What's the best Benchmade Steel?

[MatthewSB]

All of the steels are different, and none are especially great.

D2 can hold a sharp edge for a long time, but it isn't any sort of stainless and it will corrode easier than the others.

S30v doesn't hold a razor sharp edge for very long, but once it dulls slightly it maintains a great working edge for a very long time. S30V is also known for chipping easily. I've chipped thin S30V cutting zipties, so I'm either very careful with slicer ground S30V, or I keep it at 45 to 50 degrees inclusive to avoid chipping.

154CM is the best balanced working steel in my opinion. It gets very sharp, and stays that way for a while. It's my top choice for inexpensive, general use stainless steel. It's also easier to sharpen.

A few months ago I had to remove all of the carpet in my house. I used two knives, an S30V Spyderco and a 154CM Emerson. Both started hair flinging sharp. The Emerson stayed very sharp for a large section of a room, but eventually got so dull that it was frustrating to use. The Spyderco lost it's razor edge after a pass or two across the carpet, but stayed usable for the remainder of the house. The Emerson took seconds to get back to being scary sharp, the Spyderco took a while to get right using a Sharpmaker. I prefer 154CM for EDC use, where I have nightly access to a loaded strop to maintain the edge. If I'm doing any kind of hard use, I bring something in S30V.

For the record, in my experience S35VN is better, at everything and in every way, than any of the above steels, and M390 is even better than that.

 

[craytab]

To answer the title? BM does a great job with M4

To answer your question between your options. I would go for S30V. Great all around steel. I bit of an upgrade to their standard 154cm.

 

[gga357]

M4, M390, S30 in that order.

 

[pascal.abi]

first: easily cpm M4
then m390 and d2 ...

 

[rch02474]

154cm
D2
N680
S30V

?

I am putting together a Custom Mini Griptilian on the Benchmade website. And I'm not sure which steel material for the blade is the best choice.

Any Advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

So as others have already mentioned, the correct answer to your question is "It depends".

154CM is a great all-around steel. It's very corrosion resistant, holds a nice sharp edge, super easy to touch up on the sharpmaker, and the least expensive.

D2 and S30V hold better edges, but are more difficult to touch up. They'll hold a working edge for quite a while, but if you run either steel until it's super dull, it'll take quite a while to get it back sharp. D2 is semi stainless, so it's usually (but not always) used with a blade coating to help against corrosion. D2 is also a bit more brittle than S30V. Probably not a factor at all for most knives, but you probably don't want to thump on it (abuse the blade). I love my D2 Griptillian. It holds a great edge and I don't see a huge difference between it and my s30v knives.

N680 is usually used for dive knives. I'm not really familiar with it, but unless you're frequently take it in the ocean, I'd go with another steel.

As a wildcard option, take a look at the Ritter Griptillian in M390 (which is a better steel than the other options). If you want another color you can always buy custom scales and have a great knife that will last forever (plus you'll probably never come across someone who has one just like it).

 

[Mahoney]

Based on my experience, I would suggest D2, or CPM 154. Of the 4 steels, my D2 Griptillian holds an edge best, and is so old that all the surface coating is gone. I've had no problems with corrosion, but I rarely cut anything acidic or corrosive. My CPM 154 Griptillian I would place second, followed by N680, which is sort of like a not-very-hard 440C...serviceable, but not exciting compared to M390, CTS-XHP, S110V... My experience with Benchmade's S30V has not been good, I've had 3 Griptillians in that steel, they all chipped badly, I no longer own them and I see no reason to try another. But plenty of folks love the S30V Grips so...YMMV...

 

[loonybin]

Based on my experience, I would suggest D2, or CPM 154. Of the 4 steels, my D2 Griptillian holds an edge best, and is so old that all the surface coating is gone. I've had no problems with corrosion, but I rarely cut anything acidic or corrosive. My CPM 154 Griptillian I would place second, followed by N680, which is sort of like a not-very-hard 440C...serviceable, but not exciting compared to M390, CTS-XHP, S110V... My experience with Benchmade's S30V has not been good, I've had 3 Griptillians in that steel, they all chipped badly, I no longer own them and I see no reason to try another. But plenty of folks love the S30V Grips so...YMMV...

Benchmade does not use CPM154 steel (the powdered steel version). They use 154CM. Long ago, Benchmade did treat their s30v to high and had chipping issues. Those issues have been resolved for the most part.