Lets talk PM2 tanto's please?

Joined
Nov 7, 2005
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18
I have been away for awhile and have come back to my knife addiction. Partly because I saw a pic of the BHQ PM2, tanto and really like the looks of this knife. I am wondering a few things that i am hoping some of you spydieholics can answer for me.

1) I see they come in s30v and M4 steel. Not knowing the real difference in these, is there really anything I need to be aware of before I find one. I live in Ohio and am not to hard on my knives. I don't have much experience in sharpening so would prefer something that holds an edge for a bit of time though.

2) Is this tanto PM2 any good at small prying tasks as I have been known to use my pocket knife for this whether it is a good idea or not, I have done it and may have to do it again due to my work.

Thanks for any of your opinions and info as I am going to get a PM2, and I am really leaning towards the tanto version unless there is a better day to dat version of the PM2 (steel, edge retention, prying ability etc) that I am missing. Thanks for your time and if you have some nice looking tanto PM2's, let me see them. Thanks E1...
 
If you need a tool for prying, getting something like the Nite Ize DoohicKey would provide some very inexpensive insurance to protect a nice knife. There are tons of variations on this and, for some, you can just hook it on a lanyard to keep it with the knife. Here is an example with my non-tanto PM2.

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That is pretty sound advice. The tanto point will stand up to judicious prying better than the standard point, but I still don't recommend it.

Big point to know about the two steels you mention is that CPM S30V is a very corrosion resistant stainless steel while CPM M4 is a tool steel which can and will rust if not cared for properly. M4 is probably easier to sharpen, but either will hold an edge for a decent length of time.
 
I think it comes down to edge stability and strength and edge retention being better with the tougher and harder m4, that would be my pick. S30v won't do as good in any of those aspects but is stainless. I think you'd get the best performance with the m4, unless you have to have stainless. I've been carrying k390 for a couple weeks and don't find a non stainless a issue at all.
 
I'm not sure you could even classify what's a better day to day for a pm2. They come in so many choices of steel. I personally am leaning towards tough hard tool steels now. But the salt version looks nice too, get a tough stainless in magnacut. I'm not a knife collector but I really am seeing how folks get started...
 
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