Benchmade folders..

RED-DOT

Well-Known Member
Just gralloched and butchered a large roe to its bare bones and after a wash in the sink it was totally unmarked and it never lost its edge at all.
Got a "custom" knife and after a push up the sternum it was useless. Now my Q is why pay up to £500 for a fancy knife that fails when used for its intended use?
Might be going in my thread "When good kit goes bad".
 
I have several Benchmade knives - my favourites are the Model 556 - Mini-Griptilian in 154CM

Take a great edge, hold it for ages, nice and thin so excellent for slicing, hard to knock holes in.

Many expensive knives seem to have less than optimal edge geometry and I suspect some heat treating is out of whack too.

I stopped buying O1 steel ages ago - unless you can source some European produced stock a lot of the Chinese stuff is rubbish - I have had several instances where it won't even reach 56C after hardening and BEFORE tempering :eek:

I know a lot of knives are made that don't get individually tested, many look stunning but may not fully capitalise on the steel's characteristics; basically I see a lot of knives made at premium prices that are identical regardless of the steel used. What's the point (no pun intended) of using a steel that by definition is capable of running thinner and grinding it exactly the same as any other alloy ?

I have an expensive laminated blade that chipped out on a rabbit bone the first time it was used, much to my chagrin.

Price is absolutely no indication of quality, or so I have found :(
 
Just gralloched and butchered a large roe to its bare bones and after a wash in the sink it was totally unmarked and it never lost its edge at all.
Got a "custom" knife and after a push up the sternum it was useless. Now my Q is why pay up to £500 for a fancy knife that fails when used for its intended use?
Might be going in my thread "When good kit goes bad".


RD what knife was it please,

I use a buck knife set and it has a set blade and a folder with a gut hook, had it a longtime but would liken know if this will save me money,

Not as if I would ever pay silly money for a knife,

Bob
 
Not 100% sure but the griptillian rings a bell. Twenty minutes from carcass to skeleton!
 
Probably been asked a million times but I'll ask again anyway, what's reckoned to be the best all round steel for a knife nowadays?
 
Probably been asked a million times but I'll ask again anyway, what's reckoned to be the best all round steel for a knife nowadays?

Hi rod. OFF TOPIC

will text you tomorrow re meeting up at the pub, have to go to spec savers first on the 27th and then on my way

Bob
 
Hi rod. OFF TOPIC

will text you tomorrow re meeting up at the pub, have to go to spec savers first on the 27th and then on my way

Bob

OK Bob, text when you know what's what.



Not really off topic as the discussion is about good or crap knife blades, and that's all down to the steel. Just wondered what folk reckon is currently the best.
 
Hi rod. OFF TOPIC

will text you tomorrow re meeting up at the pub, have to go to spec savers first on the 27th and then on my way

Bob

Bob, it's the carpark before the pub, marked "scenic" if I remember correctly. Left turn (from your end) a few hundred yards before air balloon.
 
My favorite carry size pocketknife is the full size Griptillian in 154CM. Light weight, sharpens up for a shave, and holds an edge.

Best hunting knife I ever had was a George Herron Model 6, a 4 inch drop point. Dressed 7 deer one day without even touching up the edge. 440C at 58 Rockwell, sambar horn handle.
 
I have the new hunter folder as a everyday carry, it holds its edge well for a production knife.
There are a lot of so called custom knives out there, some are way over priced, and charge you for there name, not there quality of blade.
I have several custom knives, all cost less than half of what you say you spent, it's not just the steel it's about blade shape, angles, hardness of tempering, all have a effect on cutting ability and retention of a sharp edge.
I usually get about three fallow, which includes splitting sternum , between each stropping.
View attachment 50679
these are true customs, as they are the only ones ever made, AEB-L, Hornbeam and leather sheath and cost half the price of some knives advertised on this site.
 
If its a Benchmade knife made with 154cm steel (which i think the Griptillian is) then it is a very good knife, i dont know how Benchmade treat their steel but they do it very well and certainly better than a lot of other makes, i personally like SOG knives made with Aus 8 but must admit they dont hold an edge as well as the Benchmade, ATS34 Japanese steel is good also for an all round knife.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCYQFjABOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.benchmade.com%2Fproducts%2Fmaterials.aspx&ei=AR6dVPLyH8euUY-Ig4AJ&usg=AFQjCNFR9DPSJhFhdSrV5EgGbJls6smq2Q&sig2=kiG38h9nKigMi0ov2MKwkw
 
AUS-8 is a Japanese steel, an austentitic, fine-grained stainless. It, and AUS-6, are used for things like scalpels, because they can be honed to such a smooth edge. They may not hold an edge as long as some other steels, that are properly heat treated and sharpened, but you can really get them sharp on a fine stone. I have a Beretta knife which is AUS-8, that I like.
 
OK Bob, text when you know what's what.



Not really off topic as the discussion is about good or crap knife blades, and that's all down to the steel. Just wondered what folk reckon is currently the best.
en9 easy to forge and heat treat , and easy to get hold of , the sheffield trade used little else up to stainless taking over , i have over one ton 3 1/2ins billet if you want some i can run it under a hammer and give you some
 
en9 easy to forge and heat treat , and easy to get hold of , the sheffield trade used little else up to stainless taking over , i have over one ton 3 1/2ins billet if you want some i can run it under a hammer and give you some

That's very good of you to offer, however, I can get some down here. I thank you anyway :thumb:

I'm down in the Black Country and if there's any one thing we have it's steel stockholders, everywhere !! Plus the fact we make and fit the covers they use on their slider trailers so we get on with quite a few of them.

I'll start scrounging when back at work :lol:

Thanks again but wouldn't want to put you to unnecessary trouble .
 
Sp0t on I brought a Benchmade mini Griptilian for my no 3 son, he choose it, I think £25 at the MGF. Very well made and is frighteningly sharp absolutely excellent, almost as good as my Colt Carter Cryogenic which is the perfect rabbit knife. Sadly now unavailble.

D
 
Among several others, I have a fixed blade Joel Bolden model 1 in 3mm D2

It is a slicing machine par excellence !

What makes it is its combination of excellent heat treating and a distal tapered grind where the blade gets thinner as you go towards the tip. At its thickest it is 3mm, fully flat ground from the spine to a nice thin edge and with a secondary bevel. Coupled with the thin tip, it's possibly the best slicing knife I have ever used outside of some kitchen knives.

Mine looks a lot like this one:

0130078458436230000.jpg

Note the thin steel, the distinct lack of a currently fashionable grind :rolleyes: and the fact that its main use is very obviously as a slicing knife, at which it excels.

My late grandfather used to say 'thin and sharp' and I always remembered it, but it wasn't until I got my Joel Bolden knife and started using it that the message really came home to roost.

I find the mini-griptilian a shade on the small side for some things but as an overall package it is tough to knock holes in. Once you use one it becomes obvious what makes it work, and you start wondering why more knives aren't made that way...
 
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