Magnacut, Elmax, or M390? Which do you prefer?

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Starmarion

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Magnacut, Elmax, or M390? Which do you prefer? I've always loved Elmax, and so far I really like Magnacut, but don't have many knives in M390. Is that similar to 20CV or is it more top shelf than that? Just curious as to where everyone thinks these 3 steels rank. Throw in 20CV in there for good measure, as it's a quality steel in its own right. Thanks for any insight on this topic of interest.
 
Ilikesharpstuff said:
M390 and 20CV are the same composition, with M390 being made by Bohler and 20CV being made by Crucible.

If given my choice between Magnacut, Elmax, or M390, I'd probably choose Magnacut, but I own and am totally satisfied with all three.
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I had it in my head that M390 and 20CV were similar, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for your input!
 
Ilikesharpstuff said:
M390 and 20CV are the same composition, with M390 being made by Bohler and 20CV being made by Crucible.

If given my choice between Magnacut, Elmax, or M390, I'd probably choose Magnacut, but I own and am totally satisfied with all three.
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I like Magnacut, Elmax and 20CV, but my issue with 20CV is how difficult it is to sharpen. Takes an edge for a while, but it's extremely difficult to sharpen. Magnacut has not been easy to sharpen, and Elmax is clearly the easiest to sharpen "for me."
 
I have only 20CV and Magnacut knives, but I'd give the nod to Magnacut. It's amazingly easy to sharpen, takes an incredibly fine edge and holds it as well or better than any other steel I've found.
 
Alberta Ed said:
I have only 20CV and Magnacut knives, but I'd give the nod to Magnacut. It's amazingly easy to sharpen, takes an incredibly fine edge and holds it as well or better than any other steel I've found.
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I've been having more trouble trying to sharpen Magnacut than I should. How do you sharpen yours?
 
bucsfan69 said:
I’ve had all 3 and my personal experience is I can get Elmax scary sharp relatively quickly, where as the others take more time. All 3 are great steels, but I prefer elmax
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That's my take without having any experience with M390 per se (but having plenty with 20CV), in addition to Elmax and Magnacut.
 
scorpnsnake said:
All three are great. I'd choose whichever is optimally heat treated with the most suitable geometry for the materialI
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What about Kershaw's heat treat of Magnacut. Take the Bel Air for instance. How do we compare that to Kershaw knives that have 20CV steel for instance like the old Kershaw Links? Does Kershaw have different heat treats for different steels? Thanks in advance!
 
Magnacut seems to be about ass good as any and better than many for a general purpose pocket knife ice or fixed blade. Many of the big name makers have gone to it with the notable exception of a few premium makers.

Currently, my favorite pocket folder is a CRKT M18 in AUS-8. . . . and my EDC is a Leatherman Wave in D2. When it comes to a personal user, Steel formulation is not the first consideration for me. Features and convenience are what gets a knife into my pocket.
 
Ilikesharpstuff said:
M390 and 20CV are the same composition, with M390 being made by Bohler and 20CV being made by Crucible.

If given my choice between Magnacut, Elmax, or M390, I'd probably choose Magnacut, but I own and am totally satisfied with all three.
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Another steel I wish I had included is S45VN. I have a Spyderco Paramilitary in S45VN, and it's outstanding, but is that just Spyderco's heat treat or is S45VN a top shelf steel too?
 
VorpelSword said:
Magnacut seems to be about ass good as any and better than many for a general purpose pocket knife ice or fixed blade. Many of the big name makers have gone to it with the notable exception of a few premium makers.

Currently, my favorite pocket folder is a CRKT M18 in AUS-8. . . . and my EDC is a Leatherman Wave in D2. When it comes to a personal user, Steel formulation is not the first consideration for me. Features and convenience are what gets a knife into my pocket.
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That's a very fair take, and I have the CRKT M16 in AUS-8 (I meant I have the M16 - not M18) as well, and it gets plenty of pocket time when the situation calls for it.
 
Starmarion said:
What about Kershaw's heat treat of Magnacut. Take the Bel Air for instance. How do we compare that to Kershaw knives that have 20CV steel for instance like the old Kershaw Links? Does Kershaw have different heat treats for different steels? Thanks in advance!
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They surely do have different protocols for different steels. Don't know much about Kershaw, I'd have to dig in.

MC and 20CV/M390 closest to 64 HRC and Elmax 62 HRC would be the marks for me.

For my money, I'd take Elmax at 62 over the others at 59, M390 at 64 over MC at 60, etc.

Probably not the best way, but works for me. :)
 
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That's one of the reasons customs and small batch builds are such performers. They push those things to limits that mass production generally won't gamble with. They run it softer to account for newbies and savages that misuse tools and send them in for warranty. If the stats aren't published, my first thought is that it's a low and safe number.

AEB-L is a prime example. At lower hardness it's okay, but pushed to the limits. It performers as an anomaly. Punching way out of it's weight class in desired attributes.

IMO Spyderco is willing to trust their buyers more than most.
 
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I find with these "super steels", if you start your sharpening with one or more diamond benchstone(s), finishing with waterstones or ceramic stones isn't too difficult. The diamond stones really help the process. I haven't tried on magnacut but I have on several M390, 20CV, and Elmax blades.
 
S45vn and Elmax in my opinion are where the sweet spot is now price wise.

I am also fine with M390 and 20CV if that is the only thing that is available, talking about buying a knife on the secondary. Probably wouldn’t buy a new knife in either unless it’s just not offered in the newer steels and I really want it.

I have a Benchmade that is in 154CM going on 20 years old which has a toughness of 3.5, same as M390 & 20CV. Never broke or chipped it. So I am not really worried about it.

S45vn and Elmax bump that up some so if I’m buying a new to me knife, I opt for a little more toughness. (4). Plus I can also get both these screaming sharp and it easy to do too.

Mainly talking RHK, CRK knives which are my most liked knives but applies to everything for me.

Don’t get me wrong if I see a good deal on a VG10 blade I’ll snap it up also👍🏼
 
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M390 is the most overrated steel I’ve ever used. I’ve probably had 30-40 knives from at least 10 different manufacturers using m390 or it’s equivalent ( 20CV or 204P ). Fragile, chips, pain in the a__ to get a decent edge, gummy after a little use.

Elmax is far better in my experience

Magnucut is far better than Elmax in my experience.

I’d probably choose S45, 35 or 154CM over anything mentioned above for a folder
 
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