If they're going to retire 15V, Maxamet, and Rex 121, what are they going to replace them with?

[Blues]

All legitimate data points are useful. That's how things progress. There will always be outliers and anomalies.

 

[DeadboxHero]

HRC only matters in context of the performance at a given HRC. It might *only* be 63hrc(which in itself is not true, the hrc is going to vary wildly), but if it's getting k390 edge retention at ~67-70hrc, then I don't care what the number is.

Production K390 knives are averaging ~64rc.

MagnaMax will not be able to achieve 67-70rc with production HT.

MagnaMax is designed to match the corrosion resistance of MagnaCut which is extremely high.

Previous steels with high corrosion resistance (Vanax,LC200N) were stuck at 60-61rc.

Chromium in solution limits maximum hardness, it's a trade off.

So, it is an innovation to have finer carbides than K390 and serious stainless abilities with higher hardness than previous nitrogen stainless technologies.

 

[SACBALLZ]

Production K390 knives are averaging ~64rc.

MagnaMax will not be able to achieve 67-70rc with production HT.

MagnaMax is designed to match the corrosion resistance of MagnaCut which is extremely high.

Previous steels with high corrosion resistance (Vanax,LC200N) were stuck at 60-61rc.

Chromium in solution limits maximum hardness, it's a trade off.

So, it is an innovation to have finer carbides than K390 and serious stainless abilities with higher hardness than previous nitrogen stainless technologies.

I meant will 63 magnamax be getting similar edge rentention to ~67 k390(which k390 is a bad example, so substitute anything else). and making a point that the hrc really only matters in context of the performance at that given hrc. 63 is plenty hard enough, but whats the performance at that hardness. because at the end of the day all i care about is edge retention. corrosion resistance is just an added bonus to magnamax but not the draw for me. that's why i like 15v so much, the edge retention.

magnamax is set to be a huge thing for knives, a stainless with that much edge performance is a novel thing and not to be understated. i am very excited to see what we're working with in a year or two time, when companies have had a chance to dial in their processes and get a wide variety of models out there.

 

[DeadboxHero]

All legitimate data points are useful. That's how things progress. There will always be outliers and anomalies.

I was at BladeShow 2025 and was talking to Bob Skibitski the senior metallurgist for Crucible now working for Erasteel.

I showed him the edge of my CPM 15V Spyderco Manix 2 at 13dps with a mirror finish and sub 100g BESS edge.

He told me just before a came to the booth another guy said that the CPM 15V can't take or hold a quality sharp edge.

Bob chuckled and said "that guy must have not known what he was talking about" as he was observing my edge and checking the sharpness with his finger pads.

Reminds me of a video where a guy was saying that the CPM 15V was a "diva steel" because he could not get it as sharp on ceramic as he could with diamond and for some people that refuse to apply material science to the sharpening, it's probably very true at the 15V does not get as sharp when all you want to do is use your Arkansas Stone.

I always thought it was fascinating when I was reading things like that on the forums over 10 years ago about certain steels not getting a sharp but their being a disconnect between the abrasives and techniques being used and matching that to the steel. Then guys like Michael Christy coming along and blowing everyone's minds with what was possible for these types of steels.