Recommendation? Which S30V do you think is better?

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Gaurdian23

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Apr 16, 2018
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As the title implies, I'm curious as to which S30V do you guys think is better? I'm not necessarily talking about price vs performance just in general performance (cause honestly, price wise Buck win's without a fight - even if theirs under performs - for $55-$70 you cannot really beat it). To be specific I've been looking at the following knife manufacturers S30V (I'll also list the knife with S30V just out of curiosity if anyone has had experience with that knife or if they are curious):

Buck (Spitfire 722 or Vantage Pro(the fact that BOS has a heat treatment for S30V makes me REALLY curious))
Kershaw S30V (Blur)
Benchmade (940 and Griptilian)
Gerber (Fastball (most stupid name of the year, however that baby looks nice))
Spyderco (Paramilitary 2)

Thanks for your guy's opinions!
 
From that list, I’ve only used Spyderco and Benchmade S30V. Each of them run the steel well in my experience. That is, edge stability was solid on each sample, they responded well to stropping with black and green compound, and they held edges well through a lot of cardboard, zip ties, and plastic banding straps. During review prep, I sat down and cut 100-150 feet of cardboard in continuous/repetitive cutting with each, on top of the use each had seen at work prior to those sessions, and they held on to sticky apexes reasonably well.

In independent hrc testing, Benchmade and Spyderco have each been pretty consistent with hitting a good range of hardness. Spyderco is extremely consistent with that. In edge retention tests, Benchmade has faired slightly better.

In looking at one sample each of BM and Spyderco S30V apexes under magnification after they were sharpened at the same angle and progression, in the same session, by the same sharpener, the BM came up a little cleaner.

Each piece of this has been based on small sample sizes, so take it as you will. Personally, I feel confident that they’re each delivering S30V pretty well.
 
That is interesting that Benchmade faired slightly better, I always thought that a softer steel won't hold as well as a harder steel - just goes to show you how little I know lol!
 
I think all of those brands do a good job with S30V. Im partial to Buck, they use it quite a bit but i dont think their is a wrong answer.
 
From those choices I would grab a PM2 or a 940. I bet Buck does s30v really well, their BOS 440c is really good. Avoid the fastball.
 
Gaurdian23 said:
That is interesting that Benchmade faired slightly better, I always thought that a softer steel won't hold as well as a harder steel - just goes to show you how little I know lol!
Click to expand...

Generally speaking, and assuming a good heat treat process: same edge angle, same composition, higher hardness -> better edge retention.

In the few head to head edge retention tests, only one sample (BM Freek, 59.3 hrc) has been hrc tested, so we don’t know the relative hardness of the samples used.

The other hrc tested samples from each company were sent in just for hardness testing.

With small sample sizes like this, the main take away is that they’ve each faired well in edge retention and hardness testing, from what we’ve seen so far. I couldn’t say which is ‘better’, but between experience using each and the testing, I’m confident that they’re both doing a solid job with it.
 
Performance wise I've seen the Benchmade freek continuously do well. The 940 and grip didn't do as well but decent enough. Weird but the freek batches seem to be getting a better ht over the others.

Spyderco does a decent job as well in recent years.

I don't recall buck s30v test atm. I'm sure it's not bad. The bos ht uses a cryo box but they often do the hrc lower. The performance overall is often great at a lower hrc than others. But they should bump that up a point or two in general on some steels. Buck spitfire and vantage tend to have a qc issue or two. Just keep that in mind. Also the spitfire is a recurve and more of a pain to sharpen in comparison to a non recurve.

Shiro's have the best s30v in mass production knives to date. If you want the best that's what I would suggest.

I have a blur in s30v, it's good edge retention but you'll have to get used to sharpening a recurve. And I don't use it much anymore cause I don't like assist. You'll have to get past the burnt edge that they ground on the knife at the factory. Overall it's average. I do like the blur overall as a tool though.
 
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Spyderco. My LIL Native in S30V is fantastic. Holds a working edge a long time
and very easy to get razor sharp. I love it.
 
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