Coffee thoughts... M390

[RCFL]

I like that idea, but the manufacturers wouldn't.

Thing is, the public is unrealistic and you can't please everyone. For every knife buyer who thinks he needs a high hardness steel, there is another who thinks he needs a tough steel. No way is it possible to please everyone and each side refuses to acknowledge that the other has a valid point of view.

My answer is for the manufacturers to do what they do and let the chips fall where they will. I see no real reason for 3v to be in a pocket knife. I could say the same for Maxamet. There may be a reason for M390 to be in a larger fixed blade, other than a skinning knife, but Cruwear would probably work just fine and if the blade was not labeled as to the steel, we probably would not notice.

Many people use their knives at work and for them, bringing the edge back is very high on the list of wants. You would have a hard time selling them a hard, high carbide steel that takes too long to restore the edge. They might just be right......

We have too many Walter Mittys who think they need more than what is realistic and are disappointed if someone writes that they heard that XYZ is running their steel soft. If it does the job well, be happy. If the knife is a drawer dweller and is never used, then the steel doesn't matter.

The Signal to Noise is way to high; ignore it.

 

[Leo Greer]

You’re absolutely correct, for most of the folks who simply collect and don’t ever use their knives consistently the steel doesn’t make a practical difference.

However, you have to take into account that people are impractical by nature. I don’t have the funds to buy and collect (I typically buy used, enjoy for a few months or a year, and then sell), but if I were a collector it would increase my enjoyment to have a knife with a heat treat I consider more “ideal”, even if I never used it.

For reference, I don’t hold on to any knives I won’t actually use.

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say we care about a lot of impractical little details here in the knife community, and it’s just for pure fun and enjoyment!

Ask the people who watch that game where dudes bonk their heads together repeatedly and throw around an oddly shaped object for hours at a time how they feel about their impractical love.

 

[RCFL]

Absolutely right about our impractical buying. A few years ago everyone just had to have a .338 Lapua. Before that, it was Hummers. No telling what will be next, but if you can figure it out and get there first, you can make a wad. I'm thinking the "need" for at least a 250 level diesel pickup will continue.

Back in the 1970s when I was hunting a fair bit, we all had to have .270, .243, .30-06, 7mm Magnum, even though the woods and swamps around here are so dense that it is rare to have a 100 yard shot unless it is down a dirt road or a power line right of way. The humble .30-30 is plenty for all except our egos and pride. I'm to blame here, too, because I have had all the above other than .338 and .243. And a big honking diesel pickup.

Knives are no different.