SPY27 compared to S30V and BD1N. How they compare in use and value for performance offered.

SPY27 compared to S30V and BD1N. How does they stack up in use and value for performance offered. Each of the knives in different steels were put through 2 weeks of use with equal stropping, secondary bevel angles and finishes. I'll order them how Isee them in use and value.
Outpost 76 Patreon
Edge retention testing data sheets
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Contact me at [e-mail]
Follow me on Instagram at Outpost76
As always I appreciate your time and thanks for watching.

[@TheOfficialCaseMade]

All of the comparisons I'm seeing are selling me on a basic BD1N Para 3 LW as a great daily beater knife. Easy to sharpen, cheaper, and good enough for basically anyone's day-to-day needs.

[@FISHUNTREE]

Love me some BD1N. CPM Magnacut, S110V, LC200N, CTS-BD1N and D2 for me

[@dr.oetqer]

Thanks for this informative video. So far I really like my Para 3 lightweight BD1N, maybe it doesn't hold an edge as long but in my experience it is easy to sharpen, touch up, and has more toughness than S30V. As a more budget oriented steel I enjoy it quite much, and had become my favourite beater knife in and around the house.

[@BenoJ3000]

Thank God Gerald is back!

[@alexanderbertallo1995]

Very interesting comparison! Thank you for sharing and keep up the great work...

[@Outpost_76]

Thank you

[@rwstubbz]

This is very interesting. Thank you for posting. I've had similar experiences. I stropped mine on 2 micron and it came back quicker than I expected. I thought better than the s30v from spyderco. Just my opinion, but I like it as a proprietary steel. Better than what I expected and way better than AR-RPM 9 LoL. Takes well to ceramic sharpeners as well for touch up.

[@benjamincarter6095]

M390 has become my favorite steel for trade-off between edge retention and ability to sharpen in the field, with the qualifier that rolling has to be more likely than chipping. Cru-wear comes in as a close second. I haven't tried out Spy27 yet. Love your content!

[@Outpost_76]

Thank you

[@william1973ist]

Good talk. My inital thought was Spyderco was going to start stanrdizing with that steel since its like a propritary stell to them. Who knows. Im sure with the procing theyre trying to recoup their time/monetary investment into it, dropping it in new colors. Plus they can likely mess with chemistry and make future improvements. Thanks for the recap.

[@greg9006]

Thanks. I just ordered the manix lightweight in BD1

[@seniorxj2931]

BD1 is not the same as CTS BD1N!!

[@tylerthomas546]

The all 3 manix test would be interesting to see. Great videos as usual

[@Outpost_76]

Thank you, that one will be coming soon.

[@optimuscrime608]

I’ve been loving spy27! Such a good steel

[@Outpost_76]

So far it's doing very well for me.

[@joshuabriggs7114]

Endura in s30v @$101.50 for the win! Great video Gerald!

[@Outpost_76]

Thank you, I forgot about that version.

[@newhuskytwenty]

I got the Endura versions in K390 and ZDP-189 so the s30v (if still available) wouldn't appeal to me.

[@801tb]

Good comparison

[@Outpost_76]

Thank you

[@mikelikesknives428]

So far their SPY27 has been a pretty solid steel. I have been able to get it the sharpest with the least amount of work. I love S30V but I always like to try different steels. The Native LW has been my favorite model with their new steel. Great comparison and thank you for the video.

[@Outpost_76]

You're welcome, I'll have one more update on this steel and it's changed some again.

[@wigglywrigglydoo]

Damn I watched your other video and bought the SPY27 and this one convinced me it was a mistake 😅

[@Outpost_76]

What don't you like about SPY27?

[@kingtaj]

From my (limited) understanding, SPY27 is closer to S35VN than to VG-10. Cedric and Ada's test put it's performance and corrosion resistance near S35VN also.

[@newhuskytwenty]

Thumb up, I’ve been wondering about the properties of these steels for a long time, although I would have liked to compare them to the VG-10.

[@Outpost_76]

So far SPY27 far out performs VG-10 in every way.

[@TheOfficialCaseMade]

​@@Outpost_76VG-10 is getting a little long in the tooth, compared to all these other steels at a similar price point.

[@tonesetterfitness1261]

Great info, thanks for your time. Any date on the edge stability test vid on these 3

[@Outpost_76]

I don't have a date yet for the 3 way test. I need to get a newer BD1N Manix to get it done. While I do have the Para 3 BD1N it's too small to get the same amount of force behind the knife for a fair comparison.

[@wilindrocca]

Great cost/benefit analysis of the three steels. I don’t know why some guy once wrote a book called “Don’t sweat the small stuff “, lol. It’s precisely your attention to detail - almost like a scientific inquiry - that pays big dividends for the knife community. I have the manix lw in bd1n steel and quite like its performance, and it seems to get sharper than the s30v on my BM 940 (but that could be due to edge angle). In any event, I think I am going to hold off getting SPY27 blades for now, since its modest improvement over bd1n doesn’t seem to justify the higher cost.

[@Outpost_76]

When I do an update video to this it may look much more appealing even at the current cost.

[@wilindrocca]

@@Outpost_76 Look forward to it. SPY27 certainly seems to have a rich mix of all the right ingredients.

[@matusknives]

I just have a brand new BD1N Para 3 on the table and the action is getting broken in nicely. I don't love the black handles. The Spy27 looks so much nicer with the blue handles, but it costs 50% more here in Germany and now you show us that there appears to be little difference in performance to the BD1N. I am finding it hard to justify the extra cost. On top of that the BD1N has a much nicer finish (mine has no obvious grinding marks, just a nice even smooth stonewash and feels super smooth).

[@Outpost_76]

From use and cut testing BD1N it's close enough that I wouldn't spend that extra for the SPY27. I have another video in the works directly comparing SPY27, BD1N and S30V to give a better idea visually how they compare to each other.

[@matusknives]

@@Outpost_76 Awesome, thank you

[@FindersKeepers88]

Spy27 vs BD1N, thx... just what I wanted to know

[@palerider7171]

Thanks for the review. I believe the price will come down on SPY27 as Spyderco uses it more in their line, if not killed off by negative reviews or major issues surfaces. Again what I understand Spyderco was going for is to trade off some edge retention of S30V having maintainability more like VG10. What your telling me is they hit the mark dead on. So if SPY27 came out before S30V or S35VN would we be complaining about the cost? I doubt it. S30v is an older steel, has been tried out by many companies and frankly has become, undeservedly passé, especially with S35VN being as common as rocks. SPY27 is new and proprietary so yeah it going to cost more at it introduction.

[@Outpost_76]

There will be an update to this in light of new developments during use. Very surprising steel.

[@jps2989]

The goal was to get edge retention near s30v,ease of sharping and edge stability of s35vn. I have had the edge roll on BD1N and chipping with s30v. Haven’t had as much time with the SPY27, but so far still holding on. And in my experience so far the razor edge retention definitely holds longer the BD1N.

[@-trmxzer0-235]

Price vrs performance its gonna be a very close competition between these 3. Awesome comparison but BD1N preform best for the price for my use. I can't wait to see the three way manix death match.

[@Outpost_76]

These 3 are very close and the reduced price of the BD1N makes it a great choice. Once I am able to do the 3 way Manix test with extended cutting I'll break it all down in more detail. BD1N is definitely going to be a strong competitor.

[@bigsean2473]

the para3 is like 100 i can get the freek for around 100 also so id go with the s30v over bd1n

[@lionknives3]

I hope you can test the 154cm from the Kansept Main Street.

[@Outpost_76]

If I can find one to get in for testing that's a possibility.

[@watsonlitchfield2306]

My Manix lightweight has CTS-BD1, not BD1N. It was right around $100.

[@Outpost_76]

The Manix LW had a change over to BD1N last year. All the older ones are BD1.

[@2FRESH-4U]

I just ordered the s110v version and I’m interested to see how it works

[@Outpost_76]

I have a couple and should test one.

[@doejon9424]

So.. does this SPY27 warrant a purchase over s30vn for a Native5 LW replacement ?? Is this more of a compliment to a s30vn Native 5 LW ? Can't decide if it's a necessary purchase

[@Outpost_76]

SPY27 is different in that it strops back Manu times to a level of sharpness compared to being fresh off a sharpening. Is it necessary, no. I do enjoy it but it's close enough to S30V in performance and mine developed rust spots where that isn't an issue with S30V for me. Unless you just want to try a different steel or are heavy in to sharpening then it's not a necessity.

[@doejon9424]

@@Outpost_76 I'm a fan of different steels & collect. But. If this is that close to s30v.. I will probably just hold off for something else - something "more exotic". The Native 5 & Manix are my go to's more often than not. But I can't justify the purchase based off your tests & knowledge. My opinion is this.. Spyderco is kinda late to the table with this exclusive steel. This should've been a thing years ago for them. Shame. Thanks for sharing your insights!

[@mv3592]

i have ukpn spy27, noticed weird thing , sh_t just sticks to it(sealer tape glue is best example), its just hard to clean, no complaints to other qualities😀

[@Outpost_76]

I use mine outdoors also and even natural things stick badly to it.

[@booishoois309]

How do you control how much use it gets in 2 weeks? If it's almost nothing and then you strop it, they'll all be sharp.

[@Outpost_76]

When I did this video my use was very repetitive, much of the same cutting on a daily basis. It was very rare to have minimal cutting qhen I did this video. I also kept a spreadsheet of what I cut with each knife to see how what was actually cut.

[@joecorzine8057]

Please do a besteck circuit in K110 steel

[@joecorzine8057]

Cut test

[@AJFlip]

So is the Spy27 worth $30 more than the BDM for durability and sharpness?

[@sdriza]

yes

[@alutious]

can you summarize how they are theoretically supposed to be different. it sounds like they are almost the same from your tests and uses. So why do they use different steel? Price? Process? thanks

[@Outpost_76]

The short version, SPY27 comes up the sharpest, then BD1N then S30V. SPY27 will cut for a longer period of time, followed by S30V then BD1N. I may do a video in more detail or include this in an upcoming wear resistance/edge retention video.

[@alutious]

@@Outpost_76 ty. So edge retention. I just got an s30 from benchmade. And an s35 from pivot i dont have it handy but i have a knife i bought in spain a few years ago that has an80 steel? As80? Spanish steel.

[@Hungrybird474]

They use different steel because they hardly come out with new knife models but change the steel type for the blades . They’re all very similar .

[@TroutManOutdoors]

Is Spy27 tough enough for wood work?

[@Outpost_76]

I'll be posting that video in the next day or so. I'm in progress with testing now.

[@dewroc66]

Spy27 compared to s 30v is title but I’m not gonna go over the 30v ….. Lmao , so just gonna go over the spy27

[@_BLANK_BLANK]

I don't know that I would call spy27 a mod of vg10. Though, maybe there is more information available now, than when this video came out. Or you could have accidentally mispoke. Looking at the composition. It seems to be a mod of sg2. Which is a similar (in some ways) steel to s30v. Its a powder metallurgy steel with a 2% vanadium addition, and the same level of cobalt as spy27. Spy27 looks like they added niobium, and a little nitrogen.

[@simonking8198]

The Spyderco sheet that comes with the SPY27 manix states they were specifically improving upon VG10 actually.

[@_BLANK_BLANK]

@@simonking8198 its wierd that they said it. Because the only thing they have in common is theyre both stainless, and have cobalt.

[@roblegeny9511]

Bd1n takes a great edge but nowhere near as tough as s30

[@ncsEsper]

Spyderco adds an “arachnoid tax” to SPY27. It’s their steel. It’s high profit. It’s good to know SPY27 has some marginal benefits. Excellent overview, G. Looking forward to the next steps.

[@Outpost_76]

I'm going to update my thoughts on SPY27 in a couple weeks, it just keeps surprising me.

[@kao9379]

Spy27 is far better than marginal in my use. It’s easy to sharpen and holds an edge for my use much better than s30v

[@krispybeats6615]

manix wins FATALITY 😂

[@ADN1996]

dude talk... my goodness. unbearable video