New Skirmish - a little disappointed

4

45Shooter

Joined
Mar 30, 2001
Messages
458
Just recieved the Skirmish I've been wanting for a long time. It's very well made but it wasn't very sharp out of the box. Definitely wouldn't shave and wouldn't even cut paper cleanly. Is this normal for the Skirmish or SV30? After about ten minutes work on my diamond stick it's cutting paper much better but still won't shave much - guess I have more work to do. Otherwise I really like this knife.
 
Usually I find Benchmade factory edges to be a little on the dull and obtuse side, but except for near the tip, my Skirmish was actually pretty good. If you work at it a bit you'll see that it can get nicely sharp. The S30V on my 630 and 921 is about the sharpest stuff I've seen.
 
I got the pass around skirmishafter it had gone around the first time. When it arrived I was surprised at how dull it was but attributed it to heavy use. I expected to be able to get it back to shaving based on what I had heard about s30v and my experience with other benchmade knives but I never was able to produce what I thought was a really good edge. I am not an expert and was only using a sharpmaker but I am generallly able to keep all my other knives able to shave hair.

Sam
 
S30V is hard to sharpen well, and I find that BM factory edges can be somewhat obtuse.

Reduce the edge angle, buff/strop the hell out of it (after raising a burr and sharpening correctly) and S30V seems to do better.

I don't see much performance benefit over 154CM myself in edge holding, but many, many much more experienced makers and users tell me that S30V is in fact much better than 154CM.

-j
 
Without a doubt S30V takes some work to get real sharp. But it's worth the effort, because it holds the edge better than anything I've used (haven't tried the Dozier D2 yet though...would be interested in comparisons).
 
Hm, S30V takes more time on stroping and the edge is more for pulled cuts. I wondered about this, but that´s how it apears to me.

Of its fine structure, the edge will not feel as "sharp" as a D2 blade but it is and holds this status longer without the D2 - typical microchips.

I guess you have to do a bit more to get it sharp. Take it as a lesson on S30V. ;)
 
If the only thing wrong with the knife is that it came a little dull out of the box, I'd say there is no real problem. Sure, it's nice when they come sharp, and it should be expected, but I have three Queens that are keepers and they came downright blunt from the factory.

Don't judge S30V from this one experience. An obtuse edge angle makes a very large difference in how it sharpens. I have S30V blades from 3 makers, and the edge angle means a lot with regards to how easy it is to bring the edge back to sharp, and how sharp it feels. The Spyderco Native, for example, takes a little more to sharpen than a Buck Mayo, and the Buck feels sharper when finished with the same stones.
 
I guess my definition of sharp is different. While it didn't have fine edge like those on SOG or Kershaw folders, my Skirmish arrived with a shaving sharp edge. I can't say that I've ever had a dull Benchmade. Am I missing something here? :confused:
 
24 hours later ...... and I'm not disappointed anymore. Half an hour with my diamond hone and it shaves fine - not hair poppin' yet but I'll keep working on it. Otherwise this knife is fantastic - rock solid lockup, not too big but certainly not too small, fantastic handle ergos, hefty in the hand but light in the pocket. Materials and workmanship are outstanding. It takes a real effort to unlock and my thumb is already sore but better that than a loose sloppy lock. This knife is a real winner for anyone looking for a big folder.
 
My Benchmade Skirmish came very sharp out of the box. It will shave hair with no effort. I can not say the same for the 220 resistor it was a little dull out of the box.
 
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