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How hard is M390 to sharpen

P

PatrickKnight

Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Messages
1,949
Reason I ask is I just ordered one of the Survive GSO 4.1 in M390 and have no idea how hard it will be to sharpen. I am not in the habit of letting my knives get REALLY dull but I do use every knife I have.

All my fixed blades are either 1095 or O1 so im wondering if M390 will be harder to sharpen than the two steels I am used to working with.

Any input would be very helpful.
 
It'll take longer to sharpen than 1095 or O1. I would say it's most similar to sharpening S30V, but can be a bit more stubborn as it's often harder.
 
What about when compared to other steels such as INFI, 3V, or 52100.

I have never owned a fixed blade in a stainless steel before. These were originally going to be in ELMAX so I researched the heck outta that steel now I have to research M390.

Also this knife will be 4.25 inch long blade, 5/32 inch thick on a saber grind which will be M390 with an hrc of 60-61.
 
PatrickKnight said:
What about when compared to other steels such as INFI, 3V, or 52100.

I have never owned a fixed blade in a stainless steel before. These were originally going to be in ELMAX so I researched the heck outta that steel now I have to research M390.
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It will be slightly harder than those steels depending on what you are going to be using to sharpen with, it's not that bad though really, about the same as S30V.

If you don't let it get really dull as you said it will be easy to touch up.
 
got me the damn stuff holds an edge better then any steel ive seen. Its became my preferred steel all I ever need to do is strop it with .25 micron diamond spray on roo leather and its good to go for another week of use. Its actually no "harder" to sharpen, it just takes a bit longer a good set of diamond stones for the wicked edge is preferred thoe.
 
I found it easier to sharpen than I thought. Like others have said, it's about the same as s30v (Maybe a tiny bit harder) What are you using to sharpen your knives?
 
I use a Sharpmaker and a strop. I try my best to not let them get really dull and just strop them a couple times when I start to feel the blade dulling on me. If I do let something get to dull then I use the Sharpmaker. I do not have the diamond stones for the Sharpmaker though since it has never really been needed with the steels I current use.
 
Depends on your experience and skill level. I thought M390 was a breeze to sharpen (on Barrage 581 and blue PM2) on whetstones, and it takes such a great edge too. There hasn't been a steel I've come across that I would consider hard to sharpen, just those that might take a little longer or those trickier to deburr.

Not sure how this applies to the Sharpmaker though.
 
Honestly when I got my bm 710 in m390 is came pretty dull by my standards. Suprise benchmade... Lol. Anyway took me maybe 5 min on a med spyderco profile rod and a strop to get a really nice edge. Easier than some s30v in my opinion.
 
Cadillac J said:
Depends on your experience and skill level. I thought M390 was a breeze to sharpen (on Barrage 581 and blue PM2) on whetstones, and it takes such a great edge too. There hasn't been a steel I've come across that I would consider hard to sharpen, just those that might take a little longer or those trickier to deburr.

Not sure how this applies to the Sharpmaker though.
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This is my experience as well. It's definitely easier to sharpen than I thought it would be. If you have any serious reprofiling work to do though you'll want some dmt diamond bench stones, they'll save you a ton of time.
 
mkjellgren said:
This is my experience as well. It's definitely easier to sharpen than I thought it would be. If you have any serious reprofiling work to do though you'll want some dmt diamond bench stones, they'll save you a ton of time.
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Couldn't be more true. Honestly difficulty of shapening is more so how much equipment do you have. Dmt stones can make s30v take as little time as aus8 on the sharpmaker.
 
It seemed pretty easy to sharpen, for me. A lot easier than S30V.
Could be that it was probably softer than most S30V I've sharpened, CRK excluded.
 
CRK tends to run their steels softer than most, for a given steel type.
 
I've only owned Benchmade M390 knives and in my experience there is no easier steel to sharpen and holds an edge extremely well. Definitely lives up to the Benchmade "Super Steel" designation.
 
Diamonds are a lot harder than any steel and will work well on whatever steel you're sharpening. I consider diamond hones essential for sharpening the current crop of 'super steels' with high carbide loads, such as S30V, S35Vn, VG-10, D2 (OK, D2 has been around along time but it fits with 'super steels' IMHO). Diamond hones also work beautifully on simple high carbon steels (1070, 10995, 50100B/Carbon V, 52100, etc.) , although for finishing those I reserve an old Black Arkansas bench stone.
 
I agree with that .I rarely polish my blades and in fact I usually sharpen free hand with an EZE-LAP diamond 1200 grit rod ,A few brief strokes and I'm done .
 
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