I am ashamed to admit it but -

I always ask myself this question; "Can I get this model knife in one of my preferred steels...like M2, M4 or M390?"
Typically, if the answer is no, I will more than likely pass.
Wow, that sounds a lot like a steel snob. :foot:
 
This is funny and part of human nature the subjective value put on something more expensive.

I was getting there in my knife collecting journey and had the need to try better and better steels. In the end though the steels really aren't better as many wise blade forum members have pointed out they just have different qualities.

I.e. I have a cutco chef knife with 440a steel. The oleans factory put a solid heat treat on their product and the Rockwell rating has to be a few points higher than the Chinese stuff which ain't bad if you have ever tried rough rider knives.

The spyderco tenacious series with 8cr13mov and that awesome ffg will out slice many knives 5 times its cost. It slices better than my mini grip in 154cm. But...just as good as my delica in vg10 and my mini presidio in 440c so the blade profile has a lot to do with it as well.

For me I never use enough so much that it gets dull and where I can't swap it for another folder or am away from a sharpener where edge retention even matters.

Besides that I have a drawer full of portable and mini DMT hones and rods for on the go use if I know I'm going to be sharpening stuff in the field.

I'll tell you though with only a mini DMT hone out camping or what not I'd much rather be sharpening 440c than 154cm or D2. 154cm isn't that hard to sharpen unless you compare it to 440c or 8cr13mov.

The other thing is I really amoomimg forward to the emerson /Kershaw collabs that are coming out in 8cr13 I have my eye out on at last two of the models when they become more common following steady production runs.

I dont need more knives I just want to show support for that awesome collaboration.
 
I guess in a manner of speaking I too am a steel snob, I see ceramic knives for kitchen use and folders with both ceramic and metal blades, my only issue is I happen to like sharpening knives and that aint gonna happen with ceramic blades. They even provide mailing addresses to ship your ceramic knives off to have them sharpened. I have couple of Spydercos and IMO their choice of steels makes for a long day of work to dull one and long day of sharpening to restore the edges. The time spent isn't important, I am disabled and retired but I don't have an unlimited amount of time left in this mortal coil and I do have more fun things to do than sharpen VG10 tools.
 
There is nothing wrong with a well treated 440c. One of it's characteristics is due to the large carbides, the blade takes on a 'toothy' character, which is great for cutting meat or any fibrous material.
 
440C is fine stuff. IMHO Randall does the best with and BM does a very good job as well. Boker is next to Randall and then Buck. Ever get your hands on a Buck knife in 440C with a BOSS HT? Very very good stuff, rivals the best of Randall and Boker. Very durable and versatile also. SW made a whole line of throwing knives, Bullseye I think, that are virtually indestructible in 440C. Probably a lower RC, but had no trouble punching through refrigerators and car doors with no damage. It may not hold an edge as long as many other steels, but I've spent a lot of money on sharpening gear over the years and enjoy using it.
 
i felt like a snob when looking at the presidio ultra and wishing they made it in 154cm. i have my fair share of 440 and aus though, and if i find knives i like in those steels i will buy them.
M.FREEZE said:
"I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany"....

440C is fine by me. What do you consider a "lesser" steel than AUS8
Click to expand...

lol, for some reason I heard that in this stewie griffin helium voice...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st2w8w2ASPM
 
I would not personally let 440C disqualify the purchase, but I agree that with all the new steels that it is very easy to kind of forget about some of the more common ones that in some cases have been abandoned in favor of more exotic steels that perform very well in some areas. I personally kind of shifted back to many of the "lesser" steels myself, after finding many exotic steels to be a pain to upkeep or perform abnormally well in some areas, but not perform well at all in others.

But much like 1095c and 154, it's an older steel in which many more exotic steels have made performance improvements upon, but it's an excellent steel. I personally really like Benchmade's treatment of 440C and am often turned off by many of the exotic steels. Much like 154, it's not fantastic in any single performance category, but it gives respectable performance across the board in the many different areas in which an EDC knife is going to need performance in. Some of my saddest days were when Benchmade stopped using 440C and many of their knives changed up to steels which I find harder to upkeep (much like how when Kershaw abandoned using CPM-154.)

Also, if it is an older Benchmade knife in 440C in which the knife has since been "upgraded" to a different steel, it likely has a higher value than the current model. I think Benchmade may have done this in part because so many of the cheap knives have really hurt the "440" and "440C" name by using steels of poor quality and with terrible heat treatments branded "440" or "440C" (many which aren't 440 at all, let alone the better-performing 440C.)
 
smokinbasser said:
I guess in a manner of speaking I too am a steel snob, I see ceramic knives for kitchen use and folders with both ceramic and metal blades, my only issue is I happen to like sharpening knives and that aint gonna happen with ceramic blades. They even provide mailing addresses to ship your ceramic knives off to have them sharpened. I have couple of Spydercos and IMO their choice of steels makes for a long day of work to dull one and long day of sharpening to restore the edges. The time spent isn't important, I am disabled and retired but I don't have an unlimited amount of time left in this mortal coil and I do have more fun things to do than sharpen VG10 tools.
Click to expand...
Sharpening ceramic is becoming a little easier to do at home. I have a Work Sharp sharpener with diamond grit belts that do a pretty nice job. Kyocera has just come out with a sharpener that does ceramic as well.

Sorry- Back to the topic:)
 
I think APF and Soleil are on the right track. It depends on the heat treat method used. Many moons ago I made a few fixed blade knives for friends and coworkers. Back then, chrio-heat treat was the thing and tremendously improved the performance of 440c. A few years ago at a poker game, the host pulled out a skinner I had made for him. It was 440c with water buffalo horn handles. He said he had skinned 3 deer with it and never sharpened it. It still shaved.
I picked up my 1st bench made (531) last Friday. I was glad to see it was marked 154cm for the price I paid but I would have purchased it any way if it was 440c because I think Benchmade does a good job at heat treat, I prefer nice things as well, especially iif made in USA but there's more to a knife than just the steel.

My 2cents. Have a good one and glad to be a Benchmade owner.
 
I think it is natural to want "best" blade material you can get after determining your favorite blade shape, and edge geometry. I personally would love to own Rift in S110V, but until that time BKC makes it, I need to deal with 810 in M390 (or something).

Don't get me wrong, for what I do with Rift, I'm happy with 154, but it would be nice to have it in S30V, heck CPM-154.

Yeah, I am steel snob, but I am proud of it ;) Until my addiction, 440c on Buck 110 was good enough for my folding knife. I don't think I can say I want ceramic blade for my BKC folder... :p

MFL
 
I too am guilty of the snobbery. But now I think it might be time to try the 440c from BM just to see. I don't like buying things I wont use and I'm pretty hard on things. I know for a fact that the 154cm stands up to my use and abuse well. Although I have seen a 400 series stainless out perform higher carbon steels before. Funny....I keep looking at the mini Axis and the mini ultra but have not pulled the trigger for this very reason. I think I'll just grab one for the course and see how it does for myself.
 
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