Benchmade 154CM vs. S30V for twice the price?

The ritter also has an improved edge geometry for better cutting.

They're both good. If your budget can absorb the price jump, the ritter does perform better. Probably not 2x as much but better.

Phil
 
I'm dropping the 553 in favor of the Ritter version. The Ritter is very good. Twice as good? Maybe not, but I do like it better.
 
I agree, I like the Ritter Grip better, but any of them are great knives. If you're budget is an issue, you will still be very happy with a 556. So I agree with the guys above, the Ritter is better for me, but not 2x better.
 
If I'm not mistaken, Ritter's design also uses G10 instead of the fiberglass (Noryl GTX) that the BM Grips have. So........different blade shape (higher chord giving the appearance of more belly), different steel, different scales (NO, I checked, standard Noryl scales on Ritter's knife too - it's the fixed Ritter-Grip I was thinking of for G10).

Is it worth an extra $55? That's up to you. I like the blade shape and the stonewashed finish of the Ritter, and I appreciate S30V steel, but 154CM is, BY NO MEANS, a steel to scoff at. Thinking that a difference will be realized between the two steels by the average user would be foolish. Only if you had one of each, and used them identically in a semi-test manner, would the average guy notice a difference...I think.

It is apparent that S30V holds an edge slightly longer than 154CM, I can see that in the knives I own....but the difference is, I can promise you, negligible. Many might tell you different, but I don;t buy it. I own them, use them, and sharpen them.....the diff is noticeable, but just barely. Now you could have a professional tester tell you that one will cut rope (or whatever) 230% longer than the other, and that I would believe, but in daily use, one dulls just liek the other.

So is it worth double the price? Well, I'm sure going to get a Ritter Mk1 someday. The fixed Ritter Grip will be first, though. ((( :D ))) I do wish Doug would have specified G10 or micarta for the scales though. A fellow Forumite, a few weeks ago, mentioned how "plasticky" the Grip's scales felt.... how there's that plastic "clicky" feeling when your hand or fingers rubs against the edge of the scales. So the next time I handled one, I looked for that. It's true. The knife is great, but the scales "feel" cheap. Of course, that particular beef will be the same on both knives, I suppose.
 
Ack! StretchNM, you reminded me how much I disliked the scales on the Benchmade. Not only do they feel cheap, they are "slippery". Is there anything from Spyderco that is about the same size as the BM mini with better steel?
 
Spyderco:

Native 4 or Native 3D
Delica or Waved Delica in VG-10, ZDP-189 Delica
 
I have knives in both 154CM and S30V and I prefer 154CM. Primarily because of the keen edge I can hone on the 154CM is more important to me than the purported toughness of the S30V. YMMV The sheepsfoot, hollow ground blade is a great knife and probably a very poor crowbar.

It's like A2 versus D2. If you have any experience with these tool steels. The A2 is tough as nails (akin to S30V's rep) and hard to get razor sharp while I worry about breaking my D2 blades because of their high hardness, but they're as sharp as a knife can be.
 
Soulrack223 said:
I have knives in both 154CM and S30V and I prefer 154CM. Primarily because of the keen edge I can hone on the 154CM is more important to me than the purported toughness of the S30V. YMMV The sheepsfoot, hollow ground blade is a great knife and probably a very poor crowbar.

It's like A2 versus D2. If you have any experience with these tool steels. The A2 is tough as nails (akin to S30V's rep) and hard to get razor sharp while I worry about breaking my D2 blades because of their high hardness, but they're as sharp as a knife can be.
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I can push cut newspaper, shave hair off of my arm without touching skin and whittle hair with my S30V blades. I'm not sure how much sharper they need to get. I don't have a 154CM blade to compare though. If they can get 154CM sharper, I might be able to cut through time and space...
 
154CM all the way. Really, how much better is the $30v edge retention over the 154cm? I find that 154CM takes an excellent edge and holds it a long time. Unless the Ritter/$30V is your thing, go with the regular Grip. :thumbup:
 
Kaizen1 said:
I can push cut newspaper, shave hair off of my arm without touching skin and whittle hair with my S30V blades. I'm not sure how much sharper they need to get. I don't have a 154CM blade to compare though. If they can get 154CM sharper, I might be able to cut through time and space...
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Hey Kaizen,
I'm not sure 154CM will actually get sharper, but like Soulrack said, it's easier to get sharp (for me anyway). Not that the S30V is difficult, just a tad more fussy on the stones. I mean, can one steel actually get sharper than another? Maybe. But i think once you reach zero degrees, it doesn;t matter which steel it is....it's the "getting there" that's different.

The point of my thread anyway was there isn;t so much difference between the two. In a side-by-side testing done in a controlled environment..well, yeah there could be a noticeable difference - not in my world though. A difference? Yea. Enough to make a difference? Nah.

So here's how I really compare the BM with the Ritter: blade design? a little different. Steel? same. Blade Finish? different.

It boils down to the only thing different is the wider chorded blade which is stonewashed......in my opinion, of course. THe steel is the same (except that S30V costs more to the maker so he charges more).
 
StretchNM said:
Hey Kaizen,
I'm not sure 154CM will actually get sharper, but like Soulrack said, it's easier to get sharp (for me anyway). Not that the S30V is difficult, just a tad more fussy on the stones. I mean, can one steel actually get sharper than another? Maybe. But i think once you reach zero degrees, it doesn;t matter which steel it is....it's the "getting there" that's different.

The point of my thread anyway was there isn;t so much difference between the two. In a side-by-side testing done in a controlled environment..well, yeah there could be a noticeable difference - not in my world though. A difference? Yea. Enough to make a difference? Nah.

So here's how I really compare the BM with the Ritter: blade design? a little different. Steel? same. Blade Finish? different.

It boils down to the only thing different is the wider chorded blade which is stonewashed......in my opinion, of course. THe steel is the same (except that S30V costs more to the maker so he charges more).
Click to expand...

I just thought his post was saying that he could get a better edge on it, not that it was easier to sharpen.

Primarily because of the keen edge I can hone...
Click to expand...

That's the only reasonI responded about sharpness. But he just responded saying that he just prefers it. I generally suggest that picking a knife should be mostly about the knife, rather than the steel, since MOST users wouldn't even recognize a difference.
 
I don't have the Griptilian. I do have the full size Ritter Grip. Love the blade, it slices well. Love the handle ergonomics. Easy to use, feels safe, hard for my hand to slide onto the blade.

Hate the handle material. It's nice and light, but it feels plastic and cheap. (Well, it is plastic, that explains part of it. I still hate it.)
 
My regular 154CM 550 Griptilian works well enough for me, I haven't found myself wishing for a better blade steel and the modified sheepfoot design fits my needs very well.

I paid around $60 for it, and at that price I certainly don't mind the plastic handle, like I don't mind the FRN handle on my Delica. Sure, wood or micarta would be a lot nicer, but the at that price point FRN, Noryl, or whatever platic makes sense.

For around $100, I think the RitterGrip should have a nicer handle material, IMHO. The blade has a nice design and S30V is certainly a great steel, but it's not enough of an overall improvement over the original Griptilian for me to invest in it.

Moreover, a chap at the survival section of KF sent a RitterGrip to BM because it had a chip in the edge. BM replaced the blade but also sent a rather disturbing letter that said:

"We will replace the blade this time for you, please note however that though S30V is a strong steel it is also somewhat brittle, more so than heavy tool steel like D2 or somewhat softer steels such as 440C or 154CM. The S30V excels as cutting tasks where you need a super sharp slicing edge, for heavy duty use on tough materials (such as any wood product) we suggest using D2 or even 154CM."

This is supossed to be a survival oriented knife, and as such should be capable of cutting wood (not in a hatchet like fashion, of course). I found it pretty discouraging to see this straight from the manufacturer.
 
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