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M2 versus 154cm
- Thread starter slayt
- Start date
They are both very good steels when HT'd properly.
My vote would definately go to the M2.
It is tougher than 154cm, and holds an edge longer (but will rust easier).
The only M2 knife I have is a Benchmade 710, so I cannot vouch for other makers versions of it.
I have several 154cm knives made by different manufacturers, and it is an excellent steel, and should serve well in any task.
Can't go wrong with either!
My vote would definately go to the M2.
It is tougher than 154cm, and holds an edge longer (but will rust easier).
The only M2 knife I have is a Benchmade 710, so I cannot vouch for other makers versions of it.
I have several 154cm knives made by different manufacturers, and it is an excellent steel, and should serve well in any task.
Can't go wrong with either!
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"Better" is subjective.
154CM is a premium stainless steel. M2 is a high carbon tool steel (not stainless). All things considered, the M2 will likely hold an edge longer but since it's not stainless it'll require more attention. Even though ithe blade is coated, the edge is exposed and if not maintained properly could rust and destroy the edge. The M2 Benchmade uses is also hardned to 60-62Rc which is quite hard for a production knife. This translates into more difficulty sharpening. 154CM is excellent steel too. It's pretty stain resistant and holds a sharp edge very well.
So for brute, all-around performance, M2 might have the egde (no pun intended), but for normal usage, you probably won't even notice much of a difference.
BTW, I'd put the DLC coating MOD uses way above the BT2 that Benchmade uses.
154CM is a premium stainless steel. M2 is a high carbon tool steel (not stainless). All things considered, the M2 will likely hold an edge longer but since it's not stainless it'll require more attention. Even though ithe blade is coated, the edge is exposed and if not maintained properly could rust and destroy the edge. The M2 Benchmade uses is also hardned to 60-62Rc which is quite hard for a production knife. This translates into more difficulty sharpening. 154CM is excellent steel too. It's pretty stain resistant and holds a sharp edge very well.
So for brute, all-around performance, M2 might have the egde (no pun intended), but for normal usage, you probably won't even notice much of a difference.
BTW, I'd put the DLC coating MOD uses way above the BT2 that Benchmade uses.
If I were choosing it would depend on what the knife is for. If I needed a utility knife that would see heavy use, M2 with it's superior edge-holding might offer an advantage. However, if the knife was for self-defense and/or occassional light utility use, I would pick ATS-34 for its superior stain resistance.
IIRC ATS34 and 154CM are about the same thing, except one is japanese and one american made, something like that i think. but very close if not the same thing.
M2 is a little better than 154CM imho, but just a little bit, and a normal user would never know the diff.
M2 is a little better than 154CM imho, but just a little bit, and a normal user would never know the diff.
Cliff Stamp
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Depends on what they are doing. I give knives to tradesmens all the time, fairly normal guys doing a fairly normal job and they will notice the difference immediately as M2 is tougher and more ductile.SIFU1A said:
-Cliff
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slayt said:
In that case, you're buying the beers tonight, he wins
slayt said:
Well, in which aspect?
Rust resistance --> in theory 154CM, but I own some Benchmade M2 knives and had so far absolutely no problems with rust. Don't forget to clean and dry the edge after work and You'll never see any rust on Your M2 knife.
Edge holding --> M2 hands doooooown...
Sharpening time ---> well, try to guess
Cliff Stamp
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A guy who cuts paper, plastic, fabrics and similar materials no, a guy who does scraping, hits an occasional staple, generally sees it as a utility tool, will notice a large difference quickly. If you live in a very corrosive enviroment the difference would be obvious to even a really light user.SIFU1A said:
-Cliff
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I was always wondering why i had to steel the 154CM edge after one week of light use. After that time the edge turned very rough.
Other steel grades didn´t do so. M2 is one of them.
I am not sure if it simply was a remaining burr. But it happened on two blades and not on any other.
So after a week of light use, as Cliff noted before, a user might notice fine differences.
If you open lettters and you get more paper dust, it indicates a rougher edge, for example.
Other steel grades didn´t do so. M2 is one of them.
I am not sure if it simply was a remaining burr. But it happened on two blades and not on any other.
So after a week of light use, as Cliff noted before, a user might notice fine differences.
If you open lettters and you get more paper dust, it indicates a rougher edge, for example.
SIFU1A said:
Well, who is the "normal user"?
Once after buying new furniture I had maany big boxes of thick cardboard for playing with it - of course I did some "tests"
Initial "sharpness level" was razor sharp for all blades.
154CM knives held very good - but there was no comparison to M2. Before all that cardboard was shredded, these 154CM knives were 2-3 times sharpened, because they ripped it already.
M2 stayed sharp enough all the time, I didn't need to sharpen it. It could cut clear all that time and quite long after that - even soft newspaper-sheets.
And it was only worning out, that made knives dull, not edge bending for example.
So I think, You'll see that difference even as a normal user, who has a little more stuff to cut.
I was very impressed by M2 - and I'm still a fan of it ;-)
slayt said:
Let's put it this way. In every day use on small folders there is basically no difference except for stain resistance, with the 154cm getting the nod. IMHO ease of sharpening, edge holding, and toughness only become an issue on blades longer than four inches in which case carbon steel is always better and the differences are apparent. But to answer your question I would say that both of your knives use high quality steel.
Cliff Stamp
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Why would blade length have such an influence? Benchmades designs tend to be heavy user based, not gentleman's edc, even with the smaller blades.nenofury said:
-Cliff
Cliff Stamp said:
IMO longer blades are more difficult to sharpen correctly. It's pretty easy to a keep a four incher at a consistent angle no matter what the blade shape. An 8 inch bowie is more difficult (for me at least).