I love my BM 710 but.....

B

Bladeswinger

Joined
Jul 1, 2001
Messages
1,297
My blade steel is the 154cm, should I break down and get the one with the M2 steel? This knife is my primary utility knife where as my AFCK is only used for defensive purposes. Is the 154cm an adequate steel for regular cutting tasks or should I get one with the M2 steel? Thanx in advance for your opinions.:)
 
Many may argue with me but ATS-34 and 154CM are sort of the standard in the knife industry.

They share the benefit of being relatively low cost and high quality. They heat treat easily and have proven to be very stable and not prone to warpage.

I find that they hold an edge about 75-85% as well as some of the higher tech steels depending on what you're comparing them to.

I know a few highly regarded knifemakers have no intentions of switching from ATS-34 as their standard offering.

You need to decide if the added edge retention is worth the added maintenance. I've heard a lot of people mention that they hate their HSS blades because of difficulty getting them sharp, while I don't have this problem it seems senseless to buy a knife you can't keep sharp.

Good luck
 
I plan on purchasing a 710HS soon, but wouldn't buy one if I already had it in 154CM. Depends on the use I guess, if you think you will put a lot of wear on it before getting a chance to sharpen it, then you probably want to upgrade. Otherwise you might want to just save your money and abuse your current 710. :eek: Then, when your current 710 is all beat up, you can buy a new knife to replace it, be it 710HS or whatever fits the bill at that time. :D

Then again, if the money is burning a hole in your pocket...

Frodo
 
I'm in agreement with c. 154CM and ATS34 are still great steels. The heat treat is what does the job! With all the newer steels coming out, especially the cpm steels, some of yesterdays standards are relegated to the back burner and seen a lot of times as being faulty in some way. It just ain't so! I have several knives with ATS34 that have a correct heat treat and cut all day long and when a sharpening is needed, they sharpen right up with no difficulty. I know they are heat treated right by the characteristics they have. Also bear in mind I'm one of those who often times sharpen my knife every other day or so, although all I do is hit it a few licks on the white stones in my Sharpmaker.

If I was limited to either one of these two steels only I would not consider myself to be unfortunate.

Of course if you are planning on buying another 710 and you already have the "standard" model then by all means go for the M2 steel. I've never used it but from all the POSITIVE reports I've read it must be some great stuff!!
 
154CM is fine with me.

The superiority of M2 regarding edge-holding isn't that great, so if I were you, I would not buy a new one simply because of the "better" steel. Better in quotation marks because 154CM has the benefit of a lot higher corrosion resistance than M2.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top