Heat Treat, Done Right?

DMG said:
The Benchmade 3V problem was just a heat treat problem on that specific model. Nothing to do with warranty claims.

Usually they get it right. S30v kind of sucks in general, though.
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Thanks for the correction. Perhaps at the time people suspected it was intentional to avoid warranty issues but later info proved otherwise. Either way, my memory was off.
 
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oldmanwilly said:
Thanks for the correction. Perhaps at the time people suspected it was intentional to avoid warranty issues but later info proved otherwise. Either way, my memory was off.
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IIRC , it was M390 or 20CV , that posters thought was run soft , because ER was disappointing on some BM ?
 
DMG said:
The Benchmade 3V problem was just a heat treat problem on that specific model. Nothing to do with warranty claims.

Usually they get it right. S30v kind of sucks in general, though.
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DocJD said:
IIRC , it was M390 or 20CV , that posters thought was run soft , because ER was disappointing on some BM ?
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I dug a bit back into the drama from 5 years ago and it seems my recollection was at least partially correct as the BM catalog at the time evidently listed the hardness as 55-58. So, it seems it was at least intentional which, in the grand scheme, is probably better than entirely botching the heat treatment. The reasoning behind it may still be up for debate, but I understand BM has long since addressed the issue.

Mo2

Post in thread 'Benchmade 3v'

taste.blade said:
So who gave Knifecenter the specs (58-60 HRC) that they show on the Bailout page? Appears to be a lie from Benchmade if I'm seeing everything correctly.
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Let's ask them @KnifeCenter

And I don't think Benchmade lie, it shows 55-58 in the catalog and no specs of hrc on the Benchmade website. Guessing kc just assumed?
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I have no clue about their 20CV/M390, though.
 
I will agree with others in saying that ever since I got into knives about 25 years ago, Spyderco has widely been viewed as the most experienced, most innovative, and indeed the most INTERESTED in terms of heat treat, at least of the large, non-custom knife companies.
 
Civivi’s 9Cr18Mov has performed well above my expectations, holding thin edges on aggressive hollow grinds, and requiring surprisingly little touch up work. Obviously, this is just my amateur experience and not a professional opinion, but I’ve had more than a couple knives in M390 or S90V lose their razor edge after a box or two while the 9Cr keeps cutting. Whether this speaks of horrible heat treat on part of the other MFGs or good on part of Civivi is up for interpretation.

Tuya is reportedly very specific with how their blades are treated, going so far as to trash batches that don’t meet spec.

I have experience using and sharpening Elmax, M390, and Vanax from Kunwu and found their steels to perform admirably.

How about Tactile?

In summary, these are just amateur opinions. I’m not testing anything, just using and reporting my experience. If a knife loses the razor edge after a single box, it’s a crappy HT. If it keeps cutting for days and months of use, it’s good in my eyes.


And then there’s my AD20.5 reblade by Transparent Knives. If anyone ever treated MC too hard, it’s Brian.
 
I use Peters' for heat treat and trust that they have gotten it right. This next batch will be the first processed without Brad at the helm, but I still trust he has taught his disciples how to get the best out of the steel.
 
AntDog said:
Benchmade has their HT absolutely nailed on everything I’ve ever tried from them.
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Is Benchmade finally doing their own heat treating?
Last time I checked (admittedly this was a few years ago) Benchmade was farming basically everything "they" made out to Stack Metallurgical Group for heat treating.
 
Tony_A said:
Is Benchmade finally doing their own heat treating?
Last time I checked (admittedly this was a few years ago) Benchmade was farming basically everything "they" made out to Stack Metallurgical Group for heat treating.
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No idea, but whoever does it is damn consistent and gets great results.
 
I think I'll throw an outlier into the mix...


I know that 1095 is neither new nor sexy. Despite that, I have used (*and beaten the SH!t outta') quite a few TOPS "Steel Eagles".

From years of use, and my own (*pragmatic) experiences, I'd really have to say that TOPS has 1095 dialed to damn-near PERFECTION. I'd compare their heat-treat of 1095 to that of Buck's 420HC.


Just my humble opinion. Your mileage may vary.
 
Someone should mention Kunwu Knives here. They're starting to develop a Spyderco-like vibe with their willingness to take on exotic steels and heat treat them properly. Specifically, they're using PM60 heat treated to around 67 hrc, Bohler s390 heat treated to around 66 hrc, Vanadis 8 at around 67 hrc, Vancron, Vanax, etc. Great stuff.
 
For fixed blades TRC has outstanding heat treats. I've had M390, Elmax, and Vanadis 4E from them that all performed superbly. It was their M390 that made me realize that anyone that says M390 can't be used on a hard use camp knife has no idea what they're talking about, or has just never used good M390
 
I really enjoy AUS-10 from Demko Knives. It sharpens up to tree-topping sharp easily and keeps a good edge through use. Maybe not the greatest steel out there, but, for a moderately priced user, it's great.
 
Shorttime said:
Chris Reeve and Jerry Busse of course, if you consider them manufacturers.
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Pleased clarify that.

Do you mean that their volume of produced knives is small or that they out source a lot of their products? I am not velar on that.
 
Shorttime said:
Chris Reeve and Jerry Busse of course, if you consider them manufacturers.
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They clearly are manufacturers by any definition. They are by no means one-off custom makers.


And they are likely two of the best and most experienced companies when it comes to heat treating knives.
 
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