What's Benchmade 440C like?

H

HighTen

Joined
Aug 28, 2004
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139
I just wanted to ask to see what you guys think of Benchmade's 440C steel. Just FYI, I'm considering getting a 551. So can you compare it to any other steel for me? Most of my experience is with AUS 8, like a Cold Steel Voyager and with Carbon V in my Cold Steel Twistmaster. How is BM's 440C compared to these? They say its hardness is 58-60, so I'd think it must hold an edge pretty good?
 
It's good. I owned a 530 before trading it off.. Bencmade does it quite well. It felt better than the AUS 8 I've handled (only SOG).

I don't know about edge holding and sharpening, as I don't sharpen my own stuff, but it held up very well to use.
 
It's good stuff. My BM-31 in 440C holds an edge well and sharpens easily, which isn't always the case with high end stainless steels. It's also very stain resistant. I doubt you'll be disappointed, especially at that price point.
 
I personally think BM's 440C might be just a tad to hard; ie: brittle. My 42MC has a slight tendancy to micro-chip rather than roll or simply dullen. My 31S seems to be slightly better. If I had to guess, since BM claims 58-60Rc on their 440C, my 42MC would be 60Rc and the 31S would be 58Rc, but that's an unscientific assumption.
 
Takes a fine edge. Not as fine as carbon but finer than S30V and a bit finer than 154CM.

There is a test of a forumite in the Benchmade forum. He has cut a thing he dalled "rubberized hogs hair". He tried S30V and BMs 440C. The difference in edge holding was minor to everybodys surprise.

I have the 550 and love it for its overall design. Light, strong (you will break it before it will fail a spine whack), lots of cutting power.

Just for beauty i would consider an olive handle with a black plain blade but the original black and steel is great too.
 
I usually favor steels like S60V, M2 and BG42 but BM's 440C is excellent. I have a 550 and two Outbounder 180. The 440C takes a very sharp and fine edge and keeps it about as well as BM's 154CM/ATS-34 but is easier to maintain. When cutting hard materials the edge will roll slightly rather than chip in my experience. You will find it noticeably better in edge holding than AUS8 but not quite on par with Carbon V. It is however very stain resistant in use.
 
Before getting a Benchmade 555 Mini-Griptilian, my only experience with 440C was the Spyderco Meerkat.

I liked it on the Meerkat but I loved it on the 555.
So much so that I later bought a 550 (which I gave to my brother-in-law because the oval hole did'nt work too well for me), and then I bought a 556 and a 551.
And a Boker Titanium folder with 440C.

440C has become one of my favorite blade-steels.
I find that I can get the knife extremely sharp with very little effort, and it keeps its edge for a respectable amount of use.

I like it better than AUS6, AUS8, GIN1, 440A, ATS-55, and even better than ATS-34 and 154CM.

The only blade-steel I like better is Spyderco's VG-10.

I don't have any real experience with S30V however.

But remember, blade design matters more than blade-steel.
The 551 and 556 are awesome cutters with an exceptional blade grind.
I think you will like the 551.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
BM does 440C very well. Lots of folks, myself included, have noticed that 440 (compared to 154) loses it's "shaving" edge quite quickly, but keeps a "functional" edge for a long time after that. 440 is super easy to sharpen, and takes stropping as well as any stainless I have used.

The Grip is a great knife. For the same price, often cheaper, you can get a Native with S30V. For me, there is no comparison between the two steels - but you can't S30 and an axis lock for anything close to the price of either a Grip or a Native.

Thom
 
For all the replies! I was thinking that the 440C would be pretty good because of all the good talk about Benchmade on this forum. I also got my dad a Ritter Grip for Christmas due to this forum and he REALLY likes it! I like how the handle on the Griptilian feels in my hand, kinda round and full-bodied. Now I want a Griptilian but my budget is lower so after all this, the 551 really looks great!
 
BillL said:
Hi,

Will a 7" 440C blade be practical to have for marine use?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Considering stain resistance? I guess in that case most manufacturers try to get a coating added.

Beside that, if it is not a blasted blade it should work.

For the length, why 7". That´s where most stainless wont go because of the lower toughness.

I would think about something shorter, 4" max.
 
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