sog and spyderco
sog and spyderco
which is better the x-42 autoclip with the custom bg42 steel with the TiNi coating that gives a rockwell hardness of 90! Or the spy military model CPM S30V steel? I have the x-42 autoclip with the yellow handle and black TiNi blade which looks awesome and blows other blades out of the water with the TiNi coating of 90 rockwell hardness. I am thinking about getting the military spyderco with the spyderedge. That is a bad*****knife with the g10 handle and lightweight design
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dialex
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Welcome to the Forum. It is an old saying that you shouldn't ask the barber if you need a shaving, <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> therefore it isn't quite appropriate to ask at the Spyderco Forum which knife is better between a Spydie and an "outsider". Oh well...
Both are fine knives. I am sure you'll be satisfied with the Millie. FYI, there was a batch of Millies with black TiNi coated blades made some time ago. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
<a href="http://users.pcnet.ro/dialex"><font color=blue>(my page)</font></a>
Both are fine knives. I am sure you'll be satisfied with the Millie. FYI, there was a batch of Millies with black TiNi coated blades made some time ago. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
<a href="http://users.pcnet.ro/dialex"><font color=blue>(my page)</font></a>
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glockman99
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I would have to say that the Al Mar SERE 2000 is better. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
...Actually between your two choices, I'd take the Spydie Mili.
Dann Fassnacht Aberdeen, WA glockman99@hotmail.com ICQ: 53675663
...Actually between your two choices, I'd take the Spydie Mili.
Dann Fassnacht Aberdeen, WA glockman99@hotmail.com ICQ: 53675663
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Knife Knut
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spyinthesky
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dialex.....you seem quite knowledgeable. I can just tell these things. i checked your site...nice. Tell me what you know about high vs. low carbon steel. Obviously you have seen the steel chart on the spyderco website. Which can hold an edge better and which has the potential to become sharper. I heard 1095 is a good combo and that is what the Navy and mili uses in somce of their blades. I know there are many many other ingredients that go into a blade and they are all tempered differently and well...you know. Share your extenstive knowledge with a fellow brothr.
Others are right on as far as the hardness issue goes. The RC 90 is only on the surface. The blade itself remains at 58-60 or whatever they treat it to. Therefore, that fact is useless as far as cutting goes.
High carbon steels will hold an edge much better than low carbon. Basically, carbon makes the blade more wear-resistant. That's good for edge retention, but makes sharpening more difficult. In your basic, non-stainless alloys like the 10XX series, the higher the carbon content, the better the edge retention and the lower the ductility. That's why machetes generally are made with 1060 or 1050 steel to take more abuse and to make sharpening easier. There are always trade-offs.
When you jump into stainless steels, things get a bit more complicated. The chromium that makes blades stain-resistant is also very, very hard. Chromium alone seems to make a big difference in difficulty of sharpening. Carbon is still one of the main indicators of edge holding. But other elements such as vanadium also have a big effect, though it doesn't seem to affect sharpening much in my experience. Vanadium seems to intensify the good attributes of the other elements, especially carbon. IMO, one of the reasons that AUS-8 performs consistantly well is it's vanadium content.
Let's look at the two steels you're comparing. BG-42 was originally a ball bearing steel, which means at an optimum hardness for the application, it is very wear resistant. It has lots of carbon and quite a bit of vanadium, which translates into excellent edge retention. It was in use by a few custom makers and used by Chris Reeve in the Sebenza line for a few years. Overall, it's a great steel.
S30V is a relatively new steel, and from my understanding was developed specifically for knives. Therefore, edge retention was a priority, but also a certain amount of ductility since blades also need to take shock on occasion. It has a bit more carbon and better than 3 times the vanadium, so edge retention should be a bit better than BG-42. As a note, Sebenzas now use S30V as opposed to BG-42.
On a general basis, I would definitely go with the S30V, though I don't have any personal experience with either it or the BG-42. I am relying on statistical evidenct as an engineering student to make the comparison. Just as a note, another very important consideration in knife steels is the heat treat. Spyderco and SOG both have excellent reputations in this field, so no need to worry.
To sum up my long windedness (I don't know if that's even a word) you won't be disappointed in any of the Spyderco S30V blades, least of all the Military with it's absolutely gorgeous full flat grind.
High carbon steels will hold an edge much better than low carbon. Basically, carbon makes the blade more wear-resistant. That's good for edge retention, but makes sharpening more difficult. In your basic, non-stainless alloys like the 10XX series, the higher the carbon content, the better the edge retention and the lower the ductility. That's why machetes generally are made with 1060 or 1050 steel to take more abuse and to make sharpening easier. There are always trade-offs.
When you jump into stainless steels, things get a bit more complicated. The chromium that makes blades stain-resistant is also very, very hard. Chromium alone seems to make a big difference in difficulty of sharpening. Carbon is still one of the main indicators of edge holding. But other elements such as vanadium also have a big effect, though it doesn't seem to affect sharpening much in my experience. Vanadium seems to intensify the good attributes of the other elements, especially carbon. IMO, one of the reasons that AUS-8 performs consistantly well is it's vanadium content.
Let's look at the two steels you're comparing. BG-42 was originally a ball bearing steel, which means at an optimum hardness for the application, it is very wear resistant. It has lots of carbon and quite a bit of vanadium, which translates into excellent edge retention. It was in use by a few custom makers and used by Chris Reeve in the Sebenza line for a few years. Overall, it's a great steel.
S30V is a relatively new steel, and from my understanding was developed specifically for knives. Therefore, edge retention was a priority, but also a certain amount of ductility since blades also need to take shock on occasion. It has a bit more carbon and better than 3 times the vanadium, so edge retention should be a bit better than BG-42. As a note, Sebenzas now use S30V as opposed to BG-42.
On a general basis, I would definitely go with the S30V, though I don't have any personal experience with either it or the BG-42. I am relying on statistical evidenct as an engineering student to make the comparison. Just as a note, another very important consideration in knife steels is the heat treat. Spyderco and SOG both have excellent reputations in this field, so no need to worry.
To sum up my long windedness (I don't know if that's even a word) you won't be disappointed in any of the Spyderco S30V blades, least of all the Military with it's absolutely gorgeous full flat grind.