Recommendation? Custom Shop Barrage

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Whisperstealth

Joined
Feb 27, 2021
Messages
4
Hello all,

I'm looking at ordering a Custom Shop Barrage, and would like some opinions / recommendations on which blade steel to go with. I'm looking at the M4 steel and the 20CV steel. The M4 comes with Cerakote, the 20CV does not. If I go with 20CV, I will have it coated. Benchmade's rating for 20CV seems off. Fom what I have read about it, while not as tough as M4, it is tougher the the rating Benchmade gives it.

Does anyone have experience with either of these steels on a Barrage? I live in Arkansas and it gets quite humid in the summer, which is why I am not sure which steel to choose. This knife will be part of my EDC set, as I carry two. One of which will be a Buck Vantage Pro with S30V blade steel or a Benchmade Rift.

Thanks for your replies!
 
I had a Mini Barrage from the custom shop. It had G10 handles and M4 steel. The coating scratches/wears off quite quickly. I find M4 to be much better than 20CV in use. Benchmade’s 20CV isn’t optimized for the type of steel it is, as they run it too soft to really bring out what it’s capable of.

I sold my Mini Barrage because I came to dislike the assisted action. Be warned: the Custom Shop is full MSRP plus whatever it costs to mod the knife. If you ever go to sell your Custom Shop knife, plan on losing close to half of what you paid for it.
 
Hi Whisperstealth, Welcome to the forum. Given that you are mostly concerned with corrosion and you have narrowed down your selection to 20CV and M4, I would go with 20CV since it is stainless. I have had good luck with 20CV and have it in quite a few knives. I would also recommend CTS-204P and M390 since they great steels and perform similar to 20CV. M4 is also a great steel, it is not stainless and will take more attention to prevent rust, however it performs really well and holds an edge for a long time.

JonesE
 
Cypress said:
I had a Mini Barrage from the custom shop. It had G10 handles and M4 steel. The coating scratches/wears off quite quickly. I find M4 to be much better than 20CV in use. Benchmade’s 20CV isn’t optimized for the type of steel it is, as they run it too soft to really bring out what it’s capable of.

I sold my Mini Barrage because I came to dislike the assisted action. Be warned: the Custom Shop is full MSRP plus whatever it costs to mod the knife. If you ever go to sell your Custom Shop knife, plan on losing close to half of what you paid for it.
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Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. I'm looking at getting G10 handles as well. How grippy are they? I'm wanting an all blacked out version. I look at it kinda like building a hot rod, going in you gotta know you're only gonna get half of what you put in it, if you try to sell it.
 
Whisperstealth said:
Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. I'm looking at getting G10 handles as well. How grippy are they? I'm wanting an all blacked out version. I look at it kinda like building a hot rod, going in you gotta know you're only gonna get half of what you put in it, if you try to sell it.
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I had desert tan with horizontal texturing. They weren’t overly grippy, but the bulk of the “grip” on the Barrage comes from the shape of the handle.
 
JonesE said:
Hi Whisperstealth, Welcome to the forum. Given that you are mostly concerned with corrosion and you have narrowed down your selection to 20CV and M4, I would go with 20CV since it is stainless. I have had good luck with 20CV and have it in quite a few knives. I would also recommend CTS-204P and M390 since they great steels and perform similar to 20CV. M4 is also a great steel, it is not stainless and will take more attention to prevent rust, however it performs really well and holds an edge for a long time.

JonesE
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Hi Jones, thanks for the welcome! I was leaning towards the 20CV, but now I'm kinda leaning towards the M4. Cypress's words about Benchmade's 20CV not being optimized struck a cord with me. I know their M4 is well regarded, and don't really want to be a Guinea pig for their 20CV. At a build price of $270, I want a known commodity.

I was hoping someone who had gotten the Benchmade 20CV would chime in, so I will hold off on ordering for a few more days.
 
i have a couple knives in 20cv from benchmade (a 698 & a custom 15080) & never had a problem with it. i especially use the foray a lot at work (i work in a school so the smaller blade is definitely a plus) & it’ll hold its edge for a decent amount of time, ill maybe have to hit it with the fine rods on my sharpmaker once a month. the CR is still pretty new but it seems to stand up pretty well too. at work i mostly use them to cut straps off of produce cartons open & break down cases of food, etc. not a lot of what i’d consider hard use but they do get put through their paces
 
mrfields said:
i have a couple knives in 20cv from benchmade (a 698 & a custom 15080) & never had a problem with it. i especially use the foray a lot at work (i work in a school so the smaller blade is definitely a plus) & it’ll hold its edge for a decent amount of time, ill maybe have to hit it with the fine rods on my sharpmaker once a month. the CR is still pretty new but it seems to stand up pretty well too. at work i mostly use them to cut straps off of produce cartons open & break down cases of food, etc. not a lot of what i’d consider hard use but they do get put through their paces
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Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it! It's good to know the blades hold up to regular use. I'm guessing the 20CV really works well in a kitchen / food setting where it might get wet more often.

Choices choices lol! I thought it would be easy to pick a blade steel, but it's not. I guess I can't really go wrong with either...
 
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