CTS-BD1N VS. CPM-Spy27

[Scandi Grind]

I was browsing the Native Chief line up on Knife Center yesterday and was quite surprised to find that the lightweight BD1N and Spy27 models were exactly the same price. Same for the standard size lightweight Native and pretty simialr price between the two steels for the Para 3 lightweights as well. I always took Spy27 as being a noticable upgrade to BD1N, but in reality I'm not really aware of how people compare the two to each other.

For those of you with experience with both steels, how do you find them to compare?

[SpeedHoles]

I was browsing the Native Chief line up on Knife Center yesterday and was quite surprised to find that the lightweight BD1N and Spy27 models were exactly the same price. Same for the standard size lightweight Native and pretty simialr price between the two steels for the Para 3 lightweights as well. I always took Spy27 as being a noticable upgrade to BD1N, but in reality I'm not really aware of how people compare the two to each other.

For those of you with experience with both steels, how do you find them to compare?

Yeah at some point I was hoping maybe SPY27 eventually would become THE standardized offering steel across models, and according to pricing it's quite possible that Spyderco was also aiming for this?
Now with the uncertainty of CPM future, that may be a bigger question.
I know it's a distraction from your comparison question here, but I think SPY27 standard is a better move than their change to S45VN.

I have no beef with BD1N (been carrying a Alcyone) and it's a friendly steel, but if there was a selection choice within models for same/similar cost, I don't see any reason not to go SPY27 over it.

[JSumm]

Biggest difference I could tell from the two was edge damage. Just perception on my part, but it seems BD1N takes damage more easily than SPY27. Not super impressed with the wear resistance either from BD1N. Depending on what you do with it, you may never perceive any difference, so color of the scales may be the determining factor.

[OnEdge]

While both take a nice edge, I prefer Spy27. Seems to hold the edge better. I like Spy27 over CPM s35v. It seems to be more ductile than S45v but I prefer 45v. I think I prefer Bd1n over Vg10. I can’t explain why but even though vg10 gets sharp, just doesn’t feel like it.i am no steel snob, I have many flavors but my preference is K390, M4 and Cruwear/Pd1. Thanks for listening. Troy

[cjk]

SPY27 would be what I'd choose every time.

[Fastidiotus]

I have Manix LW's in MC, Spy27, and 4v. I've been contemplating grabbing a BD1N model for fun. I've really come to enjoy BD1N, as a cheap and cheerful budget steel option. I've never had it show any signs of corrosion. It's a joy to sharpen and takes an edge very easily. It always gives me a bit of a surprised chuckle every so often because it seems to always hold an edge longer than I expect compared to other easy to sharpen steels. In my use contrary to Dr. Larrins chart it seems to sit in between VG10 and s30v. It's not a super steel but it is a very nice ingot steel.

Spy27 is also great and Spyderco finally expanding the steel to most models was something I was really happy to see. I was surprised by it's ability to take some punishment. After abusing it though sharpening out the dents and dings isn't a chore at all. It's a sweetheart of a steel on sharpening stones and is one of those steels that just inherently wants to be screaming sharp. Its composition leads it to get lumped into the s30v/s35vn/s45vn family of steels, which I all enjoy, for me though Spy27 is the darling of the bunch.

[zhyla]

I’d pick the one with the handle color you like the best. It’s not gonna matter.

[SRT392HEMI]

I have always felt like BD1N was just a little underrated. Edge retention is subjective for me as my EDC rotates between 14 Spydies, but it is a VERY easy steel to work with and, in my experience, very corrosion resistant. Takes a nice edge too. That said, I'd probably still lean towards the SPY27 if all other things equal. It is a step up.

[zuludelta]

I was browsing the Native Chief line up on Knife Center yesterday and was quite surprised to find that the lightweight BD1N and Spy27 models were exactly the same price. Same for the standard size lightweight Native and pretty simialr price between the two steels for the Para 3 lightweights as well. I always took Spy27 as being a noticable upgrade to BD1N, but in reality I'm not really aware of how people compare the two to each other.

For those of you with experience with both steels, how do you find them to compare?

For a work folder, I would pick the SPY27 version of the same knife over the BD1N version, especially if the price difference between them is negligible. I cut a fair amount of abrasive & coarse materials at my job, so SPY27's higher edge retention & toughness at a similar level of top-tier corrosion resistance (as predicted by Larrin's chart) give it the edge (pardon the pun).

It is quite a bit easier for me to get my BD1N Para 3 LW hair-whittling sharp & it will hold that high degree of sharpness through a decent amount of work use (probably almost as long as SPY27), but I find that it doesn't appear to keep a working edge as long as my SPY27 Native 5 LW, even if I take into account the difference in blade stock thickness (3.7 mm for the former vs. 3.2 mm for the latter). That is, once BD1N loses its ultra-keen edge, its sharpness drops off relatively quickly, whereas with SPY27, it will keep a half-decent edge that is good enough for the rough cutting I do at work, long after it's stopped gliding cleanly through a held sheet of office paper. Don't get me wrong, BD1N is a good option for a steel in a work folder, I'm just saying that—at least for how I use & maintain my work folders—SPY27 is a better choice.

For an everyday-carry convenience cutter, though, I find BD1N to be a fine steel option (it reminds me a bit of 154CM), and I really like how well it responds to stropping. I regularly carry a Ronin in BD1N as a small belt knife when I'm hiking/camping, and I am very satisfied with its edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and ease of maintenance in this scenario. In my folding knife & small fixed-blade use context, ergonomics, usability & overall design probably influence how much I like a knife just as much as—if not more than—the fine details of its metallurgy. I find that the differences between many cutlery steels are only really borne out during extended work usage (unless, of course, I'm comparing steels with a very wide gulf between their characteristics like, say, 7Cr13MoV and K390, in which case it doesn't take much time & use to notice the glaring disparity between the two).

All that said, someone with the skill and time to fine-tune and dial in the geometry of a BD1N blade can probably get it to perform similarly to SPY27, even through extended work cutting. Geometry matters more than chemistry, after all: to paraphrase Larrin, with the right geometry a 14C28N blade can cut just as long as an S90V blade.

[Doc Dan]

SPY27 has better edge retention than BD1N in my experience. It is a nice steel.

[holokai]

SPY27 if price is negligible as it seems to have better wear resistance and maintains a working sharpness longer for my light to moderate EDC use. Both have been easy to sharpen and strop back/touch up with minimal effort and I have been preferring them over S30V due to this fact.

[R100]

I much prefer SPY27 to BD1N. In my use it holds an edge noticeably better and is far less prone to damage. They are both really easy to sharpen. I had both in Para 3 LWs so had a direct comparison and the SPY27 was just all round better. I ended up giving the BD1N version to brother.

Dan

[chronovore]

I like BD1N and prefer it to VG-10. I've wished that BD1N would be used on more models since long before SPY27. While I don't have experience with SPY27 or S45VN yet, either is more compelling than BD1N by chemistry, properties, or just plain novelty at this point. Especially on the latter, SPY27 and S45VN are also more compelling than S30V.

I recently picked up the Sage 5 in SPY27 but due to a nerve problem, I'm just not up to doing the mods I had planned to do on it. So my first real SPY27 will be the upcoming Dragonfly.

(BTW, if anyone is checking wish lists here, I'd love to see a RockJumper and/or Wharncliffe Dragonfly in SPY27 or S45VN.)

[R100]

Mistake