...But what about the heat treatment Bob?
I say that with a smile on my face because I have already asked Mr. Taylor this exact question, and understandably, he gave me the stock knife manufacturer's answer, which is that they don't want to talk about their proprietary heat treatment for competitive reasons.
It does seem to me that I read in some promotional material that REKAT is targeting their hardness in the 58 RcH range, while Benchmade advertises 59-61, I think. My impression is that the ATS-34 blades on my Pioneers are slightly less abrasion resistant than the ATS-34 blades on the Benchmade knives I have. That could mean that the REKAT blades are tougher. Toughness is more a matter of tempering than hardness with ATS-34 though. I have a couple of 61 RcH ATS-34 blades that are very tough.
I haven't had a chipping problem with any of my Benchmade ATS blades though. I cut copper wire cabling with them quite regularly, and have done a lot of work with an ATS AFCK which involved cutting stainless crab pot wire and stripping rubber off the rebar frames. It was hell on the edge, but didn't result in any chipping that didn't come out completely with sharpening, not what I would call a problem.
So that's my take, that the REKAT blades are a little softer, and possibly a little tougher. Both hold an edge pretty darn well for stain resistant steel. Which you think is better might be a matter of what you expect from the steel. Time to do some head-to-head edge holding comparisons, I guess.
Harv
[This message has been edited by Steve Harvey (edited 26 July 1999).]