Poor quality custom S30V griptilian?

Well, I need to correct my above post. I can't comment on the edge not holding up, but I found out something about the hole groove. I pulled my mini 555 out of the safe and look what I found. Mine looks like it has a little splatter of metal along with the groove, like maybe the holes are plasma cut?or laser cut or what ever the correct process is for creating the hole? Never noticed it until you mentioned it and to tell you the truth it doesn't bother me.hole 001.jpghole 002.jpg
 
If any of you Have an S30V grip and the means to put a hair popping edge on your blade like i do. Strop your blade up to the point where it pops hair off your leg and you don't feel it and tell me if it pulls hair after slicing up two pieces of printer paper. Because that's how bad mine is dulling. I just want a comparison.
 
Yeah it dosnt bother me too much. Im more annoyed at it dulling considerably after cutting two pieces of paper.
 
Oldbugr said:
Well, I need to correct my above post. I can't comment on the edge not holding up, but I found out something about the hole groove. I pulled my mini 555 out of the safe and look what I found. Mine looks like it has a little splatter of metal along with the groove, like maybe the holes are plasma cut?or laser cut or what ever the correct process is for creating the hole? Never noticed it until you mentioned it and to tell you the truth it doesn't bother me.View attachment 350806View attachment 350807
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Laser cut. The line shown in the OP's OP is a classic illustration of the starting point for the cut.
 
Smooth up the opening hole with a dowel rod wrapped with wet/dry sandpaper or use a Dremel but don't use excessive speed.
 
If any of you Have an S30V grip and the means to put a hair popping edge on your blade like i do. Strop your blade up to the point where it pops hair off your leg and you don't feel it and tell me if it pulls hair after slicing up two pieces of printer paper. Because that's how bad mine is dulling. I just want a comparison.
 
Nogorn said:
If any of you Have an S30V grip and the means to put a hair popping edge on your blade like i do. Strop your blade up to the point where it pops hair off your leg and you don't feel it and tell me if it pulls hair after slicing up two pieces of printer paper. Because that's how bad mine is dulling. I just want a comparison.
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I don't have any experience with Benchmades S30V but I should be receiving a mini Ritter grip (S30V) tomorrow. I'll sharped it up and let you know what happens. I can tell you that I have had a LOT of knives in S30V (Spyderco mostly) and none of them have lost their edge that fast.
 
I really would contact them about it. It would bother me for sure. Good luck and let us know what you decide.
 
I have plenty of experience with Benchmade's S30v.
Should easily keep shaving sharp after 2 slices of printer paper however slicing up one printer paper into little confetti would cause it to almost drag hair instead of shaving it.

It will however loose it's hair whittling sharpnes after 1 printer paper slice~

S30v or similar PM vanadium carbide steels do not keep a fine hair whittling sharpness for very long at all, a slice or two and it's gone.
S30v will however keep a working edge for well after 154CM or non vanadium carbide steels.
 
Alright. Then im guessing its normal. I guess ill take one of my cheaper knives and my grip and cut up two huge boxes to test its edge retention.
 
Cardboard... I've been carrying my blade for a while, takes about two weeks before it starts making little tears in cardboard, I do re-profile my edges though and I think the thinner edge really helps make it last longer. After 2 weeks I can see micro dents on the edge, I also use it on wood, zip ties, shrink wrap covered in dust and dirt, plastic/nylon banding etc. in this same period.

For display/show off edges I make sure my face is clean and facial hair wet and soaped to help the edge maintain its sharpness.
 
Skimo said:
\For display/show off edges I make sure my face is clean and facial hair wet and soaped to help the edge maintain its sharpness.
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Anything else would be a close shave Jon...:D Nice to see you over here! :thumbup:
 
Nogorn said:
I payed just over 160$ for a custom griptilian with S30V steel and a sheepsfoot blade. The opening hole has a huge notch running from one side to the other facing frontward. there is a random line cut out of the top of the blade almost as if the jimping failed at some point. Also for being S30V it kinda sucks. I put a fresh hair popping edge on it and after just cutting through a balled up paper towel half way its noticeably duller.
WX8IQdU.jpg
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Don't see any random line cut out. The notch in the opening hole should not be there. As for dull, I can see the wire edge in this last picture where the blade casts a shadow over the paper towel. No wonder it seems dull. Get rid of the wire edge by stropping and it will perform better.

EDIT: after reading the rest of the thread and your statement here:
Nogorn said:
Also im new to sharpening. I dont feel a rie edge or burr on my knife but the way i sharpened it was on an edge pro apex and all my strokes from the stone were coming towards me. never back. Could that have messed something up?
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I'm definitely putting my money on a wire edge or a burr that you haven't removed. Did you do all stones in a pulling motion toward you, or just the stropping? Also, do a final strop on a piece of cardboard like the back of a note pad. The slight give of the pad will help to make sure that any wire edge is removed. As others have said, S30V won't hold a hair-popping edge for very long, but will maintain a great working edge for quite a while. I used to have a Gerber Freeman fixed blade in s30v, and after the first cut through a deer's hide, it wouldn't shave hair, but it managed to gut, skin, and process two deer from field-to-freezer before it needed to be resharpened (and their HT wasn't as good as Benchmades!).
 
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I ordered a custom 550 same as yours and I have had no problem with my S30V and mine didn't come with any imperfections like yours shows. Also mine only took a week and a half from the time I ordered it.
I have two BM knives with S30V, and while I don't feel it is up to par with other companies' heat treating, it is still very good IMO. It does form a wire edge super easy and can be a pain to get off.
My mini ritter was dull for weeks until I became more skilled in my technique in sharpening it. I haven't used my custom a hole lot, I stropped the factory edge once. My Spyderco Para 2 gave me the same trouble. Your specific edge might be over heated and HT ruined on a portion of the edge. I've read that S30V gave manufacturers some problems with grinding because of the wear resistance it has, same with elmax. It can be hit or miss. You could send it in and hope they fix it right or just sharpen it out until it performs well enough for your needs. It should get better with each sharpening.

S30V is known for losing its super keen edge very fast but is should still shave hair after 2 pieces of paper. I just did a quick test, I cut up two 12X12X8 sized single wall corrugated cardboard boxes with both my Para 2 and Mini Ritter into roughly 3/4 inch wide 2 inch long pieces and both will shave arm hair after one box. It's not the most comfortable and it isn't a good shave but it will still pop off a few hairs.

My best guess is you either have a problem with a wire edge and or a burnt edge. My para 2 had both these problems when I got it and my ritter had just the wire edge problem until I learned how to sharpen it. It's tricky, I still can't get it as sharp as I'd like. I'm not the best at sharpening either though.
 
wasnt course. could pluck hairs off my arm. i re sharpened it now it has a mirror polish on it. got rid of the wire edge. same problem.
 
and for everyone saying to strop it.. i stropped it for a good 15 minutes straight before i used it. and then a few minutes after every time i used it because it would get a little duller. So either there was no wire edge or saying to strop it is BS and dosnt get rid of it.
 
Call Benchmade up and explain your problem. They are the only ones that can determine for sure if there's indeed problem with the knife or your technique.
 
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