154CM vs S30V steel

M

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Recently decided to upgrade my everyday carry knife. I settled on a Benchmade Mini Griptilian. Ordered one online and after shipping realized it was the 154CM steel not S30V steel. I am not well versed in the differences in different steels but from my research 154CM seems to be easier to sharpen but will lose its edge faster than S30V. Since this knife will be my main knife for the foreseeable future wanted to make sure I had the "best" steel. My sharpening skills are less than stellar so I feel like the 154CM would be better in that regard. However, my knives generally don't see a lot of hard use so the extra edge retention of the S30V would be nice to increase time in between sharpening. So my question is keep the 154CM or sell/return it and pick up a S30V?
 
I like 154cm, it gets very sharp and is easy to sharpen, but S30v will definitely hold an edge longer. How much longer? Well, that depends totally on your use. For most, it’s probably negligibly different. S30v is a good all arounder, and I have many knives in it, but it’s definitely not the “latest and greatest” anymore for toughness or edge retention. Both have been absolutely fine for my use over the years. Personally, I have no real complaints with either, but I’m also not cutting things all day every day and, as a fairly practiced sharpener, occasional maintenance is not really a hassle to me. All that said, if you really wanted S30v and didn’t get what you paid for, do whatever will make you satisfied or you’ll always be wondering.
 
^this. If you want S30V and wind up with 154CM you’ll always wonder if you made the right choice and it’ll bug you every time you see that knife.

That said, they’re both great steels. BM’s 154CM is no slouch. It sharpens easily and will hold it fine through most usage. They really do a fantastic job with S30V though. For me it sharpens just as easily and keeps the edge longer. It takes a wicked, sticky sharp edge.
 
Good feedback so far.

For my uses, I actually prefer the 154cm. It's a steel that has proven to take abuse and sharpen easier than S30V. I really like how it responds to waterstones.

As mentioned earlier, S30V will hold its edge a bit better.

Both steels are perfectly fine for an EDC folding knife.
 
Which Griptillian is it exactly? Because if it's one of the sheepsfoot ones with a hollow grind, I'd say you ht the jackpot. I love 154CM, because it's easier to sharpen than S30V, and the hollow grind on the 154CM Griptilians cuts way better than the saber ground S30V Grips. Overall I don't think the jump from 154CM to S30V is wort the cost of returning and buying a new knife.
 
What Silent said. With a possible rider on the last sentence. Logically I agree fully with that last sentence but I know myself and as Antdog said, personally, I would always want the S30V if that was the initial desire … except if it was a hollow ground sheepsfoot because those are brilliant and were discontinued in the switch from 154CM to S30V.
 
Get the steel you wanted. If not: you'll always be wondering about the choice...
 
Thank you for all the replies. It is the version with a drop point blade with thumb stud not the sheepsfoot blade. I agree with everybody that the 154CM would be fine but I really do want the S30V version. Thanks for the advice!
 
In my experience, 154CM and S30V are almost identical in real world use. They both keep a decent edge and sharpen easily. I don't think it would be worth changing one for the other. If you're going to upgrade, there are a lot better steels other there where you'll see a bigger difference like M390, CPM-20CV, etc.
 
I can't resist throwing in my $0.02.
Between 154CM and S30V, I can't tell the difference in edge retention. But 154CM is easier to get really sharp. S30V can be fussy and difficult to sharpen. It takes care to get the burr right.
 
Silent H said:
Which Griptillian is it exactly? Because if it's one of the sheepsfoot ones with a hollow grind, I'd say you ht the jackpot. I love 154CM, because it's easier to sharpen than S30V, and the hollow grind on the 154CM Griptilians cuts way better than the saber ground S30V Grips. Overall I don't think the jump from 154CM to S30V is wort the cost of returning and buying a new knife.
Click to expand...

I have the s30v mini grip in a sheepsfoot blade with the hole. I absolutely love the form factor, imo the sheepsfoot blade shape is pretty underrated.
 
Neither. I would go with m4. Better edge stability strength and wear resistance. I think they run their m4 around 62-64. Or magnacut if it's run in the sane hrc range
 
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