i want to get a spyderco military. it comes in BG42 or S30v. despite my reading on these steels, i do not understand the relative strength/weaknesses of these 2 steels and how this applies to farm/bush type use. also is BG42 harder to sharpen ?
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spyderco military BG42 or S30v ?
- Thread starter rprocter
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Bg42 isn't harder to sharpen. It's a clean. easy to sharpen steel. S30v is excellent too. Can't go wrong either way IMO. Get whichever you like. Note the BG42 is a sprint and has a few upgrades which make it an overall better knife but it isn't really because of the steel. Joe
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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I have one of each, neither of which has seen hard use yet. The materials are so similar it doesn't really matter which you get. If the price isn't a problem, you might go for the BG-42, since it won't be available forever.
BG-42 was the steel Chris Reeve used in his folders before he worked with with Crucible to develop S30V. He used ATS-34 before that. I always found my Sebenzas in BG-42 easy to sharpen, and they've been used enough to need a lot of sharpening.
The BG-42 Military has carbon fiber scales but the G-10 on the S30V version has held up excellently for many people for years. No particular advantage there either, but the CF seems slightly grippier to me. This is almost irrelevent, though, since the handle design is so good, my hand wouldn't slip if the scales were Teflon.
BG-42 was the steel Chris Reeve used in his folders before he worked with with Crucible to develop S30V. He used ATS-34 before that. I always found my Sebenzas in BG-42 easy to sharpen, and they've been used enough to need a lot of sharpening.
The BG-42 Military has carbon fiber scales but the G-10 on the S30V version has held up excellently for many people for years. No particular advantage there either, but the CF seems slightly grippier to me. This is almost irrelevent, though, since the handle design is so good, my hand wouldn't slip if the scales were Teflon.
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I have the Military in BG-42 and C.F. handles and I also have the ParaMilitary in the S30V with G-10 handles. From what I can tell so far both knives take scary sharp edges and keep them well. I have cut up a bunch of boxes with the ParaMilitary and did not have to retouch the edge at all (although I did give it a quick buff with green compound) on my felt wheel and just for the hell of it I did the Military too. WOW these are some VERY VERY sharp knives!
I believe that BG-42 is a bearing grade of steel so it must be very homogenous in its make up. S30V is probably just a tad more stain/rust resistent but both steels are extremly well suited to knife blades like the Spyderco's.
You can't go wrong with either one that you choose, I just seem to lean a little more towards the BG-42 as it has a sterling history of being great knife steel.
FWIW, and Ciao
Ron
I believe that BG-42 is a bearing grade of steel so it must be very homogenous in its make up. S30V is probably just a tad more stain/rust resistent but both steels are extremly well suited to knife blades like the Spyderco's.
You can't go wrong with either one that you choose, I just seem to lean a little more towards the BG-42 as it has a sterling history of being great knife steel.
FWIW, and Ciao
Ron
BG-42 has a slightly longer edge retention than S30V, however S30V is my favorite all around steel for its all around properties. BG-42 is also impressive. Opting for the BG-42 is ideal as they have the steel liner and as said, are cheaper than the S30V models.
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Get the BG42 version. You will NOT regret it. I've been carrying one for several months, and while I've not used it for heavy duty cutting, the knife has been used to cut a lot of stuff, and still hasn't needed sharpening. I love mine so much, I bought a spare, and just may buy another.