Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
tique
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Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#1

Post by tique »

I post a good bit over at another forum, and they recently went apeshit over the fact that Gin-1 is being reintroduced into the product line there. I don't know about y'all, but I used to have a daily carry with Gin-1, and it worked just fine, did't bother me in the least bit really. At this time, I was only able to afford a lower end blade, and the high end stuff wasn't even a reality to me, so I had no idea that it wasn't as good at edge holding, etc. Now that I have been playing with knives a good bit more and have experience with a variety of steels, I still don't think my old Gin-1 blade was that bad. I would probably still use it if it hadn't been lost by the UPS bastids.



Anyway, to get to the point, I know that it isn't up to the level of premium blade steel that most of us are used to, but how do you rate it as a user steel. I consider it a good, low end blade steel, very useful for either entry level knives, or ones that aren't going to last long due to unnecessary abuse or possible loss from some outdoor type activity.
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john row
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#2

Post by john row »

tique,
IMHO, GIN 1/GIN2 is a middle of the road, servicable steel. I think that if the heat treatment is done correctly it's fine for a user knife. It does wear and does need sharpened but it is easy to resharpen. Another factor, as you point out, is it's affordable. For light or infrequent duty or in an expendable (ie no tears shed if lost, broken or confiscated) work knife I would buy a knife with GIN1/GIN2 if it fit my needs in other ways.
For defense, if you look at the shivs, razor blade tooth brushes and old steak knives used and capable of wounding and killing, I would hate as much to be stabbed by a GIN1/GIN2 blade as much as a VG10, CPM 440V, Stellite, or beautiful Damascus blade. If I make point (pun intended) <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

John

DANG!!! Oh well, still have nine more fingers!! LOL
Tom Percy
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#3

Post by Tom Percy »

My original Endura was G-1. If this is Gin-1, then I will use it anytime. I had mine a lot of years and used it daily.
What I found about the G-1 is the following:
- Held an edge well.
- took a while to sharpen due to the hardness. I nicked the blade onece, and it took the entire evening to remove it using the Lansky.

We compared it to a Gerber Easyout during engraving. The easyout had a deep engraving and the G-1 hardly marked the surface in comparison. The engraver commented that he didn't want to due very many with G-1 because it was too hard on this machine.

From my experience with G-1, I'll buy one anytime.
Joe Talmadge
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#4

Post by Joe Talmadge »

I think they've gotten a little hysterical over there at the Benchmade forum. You'd think the sky had fallen or something. Gin-1 is a fine steel, I'd way rather have ATS-34 or 154-CM or a host of other steels. But Gin-1 is a fine choice especially if it's on a knife where it's important to keep costs down. Certainly I like it better than 440A, say.
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#5

Post by Blades »

Gin-1 has been working great for me for a few years now, but I do try to keep my knives sharp. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>


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sal
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#6

Post by sal »

Hi Tique. I saw that on the "other" forum and was quite surprized at the "loud" opinions of some so inexperienced.

Joe is correct. Those guys are "out of touch".

In terms of steel. Gingami 1 (silver paper in Japanese) was a premier steel only 10 years ago. And is still better than (in edge retention):

Surgical steel (the worst - actually a "throw-a-way" steel [304])
420
420J2
425 modified
AUS-6
AUS-8
440A
440B

It yields to;

ATS-34
ATS-55
154CM
AUS-10
VG-10
BG-42
CPM steels

the above is for comparisons of common stainless knife steels.

For the "folks" over at the "other" forum to refer to GIN-1 as a "POS" steel just shows their lack of understanding about steels.

I have also noticed that the "newbies" in the knife world that get heavily into the "other" company, set them up as some kind of "icon" in the knife industry, expecting perhaps unrealistic things.

IMO, When I see them make "nested liners" with no pins (perfect fit), then we'll talk quality & icon.

sal
the kaiser
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#7

Post by the kaiser »

Not to BYB,Sal,but I visited your booth and the `other` booth down in N.O. and the two Spydies I picked up had a bit of play[OK,they wobbled,and one was a Centofante complock].Not a problem at the `other'place,nice and tight,everyone I handled ,at least a half dozen,no lie.Admittedly,I went to check out the new Axis models.What is quality?I can`t get beyond a loose blade,I just put the piece down and move on if the lockup`s NG.BTW,tho` the second SK wobbled more ,neither one was acceptable.I was truly bummed out.

Edited by - the kaiser on 2/4/2001 7:40:01 PM
Blades
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#8

Post by Blades »

Where they proto's or knives for sale?? Just wondering.


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tique
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#9

Post by tique »

I'm glad to see there are some level headed knife people around. I was beginning to think either I didn't know what I was talking about or the other people were a bit crazy. Glad to know I'm not completely out of it.

I have noticed that not only the "newbies" are setting the other guys as an icon, some experienced knife guys do too. I don't know what their experience is, but I try to correct it where I can, eventhough sometimes my opinion is looked down upon because of my age relative to theirs.

I think y'all are doing a great job and hope to see you keep it up. There are a few things I like from other companies, but none rival my love for Spydies.
the kaiser
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#10

Post by the kaiser »

Blades,at SHOT,everything is promotional,NFS,supposed to be a rule,tho` some sales on the last day.These were demo knives,maybe they were prototypes.Do they make a quality exemption for protos?I hope not.

Tique,maybe some of the old guard likes the`other' company cause of little improvements,like the Axis,sure are enough cos. copying it....but I agree,there`s one loudmouth over there who is a complete idiot on the topic of metal,and he gets over here once in awhile.Poor Sal....
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sal
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#11

Post by sal »

Hi Kaiser. No excuses, They should all be tight in production. The Centofante's were pre production protos and there is still being work done. I guess a Gunting would be a more resonable piece to examine for the Compression lock. Please keep in mind that it is a new concept and will surely evolve over time. I don't know what the other model was?

This is not to say that the "other company" doesn't make good knives, they do. The Axis is also a very nice lock. And their use of GIN-1 is not a bad thing. Spyderco made it's reputation with thousands of GIN-1 knives.

sal
Blades
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#12

Post by Blades »

I was just thinking of the Spydie knives I saw at the '98, '99 Blade Shows. Some were top notch, others were proto's there to get an idea of what everyone thought. Usually you could tell what was what. I've never been to a SHOT show, so I have no idea what is expected. I was just wondering. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>


Blades
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Re: Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#13

Post by S-3 ranch »

Bought a G-2 delica in 1994 , it’s still rocking as a edc after one trip to the spyderco spa for a professional sharpening, probably will last awhile G-2 is good serrated match
“”Think of an edge as a living thing that comes and goes, born, get's old, is reborn.””
SAL :spyder:

“ The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men” :bug-white-red :bug-white-red
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wrdwrght
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Re: Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#14

Post by wrdwrght »

And the “Biggest Bump Ever” award goes to… :p

Fascinating to see what was debated two decades ago.
-Marc (pocketing an M4 Sage5 today)

“When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”
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Airlsee
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Re: Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#15

Post by Airlsee »

I know! This is the oldest resurrection I've read in a long time, and 'Blades' is still active here.
So it goes.
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Re: Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#16

Post by S-3 ranch »

wrdwrght wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 9:06 am
And the “Biggest Bump Ever” award goes to… :p

Fascinating to see what was debated two decades ago.
:) The debate over steel is never done, I accidentally posted on the link but this G-2 dinosaur is still
Rocking like Godzilla
“”Think of an edge as a living thing that comes and goes, born, get's old, is reborn.””
SAL :spyder:

“ The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men” :bug-white-red :bug-white-red
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archangel
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Re: Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#17

Post by archangel »

Who besides me only realized this thread was launched >20 years ago (!) after reading the first like ten posts? :p
Michael
48 Spydies, 44 different models, 43 different steels
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Grail knife, still to be acquired: original Tuff by Ed Schempp Feel free to help me find one at a reasonable price...
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Re: Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#18

Post by ugaarguy »

When I read "Gin-1 is being reintroduced into the product line" I checked the date, and thought out loud to myself "Holy thread revival, Batman".
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sal
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Re: Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#19

Post by sal »

FYI,

After we helped Carpenter develop their line of blade steels, the head metallurgist asked me what they could do for me in blade steel. I told Rick that I would like to see an American made version of Hitachi's Gingami 1, tweaked. The resullt was CTS-BD1N.

sal
ugaarguy
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Re: Honest opinion of Gin-1 (G2) steel?

#20

Post by ugaarguy »

sal wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 12:47 pm
FYI,

After we helped Carpenter develop their line of blade steels, the head metallurgist asked me what they could do for me in blade steel. I told Rick that I would like to see an American made version of Hitachi's Gingami 1, tweaked. The resullt was CTS-BD1N.

sal
IIRC you've posted before that BD1 was supposed to be a Spyderco exclusive steel, but there was a misunderstanding with Carpenter. Or am I thinking of another steel?
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