From the Sharpening Bench: 940-1 Conclusions 

I'm not sure I deserve that title, Ricky, but thanks all the same :). God bless you as well, brother!

Flaws notwithstanding, I still want one :)

Glad to be of service, Randy. You do the same, brother!

It is a beast. After working on these three, I have much more respect for young John Davis (jdavis882 / Davis Blade Works). He made his first knives, small neckers, out of this stuff. Talk about diving into the thick of it!

That's very flattering, William, and I will do that one of these days. But I have to tell you, it's a daunting subject. There are a few guys in the RU-vid community, and knife community in general, who have vastly more knowledge in this area than I do. If you haven't checked him out, you should check out Cliff Stamp on RU-vid.

Thank you, I will check his channel out.

Jonathan Kelly I use 120, 220, 400, 600 and 1000 grit stones, and 2000 grit polishing tapes on super steels. On steels which are easier to sharpen and take a better polish, I omit the 600 grit step to save time. Here's a key to EP stones I've never put in a video: you have to remove the "skin" from the stones when they're new if you want them to cut and not load up. Just do a normal leveling process, but just enough to remove most of the ink stamp, and you're ready to go. If your sharpenng process gets too fast, uses too much pressure, or doesn't use enough water (with a bit of dish soap), you'll tend to load up the stones and they won't cut. If you're getting it right, you shouldn't have to do anything to clean the stones between levelings. Hope that helps.

That one was changed by the owner, but it is a factory BM clip. All you have to do is call and they'll send you one.

mike You heard correctly Mike. Use the blue variety of Loctite. Clean the male screw and female cup threads with alcohol, brake cleaner or acetone, nothing oil based. Then just apply one drop to the male thread, insert the screw, adjust pivot and let the knife sit overnight for the Loctite to set up. It will hold the pivot adjustment positively but still be able to be broken loose without damaging the screw head or the tool.

Try a small blowtorch to burn it off. Just don't heat the metal too much.

Me too how do i get your services?

About 1-2 minutes into every video, there's a video pop up. Watch it. :)

135th Darksword m390

S110V is quite similar to S90V -- not really a fan. But M390 and M690 are both excellent performers and great to work with in my experience.

+Steven Stein call benchmade tell them you want a deep pocket clip for the Osborne. they'll send it for free.

I do like the Chosera stones, especially on the mid-range steels like S35VN, although they seem a bit soft for this stuff. I ended up with the standard aluminum oxide stones, which glazed and loaded up more than the Chosera stones, but seemed not to wear as much. For washers, I use 1000 grit sandpaper on glass. They don't need a robust abrasive as much as they need ultra-flatness, and unless I've just flattened the stones, they aren't flat enough for this job. Then I finish with a few strokes on the strop. Enjoy that -1 Josh!

Cameron Richardson if you really want a 940 id say buy the standard one if you learn to love upgrade if not just sell or stick to that one no point of going all out on a 940-1(that i have and love btw) if you dont know if you are going to love the 940 overall as a knife

macdad315 Benchmade will send you any clip they make for free generally.

That's a worthy grail knife indeed... and you can be sure you wouldn't have to sharpen in right out of the box too!

I'm having the same problem...

David Larsen Try again in a few hours. It should be fixed. Gotta love RU-vid!

Thanks!

Dayle G Their overall consistency in blade grinds and sharpening has improved. I still wish they had used a different steel in the flagship 940, but it is what it is. I don’t own one, if that helps...

@@TheApostleP Thanks I think I'll stick with the 940-1501 based on your reviews. Your opinions are highly valuable

Aucksim What a great question! For TAKING a razor sharp edge, 1095 is certainly near the top, and it's easy to bring back to razor sharpness. But for holding a razor sharp edge, I'd probably choose another steel capable of superior sharpness but has better edge retention -- something like D2 or 154CM. ZDP189 takes a very keen edge and holds it for a very long time, but it's harder to get to that level of sharpness than those two.

TheApostleP Thank you for the detailed response. I love "living life on the edge" haha. God bless you, sir!

You too, buddy!

Yep

Tip up

GUNSnDOZES that's what I figured but I wasn't sure about retention . Thanks

CuttnStuff Haaa!

If you can handle an Adamas 375 the 940 should give no problems.... or maybe go for an ASSisted one....

I think the Adamas should be for the more.. um -how you say - "experienced" ?

So you caught that then? :)

TheApostleP Hard to miss! ;-)

Thanks, my friend!

andrew l. I appreciate the question, but trust me when I say that most factory edges are a long way from truly sharp. Most are what I would call vaguely sharp.

I hear S90V can occasionally be chippy, though I don't know which stresses are the cause. Aluminum's certainly not a hard metal but it's probably still hard enough to chip a blade that's primarily for EDC.

+David Shaw Serrations do more ripping than actual slicing, so for fine work they're pretty much useless. Personally, if you're doing jobs on brush or other similar outdoorswork or maybe cutting particularly tough beef, they're somewhat useful, but for other, normal day-to-day tasks, they're really a waste of time . They're also a pain to maintain and keep sharp.

A lot of people (like me) think they're ugly. Generally they are less useful despite the initial impression of utility and just make the knife less valuable as a long term user tool

It's a personal opinion thing and what you use your knife for . Some folks plain just don't like them. Me, I won't EDC a knife that isn't partially serrated. There's been too many times in my life where the serration was absolutely crucial. But again, it comes down to what you use your knife for. If you like serrated or feel it would be useful, don't let internet opinions sway you from getting one

GhostTech1 - agreed. And every Benchmade that I own is of the partially serrated version. I tend to cut lots of zip-ties & twine at work so the serrations work well for that task. I also own several Fully-serrated Spydercos, which come in handy for stripping wire in addition to the other tasks......

Larkhon Nohkral it’s all in the description of my “Rates and Services” video. It’s linked in the description of most of my more recent vids.

update....i paid the price :)

If you're handy, you can disassemble the knife and sand & polish the washers. There might just be a burr affecting that. Also, if you have a coated blade, that might be the problem, and it's generally a bit hard to cure if that's the case.

thank you brother, I think i got a bit of both, another question, do you only work with knives or anything with a cutting edge ?

Pretty much only knives at this point. I've sharpened a couple of small hatchets, but it's kind of cost-prohibitive given the shipping.

reason i ask is because I have a buker bushcraft and the handle is poorly finish I would love to have somewhere like ray meats handle configuration, if that is the right word! also it has a secondary bevel on it witch I prefer not to have! Anyhow I seen your videos and i think your work is done to perfection there for I was wondering if you do that kind of work? PS:thank you for responding so quickly.

No problem, Matos. I think that job might be a bit beyond my skill set, however...

samuraiprose No diamonds here, but my 120 stone is silicon carbide. I'm not a lover of diamond stones, even with large carbide steels.

I ask because the diamond stones have the hardness necessary to cut into the carbides. Seems like that would take care of the edge issue you raised -- not being able to maintain the razor sharpness would bug me, too.

I should qualify the "edge quality" issue of S90V compared to other steels, I suppose. While it doesn't take the keen edge of 1095, D2, ZDP, or even S30V, especially using silicon and oxide stones, it still gets very sharp. Also, I actually prefer NOT getting into the carbides at the apex of the edge, because I think it results in a more wear-resistant working edge. When you use diamond sharpening media, you're left with extremely thin, brittle carbide points at the edge, which makes the edge go away much more quickly than leaving them sort of naturally chunky. The strength in performance of S90V isn't ultimate sharpness, but longevity of working sharpness... if that makes any sense. I just don't generally prefer that characteristic. Frankly, I'd rather use AUS8 and keep it razor sharp with 2-minute touch ups. But to each his own.

Huh! I hadn't thought of it that way. I appreciate you taking the time to detail as much. On a different subject, I may have a few knives to send your way! Take care.

TheEnvelope Benchmade will send you any clip you want. Just give them a call.

@@TheApostleP Thanks for the heads up, yeah I would have but being in Australia would make it more difficult, I just sanded the black clip down with a few sandpapers, not the easiest job very stubborn black paint but looks really nice now with subtle black lettering, can actually see "BENCHMADE" now on the clip.

Lasurge1982 I would stick with trusted sellers for something like that. They usually sell in my Thursday night sales between $210 and $225 in near mint to new condition. I have them often.

Image BLOGGER If you watched the review, he obviously doesn't recommend it, duh!!

I think he said he'd use it and enjoy it. Despite a couple of minor problems he observed. I bought one and I love it. Will get the -2 next.

Image BLOGGER yes the -2 is awesome get one you won't regret. Don't buy this one. Merry Christmas

Ajacks80 Got any tips on removing light smudges of Loctite from the blade? I should have had the blade extended when re-screwing the side back on. lol

Image BLOGGER Try rubbing alcohol or a little gasoline. If that doesn't work try a little metal polish.

Me too 😉

Thanks, Paul. I appreciate the support, brother :)

They make it out of 20cv basically the same thing

GUNSnSTUFF 60v

lmfao

60V and about 5% more vanadium carbides

Not sure if the camera is giving the true appearance. The 940-1 has a light acid washed finish - dull and dingy is correct.

+Carlos Guerrero Sadly... Yes, quite normal.

+TheApostleP Really? I literally just set up an RMA to exchange it like 15 minutes ago

It will be disappointing when you get it back as well, unless someone takes special care in the "LifeSharp" department at Benchmade, which I lovingly refer to as "LifeDull." Sharpening is not Benchmade's strong suit, but who am I to complain. I make a pretty good living sharpening brand new Benchmades ;)

+TheApostleP whats your process? What do you charge? Turnaround?

+TheApostleP I personally have sent my knives to be sharpened through Benchmades Life Sharp program, and I never had any issues where the blade came dull. In fact, this is the first time hearing a complaint over the returned blades from Life Sharp process. Don't get me wrong... I am not trying to debunk your past experience with their service. I just found it interesting is all.

Matt Laban Right you are Matt. You can send that baby in to Benchmade as often as you want, and they'll make it just as dull as it was when it was new. We call it their "Lifedull" program 😉

TheApostleP Are there any manufacturers that in your opinion come with a good factory edge?

Matt Laban No, because how else would he stay in buiseness

Matt Laban Spyderco's come with a great edge!

WaterWhipin Which steel?

uhh.. wrong. i have many different super steels, and even on a knife wiithout one, my vg-10 endura, still pops hairs after many days of work. so... lol?

Have you tried M4 or HAP 40?

@@Fluoride556 you don't cut as much daily as me or the op