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I have a kitchen knife in BD1N at an advertised 63HRC. It is my only sample of this steel. I used the factory edge for two months and was impressed but it was time to put my own edge on it. Super easy to sharpen to magnificent edge!

I freaking love this stuff!!!

I know there has been talk of it but I do so hope the M2LW changes over to this steel. I have a BD1 version and like it very much, as I do the S90V, but give me that knife in BD1N and both of those others will go to the back seat. I know the UKPK converted over.

Please Sal. Pleaseeeeeee... :D

BD1 has got to be the easiest to sharpen stainless I've tried. I may hunt down a UKPK just to try this other version of it.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 16, 2018 3:37 pm

BD1 has got to be the easiest to sharpen stainless I've tried. I may hunt down a UKPK just to try this other version of it.

Soft and Black Arkansas stones and strop finish. "S" cuts receipt paper out at the tip of the 8.5" blade with the handle floating in my fingertips.

Which kitchen knife? Is it the Massdrop Apogee one?

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 16, 2018 3:42 pm

Which kitchen knife? Is it the Massdrop Apogee one?

No sir. Yaxell Dragon Fire gyuto (red and black micarta handle).

I'm really looking forward to trying BD1N.

i have almost bought a yaxell santoku in bd1n myself but changed my mind and bought a kohetsu in hap40 (65hrc) instead in the last minute because i didn't like the sweeping belly in the model yaxell has. been hearing a lot of good stuff though with bd1n and i'm surely going to try it out in my kitchen in the future

BD1N is super underrated. If there was a steel that should replace VG10 it would definitely be BD1N at 63 HRC.

I got one of those Dragon knives a couple months ago, and like Eli, I've completely fallen for this stuff. Hard, durable edges that sharpen easily. It's surpassed VG10 in my "all-round, idiot-proof steel" category.

Thats it, im gonna have to hunt down a UKPK in BD1N. I'd love to get an M2LW in this steel but I haven't seen anything definitive regarding that transition.

Deadboxhero wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:28 am

BD1N is super underrated. If there was a steel that should replace VG10 it would definitely be BD1N at 63 HRC.

Well since BD1N is American made, I assume that would add substantially to the price of Japan's VG-10 models, similar to how the Polestar's costs are about 30% higher than the Tenacious line from shipping American BD1 over to China. Can BD1N be sourced in Japan already or would they have to ship it? If they need to ship it, then you may be looking at $100 for a BD1N Delica...

BornIn1500 wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 2:12 pm

Deadboxhero wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:28 am

BD1N is super underrated. If there was a steel that should replace VG10 it would definitely be BD1N at 63 HRC.

Well since BD1N is American made, I assume that would add substantially to the price of Japan's VG-10 models, similar to how the Polestar's costs are about 30% higher than the Tenacious line from shipping American BD1 over to China. Can BD1N be sourced in Japan already or would they have to ship it? If they need to ship it, then you may be looking at $100 for a BD1N Delica...

Possibly not cutlery shoppe has/ had their s30v wharncliffe delica for under $80usd

I'm really curious how the BD1N and s110v compare. If the Manix 2 LW BD1 gets upgraded to BD1N will it hurt the sales of the s110v version?

I think I need to buy a UKPK in BD1N and check it out for a while.

S110V and BD1N would likely have a pretty big difference between the two when it comes to both edge holding and ease of sharpening. S110V takes a lot longer to grind, and has more carbides.

How hard is Spyderco running s110v? Is the BD1N harder?

And what's in BD1N at this point? Just the UKPK?

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:06 pm

How hard is Spyderco running s110v? Is the BD1N harder?

And what's in BD1N at this point? Just the UKPK?

BD1N can be harder and is ofter seen at 63hrc but S110v if at 60 hrc it is still filled with harder carbides at a much higher volume and will be more wear resistant regardless of how hard BD1N is.

Deadboxhero wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:12 pm

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:06 pm

How hard is Spyderco running s110v? Is the BD1N harder?

And what's in BD1N at this point? Just the UKPK?

BD1N can be harder and is ofter seen at 63hrc but S110v if at 60 hrc it is still filled with harder carbides at a much higher volume and will be more wear resistant regardless of how hard BD1N is.

But I'd feel a lot more comfortable with BD1N at a sub-30 angle, which would extend the edge's life.

I don't have any S110V but I do have S90V and ZDP189. I really like S90V's performance and it isn't terrible to sharpen with my KME and diamonds (don't have diamond bench stones just now). ZDP is...well...not my favorite steel...

As I said, this is my only blade in this steel and I've only had it for a couple months but I've used it quite a lot in that time. I don't think that today's BD1N is a S90V or S110V or ZDP189 killer in terms of absolute edge retention, but I also think based on my limited experience, that for all practical purposes, it is for me.

Some background for context: I tend to prefer easier to sharpen steels. I don't do water stones and don't want to do water stones. They are awesome, but it isn't convenient for my little house nor do I want to go down that expensive rabbit hole. I invested in my KME (which when I bought it, I had to buy the diamonds separately) for experimenting with the "harder" steels. I've done that some now and realize I like the "softer" steels. I know harder and softer aren't the best terms here but I trust you get what I mean. For my kitchen knives, easy maintenance is a must. I don't want to sharpen it a lot but I want to be able to easily maintain the edge. I also want toughness. These two things typically run together in most mainstream offerings.

Now, if I can get very good if not excellent edge retention without compromising toughness and easy to sharpen and at a reasonable price? Well brother punch my card and tell me where to stand in line. And so far, this has been my exact experience. This knife is thin overall and is thin behind the edge so that helps "cutability" obviously but the edge it had on it when I decided to sharpen it was still very good. And that was with no maintenance. I intentionally didn't touch the edge just to see how it did. And, the factory grind was pretty spotty and inconsistent.

This steel was very responsive and as I said, to Arkansas stones. A medium that for whatever reason these days has been relegated to seeming antiquity.

I absolutely, 100% think that edge retention has been over-valued by folks for the average consumer, EDC or kitchen. I'm in no way knocking it or those steels, I'm just saying that for all practical purposes, I think the vast majority of knife users do not need the kind of edge retention so many steels bring, at the cost of easy maintenance and sharpening. So if some marriage of those things can be found then I say smash the throttle.

Eli Chaps wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 6:39 pm

I absolutely, 100% think that edge retention has been over-valued by folks for the average consumer, EDC or kitchen.

Yes. Every product category in today's world needs to give the impression of getting better and better all the time to make yesterday's products obsolete. But the Tenacious, in 8cr, still sells very well for a reason. The harder steels just aren't necessary for normal use. Many people like to think the hard steels are necessary for themselves so it justifies their purchase. :D

BornIn1500 wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:15 pm

Eli Chaps wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 17, 2018 6:39 pm

I absolutely, 100% think that edge retention has been over-valued by folks for the average consumer, EDC or kitchen.

Yes. Every product category in today's world needs to give the impression of getting better and better all the time to make yesterday's products obsolete. But the Tenacious, in 8cr, still sells very well for a reason. The harder steels just aren't necessary for normal use. Many people like to think the hard steels are necessary for themselves so it justifies their purchase. :D

You may be right... :D

But really, it all comes down to what your "normal use" is. If you just use your knife to open mail or cut up an apple, then 8Cr13MoV and BD1 are probably all you need. But if on the other hand, you are using your knife to cut 5" marine rope like Pelagic does, those steels just aren't going to cut it. (Pun intended). Not in plain edge anyway. SE is a different story.

I'll admit though that I don't "need" Maxamet or M4 or whatever. It's just fun to have and use. :)