What is your absolute sharpest Benchmade?
I had an interesting conversation with my brother this morning about how certain knives can be made sharper than others. Blade steel aside, geometry becomes a major factor. I began thinking of which of my Benchmade knives I consider to be the sharpest. My blades which I don't send to Lifesharp are sharpened on an Edge Pro Apex by myself, in a very consistent manor. I do concur though, that two different blades sharpened in exactly the same way can absolutely have different outcomes in regards to "overall sharpness". Of course, intended use becomes a factor at play, and the decided angle of the edge.
I'm interested in hearing what you guys think about this, and what Benchmade models you consider to be your "sharpest" blades.
I'm interested in hearing what you guys think about this, and what Benchmade models you consider to be your "sharpest" blades.
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BM Rukus,it is a slicer 0 -
quote:Originally posted by THE PUNISHER:
BM Rukus,it is a slicer
Oh man, Rukus is a good call. I would have said either Ritter 552 in M4, Crooked river, or 531 in S30V. Might have to go with Rukus though actually. That 2015 shot show version is a mean, mean slicer.0 -
I think the 940D2CF is the sharpest looking Benchmade.
It is also one of the sharpest cutting knives, but the 940-1,810-1401 & Proxy were all wick sharp out of the box.
The D2 edge on those 940D2CF after years of carry & dozens of sharpening are really good. It is easy to sharpen & by someone with less than expertise skills.0 -
741/746 0 -
I take it all back. Those I mentioned are sharp, but I forgot about the 152, fixed Ritter in S30V from 2012 if memory serves. Used heavily in the hills for a variety of things, dare I admit, even using a hammer to baton once. A hammer. Edge has been barely touched up with a sharp maker. I've shown it to chefs who were blown away with the quality and edge. 0 -
To me .......being sharp has alot to do with the grind of the blade.
Ive only had a couple of BM,s that werent sharp out of the box. Just a slip through quality control Iam sure.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dj:
being sharp has alot to do with the grind of the blade.
+1
The edge profile is second only to the blade's grind and geometry, IMO.
There's a reason we don't use our folding pocket wedges and overbuilt knives for fine slicing.
I've always considered intended use when deciding whether to put a 'fine edge' or a 'working edge' on my blades. The advent of super steels has helped with allowing me to put a finer edge on some of my blades, but based on the knife's grind and shape, there's only so much you can do to help it achieve laser status.0 -
My sharpest, I think, are my Ritter MiniGrio (M390), and the brand new D2 blade I just had put on my 710. 0 -
I'd have to say my BM knives that come to mind when I think of achieving "laser status" are:
477
490
531-131
741
760
761
810-1401
15080-1601
15100-1
I'm most likely forgetting some that have wow'd me.
Plus I'd need a microscope to say which is the absolute sharpest...
If I had to pick one from that list, my 761 would take the cake.
Redonculous edge on that one.0 -
All of mine are wicked sharp..thats the first thing I do when I get it. I have 3 that stand out above the rest..an ares in m 390...m 4 Ritter..and believe it or not a 2550 in 154 cm...it will cut you just lookin at it 
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3550. That thin blade had a hell of an edge angle. 0 -
My sharpest is my 556-1. It's also the one that brought home the lesson that when you drop your knife, you should never try to catch it. 0 -
quote:My blades which I don't send to Lifesharp are sharpened on an Edge Pro Apex by myself
All my new knives go back to Lifesharp.
After talking to a longtime employee and getting his advice he says the knife gets more love one on one and to send them back to the spa.
I sent in ten and they all came back perfect. Most were BNIB (without the box being sent in!).
Pivot tension set right, oiled and of course sharper.
I don't want to get into sharpening my own knives. Which system is the best, buying the best and then buying the extras to get the blade even better etc.
But I can really appreciate a sharp blade. And the mirror polished ones add a bling factor to it.
Just a thought, I don't own any Golds and probably never will. Do they come with a nicer sharpening?
Since BM sells Golds I wish they had a Gold custom sharpening service.
What do you think Jason? Another way for the company to generate money.
Sharpening Vid
The Sharpening Process
I was trying to find the vid that demonstrates micro serrations are sharper than straight according to BM.
Cool vids.
I wish BM did more of the Laboratory vids.
Anyway here I am again hacking your thread!
My answer is the 940-10 -
quote:Originally posted by BM-Butterfly:quote:My blades which I don't send to Lifesharp are sharpened on an Edge Pro Apex by myself
All my new knives go back to Lifesharp.
After talking to a longtime employee and getting his advice he says the knife gets more love one on one and to send them back to the spa.
I sent in ten and they all came back perfect. Most were BNIB (without the box being sent in!).
Pivot tension set right, oiled and of course sharper.
I don't want to get into sharpening my own knives. Which system is the best, buying the best and then buying the extras to get the blade even better etc.
But I can really appreciate a sharp blade. And the mirror polished ones add a bling factor to it.
Just a thought, I don't own any Golds and probably never will. Do they come with a nicer sharpening?
Since BM sells Golds I wish they had a Gold custom sharpening service.
What do you think Jason? Another way for the company to generate money.
Sharpening Vid
The Sharpening Process
I was trying to find the vid that demonstrates micro serrations are sharper than straight according to BM.
Cool vids.
I wish BM did more of the Laboratory vids.
Anyway here I am again hacking your thread!
My answer is the 940-1
I should clarify - I have a ton of BM knives that only get sent to Lifesharp, nearly all of my entire BM collection. Lifesharp is a wonderful thing. It's primarily my other non-BM knives that I like to put to the EPA, but I have a handful of mirror polished Benchmade's as well.
As for micro serrations vs mirror polished edges, I like both! Yes, a polished edge is more aesthetically pleasing, looks cleaner and definitely is worthy of 'laser status', if done properly. I love my blades with polished edges, but I am always weary about taking extra care to strop them after just about every use. This works wonders for me, and my EPA mirrored edges combined with stroping have given me what I consider to be the sharpest possible edges I can produce.
That being said, I absolutely understand Benchmade's position on micro serrations making a blade 'sharper'. In another sense of the word, it absolutely does. On many knives, a better cutting experience can be had with a minutely 'toothy' edge. In my experience, these edges last longer and are easier to maintain. A much more utilitarian edge. Great for the average joe.
My current sharpest Benchmade knives, which can pop hairs from a foot away, are both still wearing their factory edge. Someone there is a sharpening wizard on the belt, as far as I'm concerned.
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741. 0 -
Also, I gotta mention how insanely sharp I received my first Nestucca Cleaver.
Just crazy for a production edge.
Again, hats off to whoever put this one to the belt grinder.
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My Warn Barrage with D2 steel. 0 -
Id have to say it's either my 806-1101 or my 810-1401 as far as users go. Those two hold an edge forever and get crazy sharp. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Kyle915:
Id have to say it's either my 806-1101 or my 810-1401 as far as users go. Those two hold an edge forever and get crazy sharp.
Good call. I concur with the 810-1401 especially.
What's interesting is that I put down my M4 810 a while ago, in favor of carrying the -1401 as a user. I prefered the M390's edge, as it always seemed to slice better than the original Contego.
What's even more interesting, is now that I own a 810DLC-1602, I find some major differences between it's edge and that of the uncoated -1401.
Not only is there an obvious difference in the angles used to apply the edges, the -1401's exceedingly acute edge seems to also slice a bit better, and I suspect the uncoated blade helps a bit with this. I'm comparing apples to pears here, I know, but it makes me reflect on my overall experiences with uncoated vs coated blades of the same model. Never had a coated blade that could out-slice a satin blade. The exception being the 531-131 (lightsaber status).
Am I dreaming here? Anyone else find a difference in slicing performance between coated vs uncoated blade? Obviously, the sharpener at Benchmade doesn't want to excessively grind the coating off the blade, thus the tiny edges I've witnessed on most -1602's I've looked at. It's not that my Forum knife didn't come to me well sharpened. It's just that I consider my -1401 to be much sharper. Then again, my -1602 has only cut paper, string, and bread.
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/|\ Mac concur my 819-1401 seems sharper than the 810-1602. One of the reasons I did not participate in Patrick's DLC Project. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Marty McFly:
....What's even more interesting, is now that I own a 810DLC-1602, I find some major differences between it's edge and that of the uncoated -1401.
Not only is there an obvious difference in the angles used to apply the edges, the -1401's exceedingly acute edge seems to also slice a bit better, and I suspect the uncoated blade helps a bit with this. I'm comparing apples to pears here, I know, but it makes me reflect on my overall experiences with uncoated vs coated blades of the same model. Never had a coated blade that could out-slice a satin blade. The exception being the 531-131 (lightsaber status).
Am I dreaming here? Anyone else find a difference in slicing performance between coated vs uncoated blade? Obviously, the sharpener at Benchmade doesn't want to excessively grind the coating off the blade, thus the tiny edges I've witnessed on most -1602's I've looked at. It's not that my Forum knife didn't come to me well sharpened. It's just that I consider my -1401 to be much sharper. Then again, my -1602 has only cut paper, string, and bread.
I too see a slight difference between 810-1401 vs 1602. The coated blade can slide off while satin stainless has residual grind marks that doesn't slide off like that of coated blade in my experience.0 -
The sharpest Benchmade knife I've ever owned was a Forum Rift, really shallow blade angle and M4 steel. Second place goes to my custom mini-Grip with M4 blade. Something about M4 .... 0 -
quote:Originally posted by mbw151:
The sharpest Benchmade knife I've ever owned was a Forum Rift, really shallow blade angle and M4 steel. Second place goes to my custom mini-Grip with M4 blade. Something about M4 ....
Yeah, love that CPM-M4. It can take very acute angle without chipping. The steel is design to be that way.0 -
I have definitely revisited CPM-M4 steel this past year... I'd originally shied away from M4 after having some corrosion issues with a couple blades, and couldn't be bothered to oil them in the field after each use, and ultimately, I neglected to care for them properly. Enter super steels.
Now, after becoming far more anal about the care I give my knives, I've decided to give M4 another go, because I never really gave it a fair chance. Presently, after playing around with a bunch of M4 blades on my EPA, I can now say that I love this steel for it's crazy toughness. As MFL mentioned, this steel was designed as such. It can indeed take a very acute edge and retain it. Very wear resistant, but fairly easy to sharpen, which most impresses me.0 -
I sharpen my users with a customized lansky.i get em all sharp as hell! Works great. Sharpest factory edge is a tie between the 32 morpho and the 746 mini onslaught.. 0 -
I think it is all a matter of edge geometry, which is at the complete discrimination of the owner. The sharpest knives in my collection are the 581 and 551 (D2) that I have put a fine convex edge on. I have a couple other knives with very finely sharpened conventional V edges on them, and those are extremely sharp as well.
As far as the primary grind goes, I've compared 551 Grips to Ritter Grips with similar edge angles, and couldn't really tell any difference in cutting efficiency.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Po:
I think it is all a matter of edge geometry,
Preach it brother0 -
Wouldn't a big difference in slicing ability (assuming same edge) of the 1401 vs 1602 be that the 1401 is satin and the 1602 is bead blasted before DLC? I know DLC has a much lower coefficient of friction but the bead blast causes a fairly rougher surface that the DLC doesn't smooth out. That's my impression anyway. 0 -
I sharpened my Bedlam last night and I have to say I think it should be added to my list. The grind on mine is excellent and the heat treatment on the 154cm by BM is excellent. It may not stay sharp as long as the super steel blades but man does it get scary sharp. Also the thinness of the blade on the 860 seems to make it stay sharper longer than other 154cm BM's I have used. So with this I guess my point is that as stated it is all a matter of geometry. 0 -
1.) M2 (Ritters, 710's)
2.) S90v (Arcane)
3.) M390 & M4 (Ritters, 710's, barrages, etc.)
4.) S30V (Crooked River, Loco)0
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