Good to know. My 2nd generation Leaterman Surge is 420c. Great job on the testing. It's about as reliable as one can get short of having a lab with a staff on hand. Well done and thank you for taking the time to put in the work.
I think these test are very helpful to me as a new knife steel guy to get a really good feeling of what steel speaks to me personally .. I think these test are some of the best on the tube for regular guys trying to get a feeling of these steel!! Thanks for all this hard work! And boy are these hard work
I appreciate very much what you do. It may not be scientific but it gives us all a general "ballpark" kind of thing to make our judgement decisions on what to buy. Lets you make every dollar count on dollars spent on knives. Thank you for all these test and review videos!
@@veshtitsacraftsandtunes4693 Basically the same way, but with 10 leathermans of each kind for uncertainty estimation. Otherwise it's difficult to attest that for instance 185 vs 150 is really a steel related performance, considering all the other factors. But that's a nice qualitative video anyway :)
I'd say I definitely prefer the 154cm over the s30v... Better toughness not going to chip out as easily, almost the same edge retention but probably quite a bit easier to strop and maintain. Not to mention the price difference!
Don't some people say that 154CM can be a little brittle at the edge? It gets nicked up? I've never had a 154CM nor S30V knife. Am considering it, tho. My current expectation is that 154CM is a really good slicer, has very nice edge retention, is quite stainless, but it requires some babying? No hacking of wood, no chopping of bone? Ahhhhhh, realistically, my next, better knife will be more like 14c28N. I doubt that I'll spend more than $100.
@@jerrybobteasdale I never baby my Emerson Patriot, it doesn't really chip all that much. I have had 1095 and 5160 chip. Though 98% of the time my 5160 blade rolls, and it is not easy to damage it in the first place.
I think actual tests reveal that S30V is better in all directions. Will have to see knifesteelnerds charts. Chipiness comes from trying to grind the highly wear resistant S30V too quickly in high volume production which makes it seem to be less tough. Outpost76 and many individuals claim you need to hand sharpen away the factory edge before giving a just evaluation of S30V
It is really Interesting that I remember leatherman website tells you that 154cm last 3 times as much as 420hc steel and s30v lasts 4 times as much. Thanks for putting it to the real test.now I think I might have got that number wrong... You make awesome videos!
He states that 420HC is more like 50 cuts so Leatherman is correct. 50 x 3 is exactly 150 cuts for 154cm. 50 x 4 is nearly 200 cuts which is pretty close to Pete's 185.
Just saw the shoutout, makes my heart warm. I got a new blade put on my tti this week! It was not sharp at all. But then i did a power strop on the buffer and it was shaving so i guess ot was just burred over.
I've got a couple Benchmade knives that I've had for years, one is 154CM in a tanto and the other is a drop point with S30V. I can't really speak to edge retention because my normal edc is the tanto. I haven't needed to do much more than hone the edges, with the exception of polishing the edges when I first got each home to rid them of the grind marks left behind by the grinding wheel or belt (or whatever they used to finish the edge that would leave those striations along the cutting edge). Now I'm curious to see which edge holds up the longest..
Great video! I like that you keep these relatively short. A lesser RUclipsr might make them 15 minutes. One of these days I'm gonna splurge for a used Charge. What don't you like about the crimpers?
The crimpers are just where you don't want them if you use the pliers a lot (IMO) and most of us never crimp and plier a lot - the new Charge G10 has addressed this.
I prefer 154cm it is so much easier to sharpen compared to S30V. ease of maintenance if important for me. Both good steels just depends if that little bit of edge retention is worth not being able to keep razor sharp without diamond rods. S30V is like having a car that gets slightly better gas mileage but is much much harder to work on and maintenance.
Turn off autofocus and use a lower aperture and higher iso level to get a better focus mate :) So f-value should be as high as you can while keeping exposure.
It’s always fun and interesting video I myself think I prefer 154 cm over S30v here comes all the hate comments for me saying this but from my every day use experience don’t feel there is that dramatic of a edge holding capability from all these modern steals I feel the edge retention it’s fairly similar to me I don’t know that there is a significant difference in the edge retention to justify the cost this is only my opinion of course Have a great day keep the great videos coming
have both, AL and the Ti. love both but not a fan of the crimpers on the Ti. thank's for doing this test. AL or Ti ... Pick your poison. Cant go wrong with either.
Maybe there is the new version of the charge tti. I may be mistaken. I thought they got rid of the crimper on the new model. I got the new charge plus and it didn't have the crimper.
Frozen Turtlefarts yes the basic carbon steels are still good to go too, since they don't really have PM equals. My favorites being 80crV2 and case cv in slippys..
I took out the plain edged 420 blade on my Surge and left the serrated, for just this reason. I figured a second saw / file holder more useful than a blunt blade.
Whats funny to me is you got 185 cuts on a s30v knife on the side of a LEATHERMAN!.... A MULTI TOOL! While you got a nearly identical number from a ZT (i think)... A company that soley makes knives! Makes me wonder.... I mean i didnt expect the s30v on a leatherman to perform on par with a ZT. You know? Id expect a KNIFE COMPANY to have a better heat treat/performing knife.
Jimmy Grey i understand that. My point is would you expect the knife on a SAK to perform as well as a Kershaw in 12c26? Lol i wouldn't And thats basically what happened.
I would expect the same materials from 2 different companies to perform the same for the most part. If I see a leatherman with s30v and then a Chris Reeve Sabenza with s30v, I would still expect s30v numbers from both. One may have better heat treat but it's still the same alloy and there really shouldn't be much discrepancy between them, annoyingly there often is. ZT is a prime example, their s35vn performs the same if not worse than even middle of the road Chinese made knives with s35vn. Leatherman's are quality, there's no reason to expect their blades to perform less than a company that solely makes knives.
Jimmy Grey yea...... Just because its the same alloy doesn't mean the same results. Heat treat makes a tremendous difference in performance... Some (like me) will say it makes all the difference. You said it yourself, ZTs are soft... Aka a less than perfect Heat treat. And i (and i think most knife guys) expect a better heat treat on a sebenza than on a leatherman. Saying "its the same alloy so it should perform about the same" Is like taking the same cake recjpe and giving it to 2 bakers... One bakes it at 350°f for 1.5 hours and the other bakes it at 1000°f for 18 hours.... Whos do you think will taste right?? Same ingredients right? Should gey the roughly the same cake right? Lol
Yeah definitely heat treat makes the difference. I make knives myself so I'm with you there. My point was just that it would be nice if things were more consistent among manufactures so we as consumers can at least be assured that an expensive ass leatherman with s30v is as good as any s30v. The difference is both "cakes" are usually presented to us as edible and "the best" they can be, not one nice looking and the other one burnt to a crisp...
S30V and all the CPMs always performed badly for me, because when chopping the apex makes a small lip, and then all the subsequent hits misalign the edge more and more. 420J from Taiwan did best because the apex rounds off early, so the edge actually becomes stronger instead of bending... "Edge holding" a bent lip means edge holding is bad, in other words.
Always love these videos!!! Really appreciate it.
you are very welcome my dude, love your vidZ
Good to know. My 2nd generation Leaterman Surge is 420c. Great job on the testing. It's about as reliable as one can get short of having a lab with a staff on hand. Well done and thank you for taking the time to put in the work.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the video.
I think these test are very helpful to me as a new knife steel guy to get a really good feeling of what steel speaks to me personally .. I think these test are some of the best on the tube for regular guys trying to get a feeling of these steel!! Thanks for all this hard work! And boy are these hard work
I appreciate very much what you do. It may not be scientific but it gives us all a general "ballpark" kind of thing to make our judgement decisions on what to buy. Lets you make every dollar count on dollars spent on knives. Thank you for all these test and review videos!
If a scientist wanted to know how many times a knife would slice through rope before going dull how would they test it hmmm
@@veshtitsacraftsandtunes4693 Basically the same way, but with 10 leathermans of each kind for uncertainty estimation. Otherwise it's difficult to attest that for instance 185 vs 150 is really a steel related performance, considering all the other factors. But that's a nice qualitative video anyway :)
I'd say I definitely prefer the 154cm over the s30v... Better toughness not going to chip out as easily, almost the same edge retention but probably quite a bit easier to strop and maintain. Not to mention the price difference!
EDC with Aaron - Agreed. 154CM is one of my favorite steels.
EDC with Aaron After seeing the Emerson cqc7 vs ZT 350 vid, the S30V as only failed to impress me so far.
Don't some people say that 154CM can be a little brittle at the edge? It gets nicked up? I've never had a 154CM nor S30V knife. Am considering it, tho. My current expectation is that 154CM is a really good slicer, has very nice edge retention, is quite stainless, but it requires some babying? No hacking of wood, no chopping of bone? Ahhhhhh, realistically, my next, better knife will be more like 14c28N. I doubt that I'll spend more than $100.
@@jerrybobteasdale I never baby my Emerson Patriot, it doesn't really chip all that much. I have had 1095 and 5160 chip. Though 98% of the time my 5160 blade rolls, and it is not easy to damage it in the first place.
I think actual tests reveal that S30V is better in all directions. Will have to see knifesteelnerds charts. Chipiness comes from trying to grind the highly wear resistant S30V too quickly in high volume production which makes it seem to be less tough. Outpost76 and many individuals claim you need to hand sharpen away the factory edge before giving a just evaluation of S30V
It is really Interesting that I remember leatherman website tells you that 154cm last 3 times as much as 420hc steel and s30v lasts 4 times as much. Thanks for putting it to the real test.now I think I might have got that number wrong... You make awesome videos!
He states that 420HC is more like 50 cuts so Leatherman is correct. 50 x 3 is exactly 150 cuts for 154cm. 50 x 4 is nearly 200 cuts which is pretty close to Pete's 185.
People will be checking out this stuff for years to come. You immortal dude! Immortal Pete!
Just saw the shoutout, makes my heart warm. I got a new blade put on my tti this week! It was not sharp at all. But then i did a power strop on the buffer and it was shaving so i guess ot was just burred over.
yeah man, I put that on most of the test vids at the end. you do good work over there, I like it!
Love your tests as always.
Surprising result. 👍
another great video keep on keepin on ill see you in the next one
Good job. I believe it's about what would be expected. 154cm is a good steel.
I've got a couple Benchmade knives that I've had for years, one is 154CM in a tanto and the other is a drop point with S30V. I can't really speak to edge retention because my normal edc is the tanto. I haven't needed to do much more than hone the edges, with the exception of polishing the edges when I first got each home to rid them of the grind marks left behind by the grinding wheel or belt (or whatever they used to finish the edge that would leave those striations along the cutting edge). Now I'm curious to see which edge holds up the longest..
Nominated for an OBE. You deserve one man. 👍
Enjoy your fatwood 🤗
Great video! I like that you keep these relatively short. A lesser RUclipsr might make them 15 minutes. One of these days I'm gonna splurge for a used Charge. What don't you like about the crimpers?
I guess I just never crimp. I’m more of a twerker
The crimpers are just where you don't want them if you use the pliers a lot (IMO) and most of us never crimp and plier a lot - the new Charge G10 has addressed this.
Thank you for the video!
I prefer 154cm it is so much easier to sharpen compared to S30V. ease of maintenance if important for me. Both good steels just depends if that little bit of edge retention is worth not being able to keep razor sharp without diamond rods. S30V is like having a car that gets slightly better gas mileage but is much much harder to work on and maintenance.
Thanks !
10 slides on each side on the sharpening stone I'll take the wave 420 HC is for me
Turn off autofocus and use a lower aperture and higher iso level to get a better focus mate :) So f-value should be as high as you can while keeping exposure.
Very useful video. Thanks.
Give me a Leatherman Surge Tti with all blades and tools made from 154cm. I'd pay a lot for it.
It’s always fun and interesting video I myself think I prefer 154 cm over S30v here comes all the hate comments for me saying this but from my every day use experience don’t feel there is that dramatic of a edge holding capability from all these modern steals I feel the edge retention it’s fairly similar to me I don’t know that there is a significant difference in the edge retention to justify the cost this is only my opinion of course Have a great day keep the great videos coming
Had to give you the like and subscribe as soon as I saw the 'DS fatwood rod'.
have both, AL and the Ti. love both but not a fan of the crimpers on the Ti. thank's for doing this test. AL or Ti ... Pick your poison. Cant go wrong with either.
What models did you test?
the, surge, charge al and charge tti..
Not trying to be nit-picky but that is the older charge tti. The charge plus is the new version and it doesn't have the crimpers in the plier heads
www.bladehq.com/item--Leatherman-Charge-Plus-TTI-Multi--79199
Are you confusing it with the Wave Plus, perhaps?
this ones got the new jaws though?
Maybe there is the new version of the charge tti. I may be mistaken. I thought they got rid of the crimper on the new model. I got the new charge plus and it didn't have the crimper.
The charge plus doesn't have the crimper. The charge plus has a 154CM blade. Its the Charge TTI that has the crimper and the S30V blade
The best part of this video was the ff music
I'm surprised the 420hc was so low. I like the s30v but it's not enough better than the 154cm to worry about.
154cm is the best non-PM steel imo
Oozy9Millimeetah I like 5160 alot.
Frozen Turtlefarts yes the basic carbon steels are still good to go too, since they don't really have PM equals. My favorites being 80crV2 and case cv in slippys..
Oozy9Millimeetah
I agree, but it's sadly, very underappreciated...
FF7 OST, respect)
Highlight: bush craft knob lol!!
Which has better corrosion resistance, 154CM or S30V; anyone?
I took out the plain edged 420 blade on my Surge and left the serrated, for just this reason. I figured a second saw / file holder more useful than a blunt blade.
What the heck is 440 haich c
my speech impediment is an easy by common target. not the first nor the last to bring that up!
Is it the steal used?
i probably meant to say 420HC
I shall go play ff8 now
Whats funny to me is you got 185 cuts on a s30v knife on the side of a LEATHERMAN!.... A MULTI TOOL!
While you got a nearly identical number from a ZT (i think)... A company that soley makes knives!
Makes me wonder....
I mean i didnt expect the s30v on a leatherman to perform on par with a ZT. You know?
Id expect a KNIFE COMPANY to have a better heat treat/performing knife.
It's pretty well known that ZT have soft steel.
Jimmy Grey i understand that. My point is would you expect the knife on a SAK to perform as well as a Kershaw in 12c26? Lol i wouldn't
And thats basically what happened.
I would expect the same materials from 2 different companies to perform the same for the most part. If I see a leatherman with s30v and then a Chris Reeve Sabenza with s30v, I would still expect s30v numbers from both. One may have better heat treat but it's still the same alloy and there really shouldn't be much discrepancy between them, annoyingly there often is. ZT is a prime example, their s35vn performs the same if not worse than even middle of the road Chinese made knives with s35vn. Leatherman's are quality, there's no reason to expect their blades to perform less than a company that solely makes knives.
Jimmy Grey yea...... Just because its the same alloy doesn't mean the same results. Heat treat makes a tremendous difference in performance... Some (like me) will say it makes all the difference. You said it yourself, ZTs are soft... Aka a less than perfect Heat treat. And i (and i think most knife guys) expect a better heat treat on a sebenza than on a leatherman.
Saying "its the same alloy so it should perform about the same"
Is like taking the same cake recjpe and giving it to 2 bakers... One bakes it at 350°f for 1.5 hours and the other bakes it at 1000°f for 18 hours.... Whos do you think will taste right??
Same ingredients right? Should gey the roughly the same cake right? Lol
Yeah definitely heat treat makes the difference. I make knives myself so I'm with you there. My point was just that it would be nice if things were more consistent among manufactures so we as consumers can at least be assured that an expensive ass leatherman with s30v is as good as any s30v. The difference is both "cakes" are usually presented to us as edible and "the best" they can be, not one nice looking and the other one burnt to a crisp...
I see you need to make a regular sacrifice of blood to your cutting block to appease the edge retention gods.
S30V and all the CPMs always performed badly for me, because when chopping the apex makes a small lip, and then all the subsequent hits misalign the edge more and more. 420J from Taiwan did best because the apex rounds off early, so the edge actually becomes stronger instead of bending... "Edge holding" a bent lip means edge holding is bad, in other words.
@John Smith A 10.5 inch 20 ounce chopper is not intended for chopping? Do you know anything about knives at all?
Paying a premium for using a tool for maybe less than the amount of cuts to dull the edge before tossing into a drawer somewhere.
m
Why am I watching this? Fml
HAHAHA “FAT…WOOD” 😂