Switch from BD1 to BD1N?

I know, I know... still being spoiled by Maxamet, S110V, ZDP, and others. I should have grabbed an PM2 0r Manix in M4 from BHQ. Will look at the GB.
 
So I've now gotten the drop point UKPK in BD1N and I can say that the hype is earned. It's a pretty awesome steel. Now I have to know, what's the next model getting this massive upgrade?
 
dkb45 said:
So I've now gotten the drop point UKPK in BD1N and I can say that the hype is earned. It's a pretty awesome steel. Now I have to know, what's the next model getting this massive upgrade?
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Keeping my fingers crossed for the Manix 2 LW. I was looking at the S110V version, but I may wait it out and see what happens with BD1N.
 
dkb45 said:
So I've now gotten the drop point UKPK in BD1N and I can say that the hype is earned. It's a pretty awesome steel.....
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Been planning on grabbing one of those myself. Just need to find a dealer that has the BDN1 models in stock instead of BD1.
 
dkb45 said:
So I've now gotten the drop point UKPK in BD1N and I can say that the hype is earned. It's a pretty awesome steel. Now I have to know, what's the next model getting this massive upgrade?
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Thank you for this. A UKPk is now securely on the list next time I make an order (....waiting on you, Kapara).
 
dkb45 said:
So I've now gotten the drop point UKPK in BD1N and I can say that the hype is earned. It's a pretty awesome steel. Now I have to know, what's the next model getting this massive upgrade?
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Spyderco would also do well if they used this steel in their kitchen knives. All of my kitchen knives are BD1N and I love them.
 
Curious if anybody has seen any of the other knives transitioning to BD1N.
 
For those that have found the UKPK in BD1N, have they all been drop points? I'm striking out finding any of them in either blade configuration.
 
Who's carrying the drop point BD1N models? I know a bigbox store was mentioned earlier this year, but I've not seen it listed at any as of yet. I'm in for one at least, maybe more.

u.w.

ETA: never mind - I found one -
 
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I just picked up 7 leaf UKPKs, all in BD1N. I called knifecenter and they ordered 7 to my specs from their supplier.

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I do so much online these days that I forget there are other communication modalities like phones. I'll give Knifecenter a jingle. I think that there may be BD1N UKPK models in stock at other sites as well, but they haven't yet updated their web pages.
 
On page one I posted a chart comparing the composition of bd1 vs bd1n. In terms of chemical makeup they are almost identical. I wonder what accounts for this massive performance difference that it seems people are experiencing.
 
DeadboxHero said:
M4 is a requirement brotha, grab a Gayle Bradley 2 and be prepared for your favorite new steel.
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Deadbox, how tough would you say M4 is? I have never used it hard, and I like toughness, thus I am considering replacing my M4 with some Cruwear. Thoughts?
 
Lapedog said:
On page one I posted a chart comparing the composition of bd1 vs bd1n. In terms of chemical makeup they are almost identical. I wonder what accounts for this massive performance difference that it seems people are experiencing.
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The addition of nitrogen is what makes the world of difference. Kind of how S35VN is worse than S30V on paper, the nitrogen added makes up for a lot. If you could make the same steel two ways, one with nitrogen and one without, the nitrogen steel would likely perform better if all elements could be equal otherwise. It seems to be similar to how a PM steel performs better than ingot versions, but more simple nitrogen steels like BD1N don't seem super expensive to produce while still performing way outside of what budget steels usually do.
 
dkb45 said:
The addition of nitrogen is what makes the world of difference. Kind of how S35VN is worse than S30V on paper, the nitrogen added makes up for a lot. If you could make the same steel two ways, one with nitrogen and one without, the nitrogen steel would likely perform better if all elements could be equal otherwise. It seems to be similar to how a PM steel performs better than ingot versions, but more simple nitrogen steels like BD1N don't seem super expensive to produce while still performing way outside of what budget steels usually do.
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I’m not sure how much nitrogen one would have to add to see a noticable effect but the mass of nitrogen in bd1n is between 0.01 and 0.015% which is an absolutely miniscule ammount.

Also the N in s35vn stands for Niobium. There is no nitrogen in s35vn. Some elements like niobium and vanadium can alter a steel’s grain structure even in tiny ammounts while larger ammounts will create carbides.

Also it is helpful to learn the difference between molar% and mass%. For example carbon only forms 1.34% of s35vn’s mass but because it is a fairly light atom it is almost 6% of s35vn’s molar% meaning almost 6% of the volume of s35vn is carbon.

Basically mass is a measurement of how much of that steel’s weight would be carbon. Whereas molar mass would mean how much of the volume of a piece of s35vn would be carbon. Since carbon is light almost 6% volume is only contributes to 1.34% of the total weight of a given piece of s35vn.
 
I like it, I just ran the tip on my mantra in CPM M4 across some steel bars to cut some plastic wrap in a hurry. It was a 1k CBN edge at 15dps with a 1um finish. I Blunted the edge that contacted metal of course, but no chipping and still able to cut stuff.

I was still able to cut serval zip ties afterwards to even though it wasn't as sharp after damaging the edge. Slapped it on a stone and its back like magic, I like the M4.

I wouldn't use it as a pry bar but the edge can be fairly durable for the carbide volume in the steel.

I like the Cruwear even more because it takes a better edge and has more stability.

jstn said:
Deadbox, how tough would you say M4 is? I have never used it hard, and I like toughness, thus I am considering replacing my M4 with some Cruwear. Thoughts?
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Lapedog said:
I’m not sure how much nitrogen one would have to add to see a noticable effect but the mass of nitrogen in bd1n is between 0.01 and 0.015% which is an absolutely miniscule ammount.

Also the N in s35vn stands for Niobium. There is no nitrogen in s35vn. Some elements like niobium and vanadium can alter a steel’s grain structure even in tiny ammounts while larger ammounts will create carbides.

Also it is helpful to learn the difference between molar% and mass%. For example carbon only forms 1.34% of s35vn’s mass but because it is a fairly light atom it is almost 6% of s35vn’s molar% meaning almost 6% of the volume of s35vn is carbon.

Basically mass is a measurement of how much of that steel’s weight would be carbon. Whereas molar mass would mean how much of the volume of a piece of s35vn would be carbon. Since carbon is light almost 6% volume is only contributes to 1.34% of the total weight of a given piece of s35vn.
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I stand corrected. Mistakenly thought the n stood for nitrogen. A more accurate analogy would be N680 and 440A, extremely similar composition but N680 performs vastly better, coming close to 440C performance with a little nitrogen added. Having used BD1, BD1N, 440A, and N680 I can say that's pretty accurate. While the nitrogen added to BD1N might be small, a little goes a very long way with steels. My UKPK in BD1N seems to hold an edge on cardboard nearly as well as D2, but I haven't even seen an inkling of discoloration and it was about as easy to sharpen as AUS-8 on diamonds.
 
I agree with the above sentiments about M4. It sharpens very easily, and will also hold a very sharp edge for a considerable amount of time.

I have a GB2 that I used to cut open three 4000lb bulk bags full of compacted agricultural lime. I had the bags suspended over a spreader and would cut the bottom to allow the lime to fall.

Only two micro chips were found after that, and the edge was still very sharp. It was easy to remove the chips with some work on. Duo-fold progression.

Love M4 and the GB1 and GB2...
 
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