S30V from Benchmade and Buck don’t hold a candle to an S30V blade from Ingram or May. The Ingram/May will take and hold an edge significantly better and are no more difficult to sharpen when they’ve been used.
You're comparing two factory made knives to custom knife makers.I know Charles May heat treats his own knives but I'm not sure about Gene Ingram.
Your opinion about Buck knives appears not to be founded upon fact,as Paul Bos has been heat treating Buck knives since 1970 and he is considered to be the Dean of the heat treatment process .
If you want to make a more fair comparison how about comparing Ingram and May to other custom makers.
Randall Made Knives forges their blades from bar stock and they're competitive with any other maker as far as cutting potential,durability and ease of sharpening.They also don't use any of the powder-made steels such as S-30V.
Does May forge his blades from bar stock?
Does Ingram forge his blades from bar stock?
