How is magnacut in the “real world”

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My working theory is that people who prefer more wear resistance in their steels don't mind sharpening, but would rather do it less frequently, but for longer sessions than those who don't mind lower wear resistance, and doing brief touch ups, but more often.

As a user, I sometimes think I prefer one over another, but I think, since it's ultimately just a balancing act of "how long before I have to sharpen, and for how long until it does what I want", it's actually hard for me to nail down a true preference.

Overall (that is, considered from a combined maker and user perspective), I probably like AEB-L the best, because I have the most experience with it, and because at high hardness (to me 63 is high, I don't typically have it heat treated higher), it keeps its cutting ability respectably, maintains sufficient toughness for knife appropriate uses, and is quick to touch up when needed.

To me, MagnaCut is much the same, just those touch ups need a little more time, but are needed a little less frequently. And I like it very much as well.

Here’s my current neck knife (My Edge-C Spear point design) that gets lots of use on cardboard, blister packs and scoring kydex and its analogs:

IMG_8430.jpeg

It was getting a bit dull so I gave it a few minutes on the diamond bench stone.
 
Ironbut said:
A Buck 112 in Magnacut has been my most used knife over the last 2+ years. I've always liked S35VN's combination of toughness, ability to hold an edge, and relative ease of sharpening. I think Magnacut takes all those properties to the next level.
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I got my buck 112 in Magnacut and will try it out as a user, it’s my first folder in that steel. I have two fixies in it.
 
I love the MagnaCut knives I have. In snowy conditions breaking trail, it is nice to have one where I can reach it and not worry about it getting drenched or caked in snow for many hours. One of the attributes that I really like is how easily/quickly it strops back to hair popping sharp.

If anyone has had disappointing experience with it, I highly suggest trying a blade from another maker before making up your mind.
 
My two main carry knives, Spartan SHF and Spartan Pallas are both in MagnaCut. One or the other is used daily. I find, much like Member beeinak (above) that it strops back rather quickly and easily to an “acceptable sharpness” for me. I hate knife sharpening so I probably now own 8-10 knives in MagnaCut! Too bad Larrin doesn’t sell stock, I’d sure buy some.
 
Every good knife steel is a compromise on one level or another. MagnaCut happens to be an excellent jack of all trades. There are options on the other ends of the spectrum which may be better choices for any given or particular requirement.
 
This is just my subjective and anecdotal opinion, but I found Magnacut to be perfectly fine. It cut easily with the bandsaw, wasn't especially difficult to grind, held its edge well, supported a thin edge, wasn't brittle and resisted corrosion well. It didn't get as sharp as I would have liked but it was good enough to pop hairs. I didn't love the price of it though, but that isn't a huge concern.
 
I have yet to use up my 15 year old Spyderco Military in S30V. So for me the S30V is still top, even tho I have a Sage 5 Magnacut I have not used it yet. Can`t imagine how much better it is.
 
David Mary said:
My working theory is that people who prefer more wear resistance in their steels don't mind sharpening, but would rather do it less frequently, but for longer sessions than those who don't mind lower wear resistance, and doing brief touch ups, but more often.

As a user, I sometimes think I prefer one over another, but I think, since it's ultimately just a balancing act of "how long before I have to sharpen, and for how long until it does what I want", it's actually hard for me to nail down a true preference.

Overall (that is, considered from a combined maker and user perspective), I probably like AEB-L the best, because I have the most experience with it, and because at high hardness (to me 63 is high, I don't typically have it heat treated higher), it keeps its cutting ability respectably, maintains sufficient toughness for knife appropriate uses, and is quick to touch up when needed.

To me, MagnaCut is much the same, just those touch ups need a little more time, but are needed a little less frequently. And I like it very much as well.

Here’s my current neck knife (My Edge-C Spear point design) that gets lots of use on cardboard, blister packs and scoring kydex and its analogs:

View attachment 3103229

It was getting a bit dull so I gave it a few minutes on the diamond bench stone.
Click to expand...
Elegant knife ! Hollow grind?
 
I wanted to hate it, I generally don’t do fads/trends. But i have 2 blades in it now (Benchmade limited Osborne lavaflow, and Limited edition Protech Cambria 2). Both blades have far exceeded my expectations. They sharpen up briliantly, seem to hold the edge quite well, and i have nothing to complain about with them.

I’d go as far as to say it’s up there with M390 and M4 in my list of favorite steels.
 
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