H20 Grip vs Standard? (Jimmy, can you shed some light?)

BMCGear

BMCGear

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Jimmy,

Spyderco's line of Salt knives are completely rust proof and while they are a fine product I'm really falling in love with the Axis lock again. My question for you and anyone else who knows is there anything special about the guts of an H20 Grip? I know that N680 is more corrosion resistant than other steels but I'm curious about the internals. Or could I get any Benchmade for use in and around water?

Thanks!
 
The internals are the same on the 551H2O as a standard 551. The only differences besides the blade steel are the bright clip/hardware and a lighter laser mark which minimizes the potential corrosion around the mark.
 
Benchmade said:
The internals are the same on the 551H2O as a standard 551. The only differences besides the blade steel are the bright clip/hardware and a lighter laser mark which minimizes the potential corrosion around the mark.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jimmy!

So, how do the internals fair with salt water contact? Would I be alright spending a day around/in salt water and then rinsing everything out or no?
 
Yeah you should be fine. All the steels inside/out are stainless. It would be a good idea to rinse out the salt water though.
 
Years ago I took a 440C mini-Grip to the Atlantic for a week's holiday. It was on the beach and in the water for several days. Each evening I rinsed it out thoroughly with fresh water and dried it with a hair dryer. Never had any internal or blade corrosion issues with it.
 
How is N680 compared to H1? I have a Spyderco Salt with full serrations, and it retains it's cutting ability really well. I was looking at the H2O Grip with partial serrations and was curious how well it would hold up compared to H1.
 
Screwdriver said:
How is N680 compared to H1? I have a Spyderco Salt with full serrations, and it retains it's cutting ability really well. I was looking at the H2O Grip with partial serrations and was curious how well it would hold up compared to H1.
Click to expand...

I don't have experience with N680 and serrations. Plain edge it should beat H1, serrated edge the H1 will probably be the victor. I like the plain edge and Axis lock better than the lock back so that's why I'm looking at the Benchmade options.
 
I believe plain edge N680 will hold an edge better than the H1. Just under 154CM in fact. However, H1 may have slightly better corrosion resistance in salt water. The N680 is still extremely rust resistant though.
 
N690 is a pretty solid steel. It's not going to hold an edge like M4 or anything, but from what everyone says, it's an upgraded VG-10.

From my experience that seems to be the case. It's slightly less corrosion resistant than VG-10, but it has better wear resistance and toughness. I've left my Bradford Guardian sporting N690 in the leather sheath after I got stuck in a rainstorm on my motorcycle, and by the time I got home it didn't have any sort of discoloration on the steel whatsoever. It was in that sheath for over an hour at least.

Super easy to sharpen too. It takes one helluva'n edge. I haven't really put it through a lot of abuse yet, but so far it really held up well.
 
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