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

SACBALLZ said:
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.
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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.
 
DeadboxHero said:
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.
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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.

Also I have no idea what I'm talking about, listen to Shawn and not me.
 
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Blues said:
All legitimate data points are useful. That's how things progress. There will always be outliers and anomalies.
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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 I 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.
 
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SACBALLZ said:
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.
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If we did a controlled test 67 HRC K390 will cut longer than 63 HRC MagnaMax which should be no surprise.



Controlled test meaning that we control for the same geometry at the edge and grind and they are being cut the same with a fixed amount of cuts on a fixed load with the same media.

Screenshot_20260529-105335.png

What we'll usually see is that carbide type and volume are the biggest factors followed by hardness.

The carbide volume of K390 and MagnaMax. It's technically the same.

Carbide type Is similar (MC).

That much of a hardness discrepancy and you will notice that the K390 will cut longer in a drag race.

However, what if you're cutting something acidic? What if the edge is being exposed to corrosive sweat and what if the edge is experiencing impacts?

There's certainly some caveats where it could take the lead in the scatter of real world uses.
 
DeadboxHero said:
If we did a controlled test 67 HRC K390 will cut longer than 63 HRC MagnaMax which should be no surprise.



Controlled test meaning that we control for the same geometry at the edge and grind and they are being cut the same with a fixed amount of cuts on a fixed load with the same media.

View attachment 3195494

What we'll usually see is that carbide type and volume are the biggest factors followed by hardness.

The carbide volume of K390 and MagnaMax. It's technically the same.

Carbide type Is similar (MC).

That much of a hardness discrepancy and you will notice that the K390 will cut longer in a drag race.

However, what if you're cutting something acidic? What if the edge is being exposed to corrosive sweat and what if the edge is experiencing impacts?

There's certainly some caveats where it could take the lead in the scatter of real world uses.
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Its really a great service to have people like you and larrin here on the forums to educate the plebs like me. It's not every day you can get educated directly by the brightest and most experienced legends in the field. Thank you for everything you do for us
 
SACBALLZ said:
Its really a great service to have people like you and larrin here on the forums to educate the plebs like me. It's not every day you can get educated directly by the brightest and most experienced legends in the field. Thank you for everything you do for us
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Well I appreciate that, but it's not like I was born knowing any of this stuff either, I appreciate your engagement on the forum. It helps bring out good information for others to read and I'm sure you've helped plenty of people. Lot of this stuff is not very intuitive and it takes the minds of many to help contribute.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
Fingers crossed that MagnaMax really does make K390 obsolete.
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MagnaCut was supposed to make M4, CruWear, 4V and 3V obsolete... yet it didn't happen sadly. (Sadly, because if it did - MagnaCut would have trully amazing performance).

I do have a MagnaCut knife, and I really like it's performance, but I use it as my sea knife, and for stuff that really does stress the blade - I still reach for 3V...
 
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EatingSarma said:
MagnaCut was supposed to make M4, CruWear, 4V and 3V obsolete... yet it didn't happen sadly. (Sadly, because if it did - MagnaCut would have trully amazing performance).
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I don't think I heard or read that from any credible source. There was a target that Larrin was aiming for...(he discussed it in his articles online), and what you have with MagnaCut is the result. I like my tool steels as well...and have quite a few. But MagnaCut has earned its niche.
 
EatingSarma said:
MagnaCut was supposed to make M4, CruWear, 4V and 3V obsolete... yet it didn't happen sadly. (Sadly, because if it did - MagnaCut would have trully amazing performance).

I do have a MagnaCut knife, and I really like it's performance, but I use it as my sea knife, and for stuff that really does stress the blade - I still reach for 3V...
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I don't know if anything could make anything obsolete with us knife nuts around.

We will buy them all.
 
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