Benchmade Griptilian in s30v or D2, which is better?

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Looking to get a sheepsfoot Griptilian and am wondering how the D2 compares to their s30v, its CPM D2 and I have heard people say great stuff about benchmade treatment on it, I have no experience with it, just regular D2 on a civivi. I am sure both would be good enough for daily tasks and moderate hard use but curious if anyone can compare these 2 steels specifically from benchmade, they are virtually the same price so thats not a determining factor, ease of sharpening is not either, I have zero issues with my M4. m390, s90v steels (or the regular D2) normally Id likely go for the s30v but thats comparing it to regular D2 from Civivi
 
You be well-served to do some research on CPM D2. It sometimes didn't work as well as ingot D2.

ETA - It just occurred to me - Where are you getting a CPM-D2 Grip??? Is it used or new old stock? Careful, if being sold as new, it could be fake... (I am not aware of Benchmade using any CPM-D2 in the Grip unless it's some special run or something.)
 
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I’d go for S30V. It’s a true stainless steel at 14% chromium. Whereas D2 is a a semi-stainless with a little less chromium. CPM-D2 is superior to D2 from what I’ve read but I can’t vouch for that personally. I also like the edge S30V takes.
 
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Hard to go wrong with either; my Benchmade 710 and Cabela's Grippie in D2 (not CPM) and S30V (Mini-Rukus) take a very fine edge, somewhat surprisingly -- maybe due to Benchmade's heat treat. CPM-D2 would be a step up, probably similar to CTS-XHP. I would guess that S30V might be a bit more corrosion resistant.
 
kobold said:
I never had CPM D2, so out of curiosity, that is what I would pick.
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Same.
On paper, S30V is a small step up, however my real word experience (with my Rat 1) has been that some D2 holds a great edge, and is quite a bit more rust resistant than M4.

CPM-D2 is supposed to have even better edge retention, so the S30V might only have a real advantage in rust resistance.

I’ve had no problems with rust on my S30V PM2, and I’ve carried that a LOT, and it doesn’t exactly get loved
 
SpyderPhreak said:
You be well-served to do some research on CPM D2. It sometimes didn't work as well as ingot D2.

ETA - It just occurred to me - Where are you getting a CPM-D2 Grip??? Is it used or new old stock? Careful, if being sold as new, it could be fake... (I am not aware of Benchmade using any CPM-D2 in the Grip unless it's some special run or something.)
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I had a full sized griptilian in CPM D2 that had a green handle and black coated blade. It was a Cabela’s exclusive several years ago. Not sure how many were produced or for how long.
 
I’ve had such good luck with my Benchmade Redoubt in CPM D2 that I bought another just in case they discontinued it. Over the past six months it’s spent time in the mountains, on the river and at the beach: kept a little EDCi on it and stropped it a few times….still plenty sharp and rust free.
 
CPM-D2 should be significantly tougher than S30V, but it will have a bit less edge retention and less corrosion resistance. CPM-D2 seems to get a bad rap because some people equate it with ingot D2, but it has toughness similar to M4, looking at Larrin's work.
 
I have used a Benchmade in S30V and I was actually impressed with the steel. The knife was a Bugout. I Rockewell tested the balde at 60 Rc.

I finally got around to trying out CPM D2 vs ingot D2. I have been a little bit of a snob when it comes to steels I use for making knives so I have stayed away from D2. Well I was actually impressed by both. They both were 61-62 Rc with a cryo treatment.

The ingot D2 is a fierce cutter and the edge held up better than I thought it would from all the bad mouthing I have heard for years. I was able to start popping out micro chips, barely visible to naked eye, with prying cuts into end grain of wood.

The CPM D2 is a different beast. I could not get it to pop out chips until I started carving on a deer leg bone. I was actually so impressed with the CPM D2 that I traded out my current EDC steel to CPM D2 to give it a longer life trial.

One of the misconceptions I have often heard is D2 takes a poor edge and keeps it all day. Well I actually really like sharpening D2 on water stones and with both version it did not take much effort to get BESS 120 keenness.

Since I am not the best at taking care of my pocket knives I would personally choose S30V for the extra corrosion resistance, for fixed blade I think I would choose CPM D2.
 
S30V all day. Benchmade’s treatment of this steel is first rate. Gets sharp, stays sharp. The D2 Benchmade I have takes a wicked edge but it doesn’t seem to hang on to it as long as their S30V.
 
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