I like BD1N

It's meh. Not bad, not great. I understand that it's similar to 440A in toughness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance. Where BD1N stands out is in corrosion resistance, with average toughness and edge retention.

I'd rather have other steels from Spyderco than that one if there is a choice. I do have a Para 3 LW in BD1N, and its edge did not last nearly as long as the S45VN on one of my other Para 3. The toughness and corrosion resistance will not be much different, but I had to strop or touch up the BD1N twice as often as the S45VN.

Even 14C28N will have excellent corrosion resistance like BD1N, and almost the same edge retention (fair), but with significantly better toughness at a similar hardness. And N690 with similar toughness and almost the same corrosion resistance to BD1N will have slightly better edge retention than BD1N. I don't think either of those are an expensive steel to replace BD1N.

Again, not terrible, and I guess in a $130 Para 3 LW you could do worse.
 
I have a BD1 Ronin and an aluminum BD1N PM2. Super stainless and easy to hone up. I swam in the pool with the Ronin around my neck before, no stain. Used the PM2 a lot working in a warehouse, strop it on cardboard, never had an issue either.

Honestly, I will probably get a purple version of the aluminum in the future. Kicking myself for not doing it before.
 
I have a 14C28N blade that works pretty good for me too but I think I prefer BD1N still. Despite it now being boring to others I also like Spyderco's S30V a lot, and could feel it's superiority to BD1N when using it. It was never "chippy" for me, which user reports scared me away from it for a time. But all of these steels get right back to popping sharp so easily with just a few passes on my ceramic rod, such that I seem to have more trouble doing this with VG10.
 
For those who want an affordable, American made, Spyderco quality knife, BD1N is a godsend. Performs quite a bit better than even well done 440A, which was the primary option for stainless pocket knives for decades. (I know. I carried and used them.) For everyday carry BD1N is more than good enough. I appreciate that Sal and company are giving folks an option to "offshore" knives. Thanks, Sal!
 
stillshot2 said:
I have a 14C28N blade that works pretty good for me too but I think I prefer BD1N still. Despite it now being boring to others I also like Spyderco's S30V a lot, and could feel it's superiority to BD1N when using it. It was never "chippy" for me, which user reports scared me away from it for a time. But all of these steels get right back to popping sharp so easily with just a few passes on my ceramic rod, such that I seem to have more trouble doing this with VG10.
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Yeah, if you don't do anything crazy to test the extra toughness of 14C28N (digging a hole in a wood stump, prying roots out of the ground) then BD1N will seem similar to 14C28N and perform well, especially in regards to resisting corrosion.

I do like Spyderco S30V more, with noticeably better edge retention, and similar toughness, and only slightly less corrosion resistance (still very good).
 
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