Why did Benchmade abandon H-1 Steel?

J

JD Spydo

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Nov 20, 2004
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Most of you all here are very knowledgable of Spyderco's great success with their Salt Series of blades using "work hardened" H-1 blade steel. However few people know that it wasn't Spyderco who first used H-1 as a salt water resistant blade steel.

Back around 03-04 Benchmade had introduced their model 100S H20 dive knife. You guessed it the first run of those models was introduced with H-1 blade steel. I myself bought one of those first models and I now regret not keeping it. They still have that model of dive knife as far as I know but it is now made with X-15 TN which is also known for it's great resistance to corrosion.

I asked this question over at the Benchmade forum about a year ago and no one seemed to know or care why they deleted H-1 from their dive knife,. And I'm wondering if any of you know why they did that.

Because it's seems very strange to me that Spyderco would literally hit a home run with the bases loaded with their H-1 blades but yet Benchmade gave up on them before they even got to first base :confused:

Also you can tell me if you like X-15 TN better than H-1 ( that is if you do like it better than H-1). Why would Benchmade do that? I don't get it :confused:
 
I have one of the H2Os in X-15 TN, and I've been very happy with it. I don't know how it stacks up against H1, but I wish more manufacturers would offer knives in the X-15 TN than just boker and benchmade. it takes an amazing edge.
 
Benchmade used GIN-1 for their dive knives. I could be mistaken here, but I don't remember them using H1.
 
I remember reading somewhere that this year BM is coming out with a new model/models for use in salt water environments.
 
X15TN is a French steel. IIRC the word around the forums back then was that BM was dissatisfied with the edge holding of H1 and dropped it for that reason.
 
RxEnergy said:
Benchmade used GIN-1 for their dive knives. I could be mistaken here, but I don't remember them using H1.
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Well I'm not a Benchmade expert by any means but I do know for a fact that Benchmade quit using GIN-1 steel shortly after Spyderco quit using it which I believe was somewhere around the late 90s/early 2000s.

Yes they did indeed introduce the model 100S H20 model dive knife sometime in 2003 with H-1 blade steel. I still have the Tactical Knives article about it's introduction during 2003 and the artcle they wrote about H-1 blade steel in the same magazine. I bought the yellow handled 100S H20 model with H-1 blade steel in early 2004. It wasn't long after that when they quit making that knife in H-1 and went to X-15 TN steel.

It wasn't too long after BM quit using H-1 steel when Spyderco launched one of their very first H-1 blades and that being the Tasman Salt hawkbill model. I know that for a fact too because I have one of the very first ones they made with H-1.

And I guess the reason I started this thread to get information is because I find it extremely odd that BM seemed to have failed with the H-1 steel but Spyderco made a great success with it. You got to admit that the entire scenerio is rather curious if nothing else.
 
When I was looking at the 100sh2o model in h1 I read on BM forums that they discontinued the h1 version in late 2004, but you could still find them into 2005, changed to the x15tn for edge retention, and I seem to remember it being posted by a bm rep for some reason. Ended up going a different route as I was looking for a fixed blade smaller than the ones Spyderco was offering.
 
Well "RX" that's the great thing about Bladeforums>> we can all learn. I enjoy learning from all the other brethren here. Well I guess we can conclude that if you're lucky enough to find a Benchmade 100S H20 dive knife with H-1 blade steel you definitely have a collector piece for sure. But even at that it would be a supply & demand scenerio to determine whether it would be worth holding on to.

It's still funny when you look at the entire scenerio. Benchmade truly did strike out with H-1 and Spyderco is continually hitting home runs with H-1.

But who ever said "marketing" is an exact science :o:D If that doesn't prove the point I guess nothing will.
 
I wouldn't say they replaced it completely. Probably just trying out different steel on different models to determine which one will work better in a real life scenario. Whichever does better will stay.
 
I got a plain edge satin nib 100,the sheath was cracked in the box when i got it,so bm sent me a new sheath in about 3 days who's that for cs......
 
3Guardsmen said:
Benchmade is now using N680 instead of X15TN on their new folding dive knife. N680 has more carbon than X15TN, so maybe they replaced it for the same reason they did H-1?:confused:
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Hey "3G" this model 100S H20 that I'm speaking of is not a folding blade. It is a fixed blade dive knife. I'm not aware of the folder you're speaking of. What is the model # do you know?

I think I got a good guess as to why they don't use X-15TN in this knife you're talking about. I would bet it's a cost cutting measure. Because I can assure you that N680 is not nearly as corrosion resistant as H-1 or X-15TN either one.

I may just go over to the Benchmade.com Forum and see if anyone is willing to talk about this model. But hardly no one wanted to talk the last time I posted this thread over there.
 
Because it's boring, okay, One SS knife isn't quite the same as another SS knife for salt water diving.

Got it, no controversy, why try to care, if SPCO has what you want why run to the BM forums and ask the USERS why the COMPANY changed steels? :confused:

You seem to be "covertly" complaining about a non-issue, as far as the BM forums, sure, come hang out. Just don't expect us to go gaga over SPCO's h-1 and why BM doesn't use it.

Send a letter to BM if you want answers about steel choices.
 
Damn, why is the Benchmade clan always so hostile to the Spyderco clan? Why is the Cold Steel clan so hostile to everyone? Why are the Syderco and Kershaw clans hostile to anyone who asks questions?

Can't we all get along?
 
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