Vintage spyderco military

[Snakethename]

So, I just bought a 1996 spyderco in 440v steel, anyone have any experience with 440v? From what I’ve heard and read it’s supp to be better than m390, and tougher than s30v! I’d be interested to hear your guys thoughts

 

[ferider]

I have a Chinook 1 and a serrated Military in 440V/S60V. It's quite tough, better than 20CV and S30, not as tough as CPM154 or AEB-L for stainless.

Here is a good article: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2020/08/17/cpm-s60v-the-forgotten-super-steel/

 

[Snakethename]

Thanks! How easy is it to sharpen?

 

[ferider]

Thanks! How easy is it to sharpen?

On my medium Spyderco ceramic stone, it feels a little harder to sharpen than S30V, and easier than S90V, if that helps. The Chinook 1, that is. My Military is more of a collector piece, I'm not really in the mood to sharpen the serrations

What knife did you get ?

 

[Murdamook]

I’m not sure s30v is a benchmark for toughness. But 440V is a cool alternative to m390 but with less corrosion resistance. If the KN article is to be believed, then there’s probably some issues with whether or not the technology was effective enough at the time to handle the steel. At this point I think anyone heavily interested in knife steels is probably looking at steels that occupy the tails of the bell curve in terms of toughness or edge retention. The KN article acknowledges s35vn occupies a higher standard with regard to toughness iirc. With s45vn now moving in, I’m not sure if 440V has a zone. Maybe I’m wrong though. Haha.

 

[ferider]

Dah ... just reread the thread title. These old Militaries are very cool. Super light due to missing liner on one side. Just a cool knife independent of the steel (like my Chinook 1). Congrats !

 

[Snakethename]

On my medium Spyderco ceramic stone, it feels a little harder to sharpen than S30V, and easier than S90V, if that helps. The Chinook 1, that is. My Military is more of a collector piece, I'm not really in the mood to sharpen the serrations

What knife did you get ?

A 1996 plain edge military!

 

[Arathol]

I still have my CPM 440V Military from 1996 or so, has the 2 screw clip. Its nice and thin, pretty light, but the clip is on the wrong end......Put the clip on the right end and it would be perfect......

 

[tiguy7]

A long time ago a knife magazine gave 440-V the highest rating for edge retention in a group of steels (knives) that were being tested. One of the criteria in the text was ease of sharpening. 440-V was down rated because it was the hardest to sharpen in that group. 440-V did not finish 1st overall. Since edge retention and ease of sharpening are usually inversely proportional, (no free lunch) I thought the test was skewed, and probably dissuaded potential buyers from trying one of the best steels available at the time.
That model has an adjustable pivot and utilizes an eccentric post. If the liner lock is early or late, it can usually be tuned.

 

[Planterz]

If I remember right, 440V is/was extremely difficult to machine and grind, and thus wasn't particularly popular with makers. It also only hardens optimally to about 56HRc, so customers weren't enthused about it when other "super" steels at the time were 58-61. Crucible discontinued it some years ago. None of this means that it's a "bad" steel - far from it - but merely that it's a bit "quirky", perhaps, compared to the steels you're probably more used to when it comes to performance and resharpening.