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FreakFlagFly
35
May 7, 2020
Considering getting it and modding a new backspacer for what is otherwise a nice looking knife. That bottleopener is a superfluous design atrocity and an accident waiting to happen. Not sure if it is worth the work though.
League544
535
May 8, 2020
FreakFlagFlyDon’t, stick to tried and true, buy a real knife steel.
(Edited)
rabblerousers
8
May 8, 2020
League544SV35VN is not a real steel used in the making of knife blades? Are you suggesting because it is a composite metal or because you don't think that it exists? Does any of this really exist? Perplexed enough to want to know of what you speak.
League544
535
May 9, 2020
rabblerousersWhat I’m saying is, there are at least 10 knife steels superior in virtually every way to s35vn, so, why would I spend 100-200 on a knife that doesn’t have m390/s110v/maxamet? What’s the point? You’re buying a knife for it’s functionality primarily, of you’re a true knife lover you’ll most likely ONLY buy it for it’s steel quality/ergo/etc, all which these heavy/slippery titanium don’t have much of. Like I said my s110v native 5 is CHEAPER and superior in EVERY way besides the flashy “titanium” which is a downgrade imo, heavy and slippery. I’m a huge titanium worshipping fan boy, but for me it doesn’t belong in a knife I’m supposed to be carrying around in my pocket all the time. As with everything, there are exceptions for people who like the bigger knives to carry, but the vast majority would agree with me. We live in 2020, “good enough” is not good enough, especially for a 150-200 dollar “edc” knife. Imagine if they started selling Toyota corollas made out of titanium for 300k, would you not say, hmm I’d rather buy a Ferrari.
(Edited)
FreakFlagFly
35
May 10, 2020
League544Good to know you just aren't delusional. I'm guessing by your response that you are a Spydie Guy. Drop isn't the place for Spydercos. I'm not interested in this knife, but I'd love a knife in this size and materials with M390,S110V, or Maxamet for $125 (without that breacher fugliness). What do you recommend, I'm genuinely interested.
League544
535
May 10, 2020
FreakFlagFlyHonestly, back in 2013 I sold all of my knives because me and my ex girlfriend we’re going to get back together in Colorado and buy a piece of land and build a house, turns out I was too young and stupid to realize you can’t just buy those garages at Home Depot and connect them and make a house on land, you need permits/ up to spec communist bs like that. We ended up buying an RV instead of spending what we saved on hotels: I had a M390 benchmade nakamura in carbon fiber, a s110v in manix 2, and a bunch of cheaper kershaw knives, leek chill etc. Seven years later, I’m thankfully single again, and figured I should probably buy that S110V again since it’s superior to M390 in every way, about 30% less edge retention than maxamet, but it has 3000% more corrosion resistance, maxamet has almost none, even if you oil your blade and take perfect care of it you’ll start to notice a patina not even a week in, one of those knives that you buy just to say you have the hardest cutting most bad ass knife, it’s like a drag car. I’ll let you know tomorrow when my native 5 arrives, I’ve only had a Manix 2 in s110v, which is the older/less ergonomic version with a bigger blade/ big handle to carry in your pocket compared to the Native 5. The native 5 seems like the new and improved smaller more practical version of the Manix 2. I have 6’6 hands but for me the pain the Manix 2 gives in your pocket isn’t worth the extra blade size. The past few months I’ve been extremely obsessed with all these new metals and tests done on them to show where resistance and other characteristics. https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/ranking-of-steels-in-categories-based-on-edge-retention-cutting-5-8-rope.793481/ Ankerson is the most well respected knife guy/maker/tester in the industry. If you go down past the tier list which idk how to read, if you go down to the number cuts each of the knife steels performed, you’ll notice certain steals that shouldn’t be ahead of the S1 10 V are simply because they are harder but those comparisons are done with softer versions of different steels and harder versions. You’ll see the hardest (64) he tested of s110v outperformed the hardest of every other one of the amazing super steels he listed (64,63,62 etc) The s110v beat out even rex45/k390/m390. The only steels that outperformed the S110 were ones like s125v (like a unicorn, only a handful of people own this steel), maxamet,Rex121(unlisted), etc. The only reason they are outperforming the S1 10 V is because they are treating corrosion resistance for further hardness and wear resistance, meaning your blade will rust up even if you take perfect care of it and you’ll have to deal with that for the lifetime of the blade, back to the drag racing example. so ultimately I recommend us 110 B and that’s why I kind of think these knives a drop or a joke because they’re called super knives but they’re using Chinese cheap steals or heavily downgraded s110v aka s30v/vn, even s90v is a joke, but it’s still nowhere near as bad as S 30 V so I respect any maker that adds them in the least. These are basically shiny pretty toys, that are inferior in every way other than looks, and after being so obsessed with metallurgy and knife steels looking at these knives is kind of disrespectful for how much they’re trying to charge people. I understand it’s because of the titanium but still these knives are trash is the best way to put it. I’ll let you know when my native five tomorrow in s110v, I think this is the winner, it’s basically the more updated in every way version of the Manix 2, while being smaller and better to carry around.
method_burger
563
May 11, 2020
League544check out rockstead knives =) i think you'd enjoy them if you're looking for a small collection of super hard, super high edge retention. i only know one guy with a rockstead, but he loves it. convex mirror polished edge with hrc65. minimum is like $1k based on the article you linked, it looks like thickness behind the edge played a more important role at a glance. which makes sense, thinner knives are easier to 'cut' even when dull. give me a day or 2, i need to make this into an actual spreadsheet. analyzing this is making my eyes hurt.
League544
535
May 11, 2020
method_burgerIf this is what you are going to do, and this is what you have decided that needs to be answered, then I will fully support and back the project.
method_burger
563
May 11, 2020
League544i mean..... its not a large sample size, but i'm sure theres a lot more nuances to find other than 'steel a is better than steel b' besides, i already have my answers from 10+ years sharpening knives. this just gives me some numbers to understand the quantitative effects of different angles (although i basically only do convex edges these days as it is a superior edge in my experience) also, i dont believe in super steel hype. it's all about individual experience and usage, and something i've learned is to stay away from things steels with high hardness. if i can't get a knife to shave my face in 20 minutes, i'm not gonna be happy with it. because i'm not gonna carry 5 lbs of stones with me to go camping in case my knife edge fails. i have a friend, who chipped my m390 blade carving a redwood tree in less than 5 minutes. same friend split kindling with a mora craftline, repeatedly smashing the blade onto the brick floor (it was a fireplace) rolled and dulled but no visible chips. so my friend thought a mora's factory edge is better than my freshly mirror polished m390. the most abrasive thing to an edge: non-knife people. they can chip anything. this is where low-budget steel comes in handy, you can fix them with anything. rock, glass, ceramic cups, concrete, you can take 2 rocks and grind them together to make 2 flat rocks with a slurry. they are non-knife-people-abrasive-resistant.
FreakFlagFly
35
May 11, 2020
League544This is a rabbit hole you jumped down. I've done it before, then clawed my way back out. I agree on S110V being one or two of contenders for "best steel". The issue is the balance between hardness, toughness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, edge retention, and then ability to sharpen. The Knife Informer guide below is the best guide I have come across. There is also a good resource (which I couldn't find easily) that uses a quadrant matrix to plot knife steels on an X/Y axis of hardness, toughness, etc. Maxamet is a great example, great harness and edge retention, but not corrossion resistant (not SS), so will patina. Is patina bad, meh. That's an issue of taste as long as you aren't talking about rust. The same is said for HRC of all of the steels. M390 is not M390 from all manufacturers, there can be differences in hardness that can send some people into bonker land (apprpriately so in certain cases). Lastly, even the exact same steel in a different shape/thickness can perform differently. After going down that rabbit hole for a while, I emerged and started taking a more holistic view of knives, part of that is purely subjective, e.g. do I like the knife? Coming back full circle, S35VN is a fine steel for me. $125 is a good price. This design isn't. The Native 5 is on my list, though not $125 as a note. I'd like to find someone who does custom scales as I'm just not a fan of FRN or G-10 (though this G-10 is one of my stock favorites). Happy cutting. https://knifeinformer.com/discovering-the-best-knife-steel/
method_burger
563
May 11, 2020
FreakFlagFlyhaha you can tell how long the author's been in the knife game when he mentions freakin ATS-34! also, smelliest steel to sharpen
rabblerousers
8
May 11, 2020
method_burgerNever had the (apparently unfortunate) pleasure. I'll trust you on that.
Omniseed
1972
May 18, 2020
FreakFlagFlya backspacer that filled in the handle scales at the butt end would be sweet
method_burger
563
May 29, 2020
FreakFlagFlya bit late but done. sort of hard to do any meaningful analysis, so i might transfer this data to tableau. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xtzfyaVF2JSS9QBXE3vBw93d4w59H11KEozz99MleNQ/edit#gid=0 a bit surprised actually. hardness has a pretty decent correlation to number of cuts. thickness behind the edge seems to be all over. i'll post the new analysis in the future when i get the chance. but let me know if you want me to dive into which portions of the data, or if theres any other data set you would like me to look at =)
League544
535
May 30, 2020
FreakFlagFlyWow, thanks for this post. A steel I found out about lately is called Vanax and I think it shatters all conventional beliefs on knife steels, it’s on par with M390 retention, while having higher toughness, as well as being as corrosion resistant as lc200n/h1. I agree with you in terms of having a more holistic approach, I’ve actually started to become the same way, like my dick is telling me to buy the Sandrin 2.0, my heart is telling me to buy the Quietcarry Waypoint in Vanax, but my brain is telling me my Spydiechef is more than good enough and I should probably save my money, as you said, going down a rabbit hole in any sense is not good. I totally agree.
method_burger
563
May 30, 2020
League544i would probably stick with the Vanax or spydiechef, because I havent found any good sources for sharpening sandrin. unless you want to invest a lot of time and energy in trying to figure that out.
League544
535
May 30, 2020
method_burgerYeah, if you get a big chip rip your knife. Hard pass.
League544
535
Jun 3, 2020
method_burgerAlso I ended up buying the quiet carry and vanax I will probably just end up selling my spydiechef when it goes up in price which I can almost guarantee. I'm pretty sure Sal doesn't want to keep paying Marcin Slyz royalties for the rest of his life. Now I can pretty much get back to flexing and being one of the Gods here on drop with the two greatest knives of all time. You know I was flexing my s110v and then also my spydiechef and then this guy came out of nowhere in another discussion and he mentioned Vanax, and just totally shattered all of my beliefs and taught me the way.
method_burger
563
Jun 3, 2020
League544you know... technically some of the best edge holding steels are high speed steels.... you should just get those instead. cant really sharpen then without a grinder, but still
League544
535
Jun 3, 2020
method_burgerApparently Vanax holds an edge better than m390, higher toughness corrosion resistance and easier to sharpen.