My Experience with the UKPK and CTS-BD1

E

europeanoutdoorsman

Joined
Feb 25, 2011
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So, some time ago, I popped on here and asked some questions about BD1 steel. People said is was like AUS8.

I got a UKPK in the mail the other day. I had ordered a ton of stuff and 4 other knives were in the box. Customs took twice as long to go through it because the holidays are coming and people are sending gifts around. Inside the box, it was very cold a humid. Got to the knives and I had purchased a 2nd Stretch. IT had rust on it! I never saw VG-10 rust. Wasn't hard to get off. The only blade that wasn't rusted was the CTS-BD1 blade of the UKPK.

I was surprised since my experiences with AUS8 were not too good for the corrosion resistance. It can hold the edge very well if it is high quality and the HT is right. My Cold Steel AUS8 blades hold an edge as long as VG-10, but the issue is AUS8 like that is NOT consistent.

I think the thing that puts the BD1 up a notch is that it is US Made and obviously a high quality steel. It may not be everyone's dream of a steel or some "super steel", but I love the stuff! It can take as fine an edge as VG-10 is easy to sharpen, resists rust well, but I have seen that it doesn't hold the fine edge as long as VG-10. In my experience, it is MUCH better than AUS8 overall. Love it!

Spyderco, for your lower end stuff, please select BD1 in the US over a foreign made blade. I think the cost difference to the consumer isn't huge, though some may disagree.

By the way, the knife I thought I purchased had the Gin-1 steel, but surprises are cool!
 
Carpenter Steel created CTS-BD1 at Spydederco's request. We wanted an ingot steel that had good performance in edge retention, toughness and corrosion resistance, but was less to purchase and process than the powdered steels we've been using. Something we would use in our "basic" models to lower mfg cost (and retail price) and use in our kitchen knives. The closest chemistry to what we wanted was a steel produced by Hitachi called Gingami 1 (GIN-1, G2). We had much experience with the steel and have been importing it from Japan. I asked for something equivalent or better. They tweaked the forumla and game up with BD1, which was an even better performer than Gingami and was USA made. Carpenters metallurgists are first rate. BD1 has hi-powered trace elements in the formula that enhance

sal
 
Interesting, I was thinking of picking up a ukpk the other day, something about those blades speaks to me:thumbup:
 
jwolf90 said:
Interesting, I was thinking of picking up a ukpk the other day, something about those blades speaks to me:thumbup:
Click to expand...

These are great little utility knives. If you need a knife at work, this is a very "sheeple" friendly knife. Not at all tactical or "scary" looking. These are small, lightweight, wellmade, and functional. What more could you ask?

That is why I am picking up another.
 
I Just picked up two on clearance, a blue SE and a gray PE. Typical Spyderco but with no locks. If it were up to me I would definitely strengthen the spring. Not as strong as my stainless Kiwi slippie that takes two hands to open but somewhere between that and where they are. My two are noticeably different from each other but both are uncomfortably easy to break from the open position. They're not weaker that your average Case or other slipjoint but the "Spyderco" feel in the hand can make one forget they're not locked. The muscle memory is kicking in though and I find myself pushing the back of my favorite Native's blade wondering why it won't close. :)
 
We're dicontinueing the 5 colors, hollow ground with a black handle flat ground. 2 blade shapes

sal
 
Interesting, I didn't know it was made at Spydercos request. I feel like it would be serviceable for a fixed blade seeing as it would be less prone to breakage or chipping than something with more wear resistance at a higher hardness. At first I was a bit disappointed in my UKPK, but learned to love it for what it is, and came to the conclusion, that it's one of the best 50 state legal folders I've used
 
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