. It can rust and pit if not taken care of.

If you plan on Kayaking with that particular knife make sure you oil the 3V blade. Try EDCi. It's a spray that's easy to use.

Steels that would work better for kayaks would be H1, LC200N, and Vanax.

Best of luck on your trip!
 
Man, the Benchmade Outlast lives up to its name!

I oiled the knife a little with Benchmade's Bluelube before heading out, and the knife had zero sign of corrosion.

Additionally, I live in the central valley of California and our weather is heating up a lot. For me, that usually means more... humid pockets, which translates to using the ol' Scotch Brite to remove rust from my EDC knives. I have performed basic maintenance to the Outlast, and there have been no signs of rust.

I love this knife now even more than I did. Thanks for all the comments!
 
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