what's your steel preference for grips?

I have minis in 154cm and it works fine. I have one in M4 and it hold an edge much longer than most other steels that I have used.
The 154CM is good stuff.
 
Their M390 is killer as is their high hardness M4. But I have never seen an M390 Grip and I like stainless on folders for the most part. Their 154CM sharpens up very easily and takes a fine edge. If I don't need stainless M4 for me, but my job is very "wet".
 
TriviaMonster said:
Their M390 is killer as is their high hardness M4. But I have never seen an M390 Grip and I like stainless on folders for the most part. Their 154CM sharpens up very easily and takes a fine edge. If I don't need stainless M4 for me, but my job is very "wet".
Click to expand...

But folks should remember that a lot of M4 blades were run at the earlier lower Rc range, and that includes ALL of the Ritters.
 
Sad part is M390 and M4 are not readily available in the Grips. :(

Between S30V and 154cm, regular blade profile, what do most prefer? (I know D2 is available, I've had that model before, but I'm not a fan of coatings)
 
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I like all the steels it's offered in. S30V is my least favorite, but it's a passable steel. I've got a lot of knives in it because a lot of companies like to use it. I prefer 154CM or M4. Those are my two current fav EDC folder steels. They seem to handle a variety of cutting cores in many different environments, and they're both easy to maintain. The Grips are a good user package to me. They're well designed for a variety of needs. When I buy a knife, I buy the overall package, not just the blade shape or steel, or the lock. I'm really more concerned with how the whole knife works together. Generally though, I like steels that are tougher and easier to maintain over steels that are extreme in any category. I'm firmly in the "jack-of-all-trades, master of none" category when it comes to knives.
 
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I say this all the time, my 555 mini-grip in 154CM is far and above all others I own as my favorite knife for EDC but while the blade steel is great, its not the deciding factor, I love the overall package and I would love it in D2 or S30V just as well.

That's what I love about the grips- even the lowest model is a great steel, no cheap steel ruining people's ideas of the knife.
 
mromeo23 said:
Im curious what people prefer for their griptilian steel. The more i research the more it seems like people get better results from 154cm or M4. I was under the impression S30V was the most popular when I purchased my Ritter, but I seem to read more about that steel either chipping or not holding an edge. I also read that could just be the old heat treat which im still confused about how that works. I don't find very many positive opinions on D2.

So just thought id throw the question out there for anyone that wouldn't mind sharing their opinions. Thanks
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Where did you get all of this info from? BM are the masters at good, consistant, correct, heat treat. They are VERY predictable in this, which comes in handy. Their 154 is probably the best on the market, bar none. Their S30V, chipping? I've never heard of, or had that happen, and I use my knives quite frequently.
Not many good things heard on their D2 is the one that really gets me. Their D2 is nothing short of badass. Ever used a 710? I've got several, and they do not suck.

Man, I'm not trying to be condescending, or rude in any way, but you cannot believe everything you read on the internet, or see on youtube. You can skew ANYTHING to make it turn out how you'd like it to, as far as "tests" are concerned.
 
I found the CM154 difficult to sharpen, even on diamond hones. It did take an excellent edge, though. I prefer D2; my Grippie (Cabella's) in this steel cuts like a banshee. Easier to sharpen, too.
 
Here are some pics of my only experience with Benchmade’s S30V, but not my only experience with S30V. I am very familiar with S30V and have used it a lot harder from other manufacturers without issue. Anyways, I jumped in on this thread because my Ritter seemed to chip from light use (slicing bread on a cutting board, for example, is how I got the chip in the pics), and no matter how much I reprofiled it to a steeper edge it would still chip. So I guess I was wondering if things have changed any or did I get a lemon?

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I really wanted to like the Ritter Grip (and if you search my past posts you’ll find where I give it high marks) so I’m not bashing here.

I used it for everything from food prep to dressing a whitetail deer (chipped after the whitetail, too)

Now on to the pics – possible content warning for the squeamish:

Making some stew:
7zg3.jpg


Chip from slicing bread:
r69o.jpg


Same, different angle:
uzjk.jpg


Post-deer:
rirh.jpg
 
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I have some S30V 943's, and such. I've never had a moments trouble with them. I can't for the life of me, imagine that bread makes any steel for that matter, chip. Strange for sure. How old are these Ritters? Is it possible that BM might have had a bad batch of blades? Has ANYBODY taken the time to call them? They are miles farther than helpful, and will make anything right, that is wrong.
 
J_Roc said:
Here are some pics of my only experience with Benchmade’s S30V, but not my only experience with S30V. I am very familiar with S30V and have used it a lot harder from other manufacturers without issue. Anyways, I jumped in on this thread because my Ritter seemed to chip from light use (slicing bread on a cutting board, for example, is how I got the chip in the pics), and no matter how much I reprofiled it to a steeper edge it would still chip. So I guess I was wondering if things have changed any or did I get a lemon?

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I really wanted to like the Ritter Grip (and if you search my past posts you’ll find where I give it high marks) so I’m not bashing here.

I used it for everything from food prep to dressing a whitetail deer (chipped after the whitetail)

Now on to the pics – possible content warning for the squeamish:

Making some stew:
7zg3.jpg


Chip from slicing bread:
r69o.jpg


Same, different angle:
uzjk.jpg


Post-deer:
rirh.jpg
Click to expand...


The first picture...is that a glass cutting board? I've cut on wood/plastic/bamboo cutting boards with my mini ritter without issue, with the factory main bevel and a micro bevel at 40 deg put on from a few touch up strokes with ultra fine rods on a sharp maker. I do admit to having s30v in general chip on me if I ding the edge into something (but thats my fault not really a fault with the steel...).
 
au5t3n5 said:
The first picture...is that a glass cutting board?
Click to expand...

I really can't remember, it was taken at a friend's place...but it did not chip on that board, it was on a plain old wooden chopping board when I had that chip.
 
L2bravo said:
I have some S30V 943's, and such. I've never had a moments trouble with them. I can't for the life of me, imagine that bread makes any steel for that matter, chip. Strange for sure. How old are these Ritters? Is it possible that BM might have had a bad batch of blades?
Click to expand...

I didn't mean to imply that the bread chipped it, but rather the act of slicing bread resulted in a chip. As to how old, I got it the day (literally, I think) that they came out.
 
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Years ago - I don't think it's as common in recent years - there were a lot of complaints about issues like yours with S30V Benchmade blades. The complaints usually went away after a few sharpenings. The problem seemed to be HT "damage" in the final sharpening. Has your blade been resharpened a few times? It could very well improve significantly. :)
 
JNewell said:
Years ago - I don't think it's as common in recent years - there were a lot of complaints about issues like yours with S30V Benchmade blades. The complaints usually went away after a few sharpenings. The problem seemed to be HT "damage" in the final sharpening. Has your blade been resharpened a few times? It could very well improve significantly. :)
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Yeah, it's been sharpened a lot...unfortunately after every use...to get the chips out. :( I went steeper and steeper, eventually I ended up using the 30deg notch per side on my Lanskey! I'll take a look and see if I have any close up pics after it was used on the whitetail, the blade looked "micro-serrated" after.

So, it sounds like they (BM) are doing better with the HT, but I think I'll most likely get 154cm to play it safe.
 
I am just curious guys, has anybody with these problems, taken the time to call BM about this??? I ask again, because everybody just keeps saying they had problems, but it seems that nobody actually went to the source for an answer. This is a great place, but bottom line, none of us here can fix it! If I had a problem like this, I would write on here telling about BM's answer to the problem. Just my take.
 
Hi,

First and foremost, my experience with edge tools, eg knife, blades, etc will have a weakness when it is direct contact with glass/ceramics based materials. I had a S30V blade and it chipped when in contact with a plate while cutting up an orange. Somehow there is a reaction at a microscopic level. Glass is edge tool's Kryptonite. Just my 2 cents...
 
I've had 3 Ritter grips in S30V, with about a year between the first one and the next two. The first one chipped a lot doing low stress tasks like paring softwood, but I read on the internet that it would stop chipping after a few sharpenings...it didn't but after a few months I lost the knife. I decided to try another Ritter grip after about a year, hoping the chipping issue had been solved. I showed someone how to make a fuzz stick for fire starting and let them use my new knife. 5 minutes later the blade looked like a saw there were so many chips. I resharpened the knife and tried the task myself, with the same results. Whittling a dry hardwood twig into a fuzz stick is a task I would expect a knife marketed as a survival tool to be able to do. I sent the knife back to Benchmade and tested some other Benchmade Griptillians on the same hardwood twig while I was waiting. D2, M2, and 154CM all got a few tiny chips, much much less than the S30V. 440C did not chip. When I got the 3rd Ritter Grip, I also tested it on that twig, and it chipped almost as much as the one it replaced, and it kept chipping even after a couple sharpenings. I contacted Benchmade again, they sent me a Grip in a different steel. I have no complaints about how I was treated by Benchmade's customer service, but I have no desire to try their S30V again. YMMV but my choice in steel for a Grip is anything but S30V. There are minor differences in edgeholding and sharpenability between 440C, D2, 154CM, M2, and M4, but unless you use your knife heavily in optimal conditions you may not notice. I find I sharpen my Grips more often due to the "oops" factor (dang there was a staple under that tape!) than due to actual edge wear
 
Interesting observations about chipping. I haven't had any chipping issues with my Mini-Rukus in S30V, and I used that knife hard. I'd still be packing it daily instead of my Cabela's Grippie in D2 if it didn't weigh so much.
 
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