Spyderco Military - S90V Blue or CRUWEAR Gray?

Rasco

Rasco

Joined
Jan 3, 2014
Messages
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Are these pretty similar? Is there much difference outside of the handle color?
I'm considering picking up a Military in one of these two options.

What are y'alls opinions of these two?
 
both awesome! I recently picked the Cruwear and couldn't be more pleased
 
BBW said:
both awesome! I recently picked the Cruwear and couldn't be more pleased
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If I bought both at once, I'd feel really bad for having spent the equivalent of a new pistol on 2 folding knives.
Why is this? If I buy one this month and one next month, I'll think nothing of it :rolleyes:

Sooo.... If you could only get one (at a time) which one would you get (first)?
 
Rasco said:
If I bought both at once, I'd feel really bad for having spent the equivalent of a new pistol on 2 folding knives.
Why is this? If I buy one this month and one next month, I'll think nothing of it :rolleyes:

Sooo.... If you could only get one (at a time) which one would you get (first)?
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I already have a Cruwear but I probably would have gotten the blue if only I didn't object to BBS' business model.
 
singularity35 said:
I already have a Cruwear but I probably would have gotten the blue if only I didn't object to BBS' business model.
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Can you expand on that? I checked out their eBay shop, and it did give me a little pause that the other thing they seem to sell is anime action figures....???
 
Rasco said:
Can you expand on that? I checked out their eBay shop, and it did give me a little pause that the other thing they seem to sell is anime action figures....???
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I'm sure it doesn't matter at this point in time. It mattered to me when they offered the blue for pre-order. :)
 
As far as the steels are concerned, are these two pretty similar? Or is one better than the other in certain categories?
 
Rasco said:
As far as the steels are concerned, are these two pretty similar? Or is one better than the other in certain categories?
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S90V is presently a top tier steel based on wear resistance and edge holding. There are few steels being used in production knives that have the edge holding of S90V. Cruwear is a different animal. It's not as wear resistant as S90V but it's much tougher. Toughness in blade steel is preferred for knives that might have more lateral or impact stress in use. Personally, I also find it my experience that tougher steels can "survive" a thinner geometry better than steels that are less tough. I'd say that Cruwear has around the edge holding of S30V or of 3V. Grindability is another factor to consider. Simply said, grindability equates with ease of sharpening. S90V is much harder to grind than Cruwear especially when rebeveling.
 
I reckon the cruwear is a better deal for the money since you can pick one up for about $100 less. I never found the super wear resistant steels so attractive since I like to touch my knives up on a regular basis. No matter how well a steel holds an edge, they all will fairly quickly lose their razor edge. At that point my OCD kicks in and I feel the need to touch it up. For this reason I favor steels that take a fine edge and touch up easily.
 
Excellent. Thanks for the input guys. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for.
 
I've got a Cruwear Millie and its one of my favorites and most carried/used..it takes a extremely keen edge and keeps it..I just touch mine up on the brown rods of the SM occasionally and the toothy edge cuts like crazy.

The CruWear Millie sells for $80 to $100 less than the CruWear Millie so IMO the CruWear is the way to go.

If the prices were the same it would be a tough call..both are excellent steels..
 
$100 less than the S90V you mean. But yeah.
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the CRUWEAR.
From the cheapest site I could find it on, which was still around $170.
But it beats the BBS price by about $50.

I'm so excited. I've also got an Edge Pro Apex on the way and I can't wait to give the CRUWEAR a manicure :p
 
Good choice! Here's something to keep you while you wait for it. :)

Cruwear at 30° inclusive finished at 600 grit SiC moldmasters.

lSdOnDS.jpg
 
singularity35 said:
I already have a Cruwear but I probably would have gotten the blue if only I didn't object to BBS' business model.
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I've been a bit leery about ordering from BBS myself. What about their business model doesn't sit well with you ? I'm just curious.
 
Can't speak for him but it is just their pricing for me. It sucks on all models, even when they have one on "sale" it is still more than everybody else's normal pricing. On the S90V blue Mili, they decided to price it way high. I think the reason they did it was to discourage flipping, which seemed to work. They decided they would rather not have flipping and others taking money they were leaving on the table by selling cheaper. Thing is they were already high, so it just seems greedy. The blue PM2 with M390 went for $180 iirc. The green CTS-204P (same steel from a different company) PM2 went for $140 first run (plus $8 shipping) and $150 shipped second run from KW. The CRUWEAR Military's went for around $140 from most dealers. When you know what they can be had for if you were fast and lucky enough, seeing BBS pricing is a big turnoff.
 
I own both but the Cruwear is in the safe as sort of a preneed replacement. The S90v is my daily user Millie. Love it love it love it. I got it for $190 on the exchange. Cheapest ever and it was pretty much new and an ideal example. I passed on it originally, BBS is ridiculous and not just because of their epic prices.
 
On BBS, I have to agree with the general sentiments about their pricing models, etc. I have stopped myself on more than one occasion from purchasing from them. One of them was the Spyderco Military with S90V & Blue G-10 for $282.75 shipped (for mine I have to add CA tax) when you consider the KW Manix 2 XL with CF went for $220 shipped!

Rasco, you got a great Military Cru-Wear and it's only about $25-$30 more than what most of us paid for one about six months ago. Congrats.
 
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