M390 vs D2. Is it worth it?

unwisefool said:
That viper is a small knife it looks like, blade is an inch shorter than the go bag. For me that's too small a knife to be an everyday knife.

Also something else to consider: we have some great knifemakers on here who have really nice knives in your price range. Maybe check out what's for sale here first.

https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-fixed-blades.754/
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The fact it has shorter blade is main reason I'm buying it.
Overall length is basically the same (especially length with sheath) making it ideal for pocket. But, Viper has more handle and 1mm thicker blade which comes handy when I need to push hard to power through something.

Viper Berus 1 is also more formal and more of a gentleman's knife.

I even considered ESEE Izula, but that that blade is coated, not stainless (never thought I would care about that) and here it costs literally as much as Viper Berus 1! Especially if you're buying the one with scales and not skeletonized version.

So, to me it was to buy regular 1095 steel from US manufacturer and terribly overpay when compared to the US price, or buy super steel made in Europe fom European manufacturer?

So, I rather decided to support European manufacturers.

As most makers on this forum are from US, the shipping price would kinda bury me.

So at the end, I just ordered this knife for 119€.
Now I'm waiting for them to come into shift, pack and ship my order and then waiting to get my hands on it.
 
FYI ... the Boker GoBag is available from US dealers.

I too have a couple of fixed blades in D2 and have no issues with it doing what I need.

As to cost, as already mentioned, it's not the steel that's 5x more but the knives. Comparing the Boker GoBag and Viper Berus 1, IMO 'yes', it is worth it. The Viper with M390 and carbon fiber and styling is more 'gentlemanly'.

But, if 'utilitarian' were my criteria, based on steel, blade shape and handle material, I'd be buying more GoBags as backups.
 
TravisH said:
FYI ... the Boker GoBag is available from US dealers.

I too have a couple of fixed blades in D2 and have no issues with it doing what I need.

As to cost, as already mentioned, it's not the steel that's 5x more but the knives. Comparing the Boker GoBag and Viper Berus 1, IMO 'yes', it is worth it. The Viper with M390 and carbon fiber and styling is more 'gentlemanly'.

But, if 'utilitarian' were my criteria, based on steel, blade shape and handle material, I'd be buying more GoBags as backups.
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Ordering from US delalers I'd spend more on shipping than on knives.

Besides, the one I have is more or less enough for me. It will be a backup once the new knife arrives.

I pulled the trigger on Viper Berus 1 because of the same reasons you mentioned.
It is more of a gentleman's knife.
And it's size is a better fit for my needs.
It'll atttact less unwanted looks too. It is more formal.

I can't wait to put my hands on it tho :)
 
The one reason I prefer certain steel over D2 corrosion. In the summer I am drenched in sweat from 8am until 5pm. I’m talking 90% humidity Midwest heat. My sweat is TOXIC. I can rust almost anything. So I look for a knife with high corrosion resistance.
 
M390/20CV is my favorite stainless. But if I was debating between getting the same knife in either D2 or paying 500% more to have it in M390, I’m going with the D2 and I’ll figure something out with my corrosion issue.

Monofletch said:
My sweat is TOXIC. I can rust almost anything.
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I have the same issue. It really sucks when you prefer carbon steels over stainless. Literally all my folders have to be stainless.
 
steelhead seeker said:
I honestly don't think any of the premium steels are SOOOO much better than one another. If you like the design though and it'll bring some joy or pride in your life owning it, its worth it. I find cutting performance is mostly based on blade shape, thickness, type of grind...comfort of grip... if you like the knife I say go for it. I own many blades, s30v, s35vn, s90v, m390, 20cv...whatever. my most carried blade for the last 8 years or so is my s30v PM2...
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People so often (a few times in this thread) say better this or better that when talking about steels. Better can only be used when comparing a common goal as all steel is a tradeoff (well except maybe modern nitrogen steels). If you value toughness, m390 is objectively far worse than s30v, however if you only care about edge retention sure m390 is a way "better" choice.

I couldnt agree more with your second point however that if you like the design and the blade profile that is far more important than the steel choice unless its so far from your intended use (like it you got a 1095 fishing knife).

One funny thing however in your last sentence is all the steels you listed of blades you own are extremely similar lol. s30v is the OG and s35vn/(20v and m390) are really similar. s35vn is just backing off on the carbon a tad and the vanadium 1% while m390 is just a juiced up s30v. Same class of steels.

StoneAndSteel said:
M390/20CV is my favorite stainless. But if I was debating between getting the same knife in either D2 or paying 500% more to have it in M390, I’m going with the D2 and I’ll figure something out with my corrosion issue.
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Why if you dont mind me asking is m390/20cv your favorite? And for what use?
 
Billy The Hungry said:
Lots of great comments and information in this thread.

D2 is a fine steel. I don't personally prefer it, but if it were in a design that I wanted, I'd buy it.
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I agree with you 100% It is funny seeing people (especially on Reddit) shitting on it when not long ago high end knives were made from 440c quite often. People seem to forget its pretty solid stats (see below) Obviously numbers arent everything but I mean come on...unless it a super hard use blade thats a pretty solid lineup.

C 1.50%
SI 0.30%
Cr 12.00%
Mo 0.80%
V 0.90%
 
Dr Rez said:
One funny thing however in your last sentence is all the steels you listed of blades you own are extremely similar lol. s30v is the OG and s35vn/(20v and m390) are really similar. s35vn is just backing off on the carbon a tad and the vanadium 1% while m390 is just a juiced up s30v. Same class of steels.
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Of the "super" steels people consider s30v to be about the bottom of the list..my point of my list was just to say that even with owning other knives in arguably "better" steel the s30v one is still good enough and I find the pm2 to be such a comfortable slicey knife that even in s30v it performs great. Just kinda hamering home my point that if he likes the knife and finds it comfortable it ain't gona matter if its D2 or M390.... my point was that they are all kinda similar and most people aren't gona see a difference. So it doesn't matter if your knife has what most consider to be the lower end of the super steels...I think the only time it really matters is when comparing the budget steels to the super ones.
 
Dr Rez said:
I agree with you 100% It is funny seeing people (especially on Reddit) shitting on it when not long ago high end knives were made from 440c quite often. People seem to forget its pretty solid stats (see below) Obviously numbers arent everything but I mean come on...unless it a super hard use blade thats a pretty solid lineup.

C 1.50%
SI 0.30%
Cr 12.00%
Mo 0.80%
V 0.90%
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Totally solid lineup.

I think it holds an edge retention similar to S30V, in my experience. It loses that super keen edge quickly, but holds a working edge a decent amount of time.
 
Billy The Hungry said:
Totally solid lineup.

I think it holds an edge retention similar to S30V, in my experience. It loses that super keen edge quickly, but holds a working edge a decent amount of time.
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Edge retention of d2 will be significantly below that of s30v. S30v has 3ish% more vanadium which is a huge difference.
 
J85909266 said:
No. Not in my opinion. The one caveat is if corrosion is an issue for you.

But you are basing the cost of the knife on just the steel. There is a lot more that goes into both cost and value than just the steel used.
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Just noticed your Robbie lawler avatar. His fight with Rory McDonald with forever be one of the best fights of all time.
 
Dr Rez said:
Just noticed your Robbie lawler avatar. His fight with Rory McDonald with forever be one of the best fights of all time.
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I think that fight is why I set this as my avatar, actually. I originally had a Fedor avatar, but apparently he had too much blood on his face and it was offensive, so a mod messaged me and removed it against my will.
 
J85909266 said:
I think that fight is why I set this as my avatar, actually. I originally had a Fedor avatar, but apparently he had too much blood on his face and it was offensive, so a mod messaged me and removed it against my will.
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Good thing that mod didn't see the Rory fight lol. He'd ban you for life.
 
Dr Rez said:
Good thing that mod didn't see the Rory fight lol. He'd ban you for life.
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Yeah, watching him literally run out of health and collapse from all the accumulative damage he had taken was one of the saddest, toughest, and coolest things I've ever seen. I'm not sure who impressed me more. Rory for going out on his shield like that, or Robbie for finally stopping him.
 
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