My name is Rich......I live in Syracuse, NY......and I worked at Crucible until they shut down....they are still making steel but its a new company.....CPM stands for Crucible Particular Metallurgy......I worked on the "Hot Side" of Crucible for years...I made that piece of steel you are holding in your hand......on paper the process is very complicated.....in reality it is very, very complicated......it involes pouring molten steel through a tiny hole and blasting it w liquid nitrogen.....thats just the beginning .....long process.....best specialty steel in the world....oh...difference between 420 and the others is literally throwing a couple more rocks of vanadium into the furnace.....seriously....changes everything
Shout out to Pete from Cedric and Ada Gear and Outdoors. He has collected mountains of data on edge retention for different steels, edge angles, heat treats, etc.
This knife has been my primary EDC for a few years now. It's incredible how it stays sharp out of the box sharp with a strop here and there. You can tell by the uneven grind lines that this steel is hard for even Benchmade to work on.
Always wanted a regular 940. Finally got to hold one and hated the Aluminum handles. Ended up getting a 940-1 and still love it. The S90V is great although I still prefer the S110V on my spyderco manix. I mostly carry the manix for work and the 940-1 for "play"
Hey Jeff! Just picked up a benchmade arcane w/s90v for $120 at a local pawn shop. They were asking $160 but I talked it down a bit because the blade was 'beat up'... Even though it was still very sharp, I could tell the previous owner tried their damnedest to 'home grind' and didn't know what they were doing. Great steel and can't wait to have it cleaned up!
Yes'rrr, I edc an S90v knife and on the contrary to what you stated in this vid- it was a fairly inexpensive one to boot!!! It is the MANLY knives WASP slipjoint and yes with proper sharpening skills and equipment you can get it sharper than your typical razor blades, it is scary sharp and I keep it that way at all times...
I have the Manix in S110v and it's a love hate relationship. S30v, S35vn dont even come close to the edge retention, which lasts forever. My job has me cutting cardboard, a lot if cardboard everyday, and once a week I just run it on a 1000 grit and strop with .5 micron spray and it's good. The problem I have with it, other than it being the biggest pain in the ass to sharpen, is the brittleness. I broke the very tip off just hitting a small tough spot in a box. But for someone who isn't that hard on knives and doesn't want to sharpen that often, I highly recommend it. Me personally, I think I'm gonna stick with m390/m4 as a personal favorite for their toughness.
This is good to know. I'm a concrete carpenter and am looking for a tough knife that will sharpen pencils, cut plastic, etc. After what you wrote, I'm definitely more hesitant to spend an extra $100 on a knife that's going to break, no matter how long the edge retention may be.
@@Tbj2222 remember, he's talking about a spyderco manix. Spyderco blade tips are very thin and aren't nearly as tough as a benchmade 940 tip. You can open paint cans all day everyday for years and have no issues with the 940-1.
First, my edc history is the Adamas, auto Adamas, Infidel (don’t do that, lol), 810 Contego, Super Freak, and now this one. I have preferred heavier knives for various reasons, but I tried this one out and it’s my favorite by far. I see the appeal of the light weight knife for edc now especially when you consider it’s as strong as the others for my daily needs given the materials used for this. The downside to my others was apparent at the gym or running; this one I have to check that it’s there in my pocket after being so used to the heavy counterparts. I would love to see Benchmade offer these same materials for the 810 Contego as it’s the same knife, but larger. We’ll see what comes next year. Great review!
I searched the corrosion resistance of s90v for a beach trip tomorrow. Thanks for the information. Heads up, i just bpught a pm2 in s90v from pallmeto state armory. Its the mkc release that is in teal. Pallmetos blade material description says cts-hxp but it is in fact s90v. $166.00.
I use Silicon carbide stones to sharpen s90v, s110vm m390 steels. Any steel with a hardness at or above 60 rhc I have also found that it works good with a toothy edge. you can run in to carbide tear out if you try to go too fine with those steels. I had a bad tear out on my PM2 in 110v the first time I sharpened it. I was like a gut punch when I look down and saw a big chunk of the edge fall right off the blade as I sharpened it. After that I did a good bit of research and it's not so scary to work with now. On a second note cool knife. I have always wanted that same model, but for some reason I have never pulled the trigger on that knife.
I love my 940-1. I work on the road so don’t have the space to bring my sharpening setup with me. The s90v stays sharp the whole time and while it may not stay razor sharp it never fails to keep a usable cutting edge. Then I get home after a month and hit it with the 1000 grit diamond stone to re-do the edge, then move on to a piece of 2000 grit Emory paper glued to a piece of glass to get it to a near-mirrored finish and then hit it with a virgin piece of leather (no stropping compound) to really finish the job. It’s fast easy and effective.
Hey bro happy holidays . I m here because I just sharpened some s90v with diamonds and it didn’t get super duper sharp . I re did with Venev stones and it turned out excellent . Now I know why . Stayed sharp for a long long time . Thanks for explaining the reasons why . Makes sense now . I went to 600 grit with the diamonds and I could see the carbides on the edge . Stropping was of little help but the Venev stones were nice and smooth and I only went to 40-50 micron stone which is around 300 grit but honestly feels like 4-600 grit . Very cool . Rock on .🤘
EDC the TS162 with S90V and a TS80 Jager with 390M. I work at a packaging fulfillment company. The TS80 goes to the job for every day heavy use. It's a beast. I stress the fact of how much I beat this thing up.It keeps on cutting corrugated like butter. I touch it up once about month. They both came out of the box literally popping hairs like my straight razor. China or not the quality is online with my Sebenza 21 at a 3rd of the price.I freely admit that I baby my 21 like a gents Cary. Twosun knives has arrived and are real thing. They are upsetting the apple cart of the big name brands. Well that's is IMO. loved the video by the way.
To add a little to this you can get S90v for right at the $100 range with the Cutleryshoppe exclusive spyderco Knives such as the Native 5 and manix 2 lw. I have the manix and S90v is a great steel. It is not as tough as s30v or XHP but it is a great steel. I have cut bone with it and I only got minor rolling that could be touched up on a ceramic rod. I’ve only had blade rolling twice and I have yet to have any blade chipping even in some harder use. S90v is in my top 3 for sure
I've been carrying benchmades 154 for idk like 5 years. but I can't sharpen to save my life so im thinking of moving to this so I don't have to do it much. I'll just get it professionally sharpened every couple years or whatever it takes.
Well Jeff I actually edc most days a Benchmade 940-1 as my smaller blade I have even reprofile sharpened mine and yes it can take awhile to do that . I used a edge pro and upgraded water stone finishing it on 10K stone took me around an hour from set up to be finished then I stroped end on the blue compound . That was over 1 year ago and I strop it every other day I carry it. I have lots of knives but this benchmade is on of my favorites . I also own a Spyderco Tighe stick in S90V that I rarely carry cause of the tip down clip on it
I edc a Spyderco Native 5 with S90v. It has maintained a nice sharp edge for quite some time. It’s a lighter use knife for me, mostly breaking down cardboard and opening letters/packages. I’ve noticed lately though, that I have a couple micro chips on the edge. I ran it though the ceramic stones of my wicked edge and they all but disappeared after a few strokes. But I do believe S90v is prone to chipping, especially if you give it a thin edge like I did (20 degrees inclusive). Not really a big deterrent for me, just have to be more careful to avoid staples when breaking down boxes, but something to be aware of.
I recently got a black on black custom S90V Griptilian for my first real EDC. I came here look to see if S90V need any special tool or materials to sharpen, good to know that it doesn't. thank's for the information.
My -1 is the only S90v knife and it's kind of cool next to my other 940's because it's a little darker steel. But yeah, I stropped the hell out of it when I got it and touch it up constantly. I had heard it will wear quickly to a rough, but still sharp edge, but keeping it stropped keeps it pretty darn sharp. Great vid!
I know use has a lot to do with it, but how often should you strope your knife with s90v? Fyi I'm really new to the knife game. Kinda stuck on benchmade knives right now
Part of the reason I bought a recent Spyderco Manix 2 sprint was because it was S90v with the "burl" grip design. For 170 bucks not having to worry about sharpening for a while is nice. All the info about the steel made it a no brainer. By the time I have an issue, I'll send it to somebody who knows what's up. But good that you make the points so people will know what kind of value/future maintenance they're buying into.
@@johnbeaver7537 Thanks Beaver. Again, the point was purchasing steel that would buy the time to get more adept at that skill as well as the overall value. Thanks for the advice bro.
William Kirk You're welcome 😎 Just my opinion that none of the fancy steels are necessary for blade steel. Normal high carbon steel is plenty, and much cheaper.
@@johnbeaver7537 well, part of the reason I jumped on the limited Knockout in M390 is I saw the value, Speedsafe or not, in getting that steel in a model I like. I sharpen my S30v blades with a stone and their fine. At 100 bucks, I'm in.
I have a s90v Benchmade Mini Freek. I'm on my second sharpening. I free hand sharpen on diamond plate and stone. My factory edge was burnt and toothy. I have it at 600 grit and stopped. After some cardboard and a kielbasa it's glassed out. I'm not impressed. It has a working edge and will cut but I want it hair popping sharp. Higher grit glasses and chips out too easily. This particular s90v has to up its game .
yes inherently the harder the steel the more brittle it becomes, I sometimes talk to kids who save up for expensive knives then ask me why the edge broke when they try to cut open soda cans...thats why so many different steels are so good for different things, if your beat on your knives its better to have a cheaper softer steel....its not always about the latest and greatest...
No and no!!! There's a lot more to metallurgy than harder = more likely to chip, and s30v and s90v are usually at the same 59-60 hrc range. Im currently carrying cpm rex 45 knife thats around 65-66 hrc and its less likely to chip than s30v
@@Oozy9Millimeetah Well said. Heat treat determines hardness, not what steel it is. S30v at 61hrc is much harder than s90v at 58hrc. Also there's strength and there's toughness and you want a balance of both. A softer steel is typically tougher but less strong than a harder steel but it can be " too tough". Look at 3v on the Benchmade Bailout, it's heat treated for "toughness" at 55-58hrc which is way too low for that steel. Huge choppers in it are done at 58hrc, fixed blades are at 60hrc and small fixed blades or folders can got to 62-63hrc and steel be tougher than most steels. Every steel has a fine balance of wear resistance, corrosion resistance, toughness, edge stability and strength. You can lean to one or another but not without giving something up. There is no ultimate steel that excels at everything, there are a few jacks of all trades like 3v, Vanax, Elmax, Nirtobe 77 and lc200n which perform really well in just about all areas and maybe dominate in one in particular like 3v in toughness or N77, lc200n and Vanax do in corrosion resistance but they're rare.
I agree, steels like s90v and s110v are harder to sharpen. Diamond or CBN stones make things A LOT easier though. That's why I hear so many people saying these steels are hard to sharpen. They haven't tried diamond or CBN stones yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awkward Seal I think most of what Benchmade makes is overpriced. It’s the butterfly tax. I bought it used for a more reasonable price and never looked back.
I came here for vinyl siding estimates. I have a two-story colonial with three bay windows. Instead, I learned about vanadium, edge retention, and the importance of stropping. perhaps vinyl siding has small microns?
There's much more to edge holding than a blade's Rockwell hardness. 2 different (or even the same) steels can behave very differently when at the exact same hardness. One of many points to consider is the presence of carbides. If steel was a milkshake, think of carbides as extra hard chocolate chips mixed throughout the milkshake. Chromium carbides are around 74rc and vanadium carbides are around 85rc. The 2 steels you mentioned have the same amount of chromium but S90V has over double the vanadium (9% vs 4%) Also, carbon itself is needed to form all carbides which s90v has more of -- 2.3% vs 1.45% in s30v. Assuming all other areas of heat treatment are ~equivalent, s90v should hold an edge much, much longer than s30v even if the final hardness ends up a point or 2 lower.
I got a brand new spyderco native 5 with s90v for about $90 but ended up selling it because I hated sharpening it. I also have my Benchmade 940-1 but never use it I just have it as a collectible
What do you use to sharpen it? And what knives in elmax cause you trouble? I have a para 2 and a zt 770 in elmax and both are much easier to sharpen than s90v, s110v, k390 and even m390. The only time I had somewhat of trouble sharpening elmax was a FF premium but that was at 63hrc and had a wide bevel. After a regrinds the bevel was 4 times thinner and was about 4 times easier to sharpen. Try starting with a coarse diamond stone to set your bevel and then use whatever you do to refine the edge and scratch pattern. A DMT extra coarse or a 120 Atoma are great for hogging any steel, a 120 or 220 Sharpton do really well at that too but fall behind of high vanadium steels. I bough Atoma 120 and 400 to flatten stones and for reptiles and been very happy with both.
@@D00MTR33 it's a Ranier fastpak, It was super sharp out of the box, I tried to touch it up on my Spyderco sharp maker which somehow made it worse then I used my edgepro and got an edge back on it but it was much harder than any of my other knives althouh some of those were hard to sharpen too like the Benchmade contego just not as bad
@@muellermaxwell Huh, I don't know. I looked it up and it says it's at 60hrc and it doesn't look super thick behind the edge. I usually touch up my Elmax para 2 on either my Spyderco double stuff on the brown side or my 400 grit edge pro stone. Lately I've been using a metal bonded diamond stone my dad had or my kangaroo strip with 0.5 micron diamond spray and all work rather fast. Edge pro came out with diamond matrix stones a while ago and they're really nice. Been using them a few months and even on k390 which is a pain to sharpen and get rid of a burr I see a big difference. They're pricey but ate supposed to last a long time if you use them right, maybe try those. Or get the cbn rods for the sharpmaker, I've heard great things about them. I use free hand, edge pro and a cheap clamp system so I cant say much about the sharpmaker. It could be just that knife, I remember resharoening my Spyderco ruff in 3v and it was a nightmare. I did drip the angle by a lot so that didn't help but my 120 edge pro was barely making any progress. Ended up getting a diamond stone and that did help.
love the knife but it either has a tooooon of blade play or is super hard to open no in between. it also loosens up like crazy and no i dont really want to lock tite it i have never had to do that to a knife and i have like 40 in my collection
It is pretty fabulous. Mine gets dull and I dont have a problem sharpening on a cheap stone. Currently takes the hair off my arm. I was a little taken back by how it was said that it rarely gets dull and super hard to sharpen s90v. Mediator for the win!
The same model in new Zealand is 500 dollars really want to buy it but the cost is putting me off but eventually it will win and I will get it as I am left handed bench made is the best folders I have ever owned I luv my bugout
Most people will prefer s30v over s90v, s90v will cut longer but it looses the fine edge rather quickly. It's also rather difficult to sharpen into hair whittling edge. It's a good stainless steel but imo I've over paid for it compared to the standard version of some knife models. Sharpening noobies be aware it's not for you...
Has anyone got any tips on knife maintenance ? Or more specifically restoration? I have a few old knives that have black markings on them and one has a rough patch that is black and I’m worried incase it’s pitting. And rust comes up on them every now and then. And some of the pins are have green corrosion and was wondering how to get rid of that, and the wood around hose pins had gotten dark (I think from me oiling the pins?) I have a few of the little Chinese Spydercos with rust on them. And what’s the best way to sharpen really hard steel? (Tool steel and such.)
If it is not a Damascus blade you can use Flitz to remove or reduce those black spots and age darkening on blades and bolsters, a little goes a long way. It will reduce the dark shadings of blade etchings also so be careful if you want to preserve them.
BD H on some of the pins they have gone green I can scrape it off, but I would like to remove it permanently and stop it coming back. And on the wooden scales around them the pins the wood has gone darker (I think from me putting oil on them a while back.) So are the black marks natural? And will brasso be OK? So why can’t you use that on Damascus blades?
@@kylethedalek Black marks can be from naturally carrying/using your knife. I would have to see them to make any assessment. Brasso ? Maybe, I haven't used Brasso since the 60's lol, Damascus blades often have dark shadings to show off the layers. You won't hurt your blade any using Flitz but like etchings are often shaded the darkening will come off the Damascus. It will probably also take off the green on the brass pins. Wood scales are hard to keep fresh. I wash them when needed and put a light coat of mineral oil on them. They lighten and darken a little along the way. I recommend you do a word search on Jeff's home page, he may address your queries more accurately there.
Yeah if you don't use diamond you'll never get the full potential out of s90v, also if you strop it too much without diamond paste all you're doing is wearing the steel away while exposing the carbides which will also result in poor edge retention
I have an interesting question for you jeff! Damascus!! I know the original Damascus is made of a special black rock from Japan. But this other Damascus that knife makers are using nowadays is not. I know Damascus also uses a continual folding process to give it it's cool look. But what steel is it?? The description will almost always say Damascus, nothing more! Just makes you wonder
I agree with the comment below a high quality damascus will probably say the person who made it and what steels it has in it as well as the amount of layers...if it just states damascus its just a cheap carbon steel and cheap soft stainless from either pakistan or china...it can be real but cheap and used for the looks rather than performance...
machendachen Original damascus steel wasn't made from a special Japanese black rock It was made from very polluted steel from a mine in India The mine has been lost to time but a scientist has reproduced it in the 90's
higher the number the better the edge retention and corrosion resistance but the toughness goes down and its easier to chip out on hard materials like say zipties...different steels perform gbeter at different cutting tasks, if your say just cutting cardboard the s125v is the best then the s110v then the s90v then the s30v...different attributes for each steel but S30V is used more often for its balance of strength and edge retention :)
I’m pretty good at sharpening. When I get a new system, I get knives at thrift store to practice with. Found a $200 knife for $2 a while back. Great for practicing reshaping etc too. I’d be curious to try it out. We Can still do that Ken Onion Work Sharp Pro trade with me if want, if you’re interested that is... mentioned fixed blade camping knife but I’m open to anything you’ve got. I’ll prob list online if not interested. Cool blade though! Interesting steel.
Let's not forget that a lot of knives with strong edge retention lack a bit in toughness. Generally speaking it's edge retention vs toughness. S90V is not very balanced like S30V is.
Both are very similar. S90V holds its edge longer. From my experience, S30V is a bit soft and prone to chipping the tip off. You can google it as well. Personally I prefer S35VN or 20CV/M390.
Right? Had to be used off eBay. I can’t find one for less than $150. Learned real quick when I was shopping for a Spyderco that there are a ton of fakes on eBay and Amazon. Best off buying from a reputable dealer, rather than finding the “cheapest” price. Especially if it’s significantly cheaper than expected
S35vn is a great steel, but doesnt hold an edge like s90v. Its also easier to sharpen than s90v. D2 is also a good steel, and available much cheeper than either of the aforementioned steels.
HI, I'M KT. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE TWOSUN KNIVES, A CHINESE KNIFE BRAND? I HAVE QUITE A FEW OF THEM, INCLUDING SOME THAT HAVE BLADES IN M390 STEEL ASWELL AS S90V (THEY NEVER USE "CPM", ONLY S90V), SINCE I LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE APPARENTLY ONLY "SERIAL KILLERS CARRY KNIVES", OR PERHAPS THE AUTHORITIES THINK THAT THE SWEDISH CITIZEN IS LACKING THE SELF CONTROL NOT TO STAB PEOPLE AS SOON AS HE/SHE WALKS OUTSIDE WITH A KNIFE, ...I DON'T KNOW, IN ANY CASE IT'S HIGHLY ILLEGAL TO CARRY EVEN THE SMALLEST KNIFE AND REGARDLESS OF WHAT TYPE OF FOLDING KNIFE IT IS..(STUPID F....G LAWS😒). I APOLOGIZE, THE SUBJECT TEND TO TOUCH A NERVE (EVEN WHEN BROUGHT UP BY MYSELF🤷♂️😄). ANYWAY, WHAT I MEANT TO SAY IS THAT I DO LOVE COLLECTING KNIVES, HOWEVER I SELDOM HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY USE MY KNIVES AND GET A FEEL FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF THE BLADE STEEL. BUT, FOR EXAMPLE THE TWOSUN TS127, AND ACTUALLY A BUNCH OF THE COMPANY'S NEW KNIVES ARE SPORTING HIGH END STEEL BLADES, MOSTLY BOHLER/UDDEHOLM (EVEN THOUGH THEY NEVER MENTION THAT, ONLY THE...) M390 STEEL AND THE (CPM.. AGAIN NOT IN FRONT OF) S90V.., I JUST WANTED TO SEE WHAT, IF ANY, YOUR OPINION IS IN REGARDS TO THIS.., AND, I'M ALSO ASKING BECAUSE TWOSUN HAS KINDA SKIPPED A LOT OF STEEL TYPES, AND JUST WENT FROM MAKING D2 STEEL BLADE KNIVES TO THE ABOVE MENTIONED ONES, NO S30V OR S35VN, WHICH I THOUGHT/THINK IS SOMEWHAT ODD, ESPECIALLY SINCE A LOT OF CHINESE KNIVES (QUALITY KNIVES) ARE USUALLY IN S35VN, AND M390.., BUT S90V, NOT SO MUCH..🤷♂️. EVEN MORE ODD IS THE FACT THAT YOU CAN BUY ONE OF THESE "VERY GOOD QUALITY" FLIPPER KNIVES IN S90V (AND M390) FOR LESS THAN $100, ..NOT ALWAYS OFCOURSE, BUT IT'S VERY POSSIBLE IF YOU FEEL LIKE GOING AND BIDDING ON EBAY..?. 😄SORRY FOR THE VERY LONG QUESTION, COULD HAVE MADE IT MUCH MORE SIMPLE, BUT... YEAH✌
Pixel B I live in America, and they’re around $120 + 7 or $8 shipping. that’s an incredible price that you can get them for. I bought it directly from manly USA
Manly Wasp ....wery cheap...same steel ...but freesing balpearing in nitrolysering ( minus 196 celcius ) is very easy sharpening and is better than S90v ... and it is very easy to make for blacksmith..
