Phil Wilson Light to Med Duty In M390 Steel

[Ankerson]

This is a full review of this knife after I have put it through it's paces. Phil Wilson needs no introduction here I don't think as many know he makes knives that are optimized for cutting and edge retention and toughness.

Lets start out with the Specs:

Light Duty hunter-utility, Smoke Creek design. Optimized thin grind for edge holding and low friction cutting.

M390, RC 62, 3.75 inch blade, modified drop point, 0.135 spine thickness, full flat grind, distal taper.

handle is blue paper micarta, with orange G10 spacer Partial tang with integral guard

Weight 3.6 ounces


In the past few days I have put the knife though it's paces cutting rope, wood and cardboard. I sharpened the knife 3 times over the course of testing, with the thin grind it very easy to sharpen and M390 takes a frightening sharp edge. The edge angle was 32 degrees inclusive though out the testing, I set my Edge Pro once and left it so the angle would stay the same every time I sharpened it.

As you can see here it's a Highly Optimised design developed over years of field use and testing for max performance, notice the choil for detail cutting and slicing:

Here you can see how thin the blade is and the distal taper to a very fine point:

Close up of the handle, very comfortable even while using it hard, notice how the whole knife tapers from the back of the handle to the very tip of the blade:

You can see the edge in these two photos that I used for all the testing.Sharpened in the Edge Pro and sharpened to the 6000 grit polishing tape.

 

[Ankerson]

On to the testing.

What I did 1st was cut 5/8" Manila rope using Phil's edge and then my polished edge. Comfort was excellent even during hard cutting to 20 LBS of down force, I didn't wear a glove because I wanted to see how comfortable it was. My hand didn't hurt at all during or after cutting, the M390 steel held an edge very well.

You can see here that I filled up this box with cut rope, this is a lot of rope.

Closeup of the knife in the box with the rope.

Next was Wood cutting, I whittled the wood to test edge strength putting a good bit of pressure on the edge. It cut very well and smooth and the edge held up great.

In this photo it shows the log I whittled:

These two photos are after Whittling:

Next was Cardboard cutting, it was double thick cardboard and it was cut to check the cutting ability and edge stability. The edge held up great, no chips or anything weird and it still sliced paper after. It cuts though cardboard like a razor knife as expected.


In the next Photos you can see the Cardboard that was cut, notice I was cutting very thin slices.

Conclusion:

Excellent knife that can be used for anything from what I did in the review to Skinning or cleaning game to use in the kitchen and anything in between. It has met all of my expectations and exceeded them to the point that it's my standard for edge retention and cutting ability when testing knives in the future.

 

[JNewell]

Nice review, Jim...NICE knife!...Q: did you have the BM M390 tested for Rc? Do I remember one coming back at ~Rc 60.5?

 

[Ankerson]

Nice review, Jim...NICE knife!...Q: did you have the BM M390 tested for Rc? Do I remember one coming back at ~Rc 60.5?

Thanks.

Yeah my BM came back 60 ~ 60.5 RC.

 

[gunmike1]

Great knife, great review. I'm trying to decide which Wilson knife to get and this one may be it. I just need to figure out what steel to get it in. For me, S110V, M4 and M390 are the leading contenders at this point, but Phil does such a great job with all of his steels that I'm having a hard time choosing. I'm going to send him an e mail shortly to discuss getting on the wait list.

Mike

 

[Ankerson]

Great knife, great review. I'm trying to decide which Wilson knife to get and this one may be it. I just need to figure out what steel to get it in. For me, S110V, M4 and M390 are the leading contenders at this point, but Phil does such a great job with all of his steels that I'm having a hard time choosing. I'm going to send him an e mail shortly to discuss getting on the wait list.

Mike

That's will be up to you and Phil once you make contact, listen to what he has to say for sure.

 

[sodak]

Gunmike,

Let me know, I'll be happy to send you mine to play with to see if you like 10V. If not, maybe Ankerson would like to play with it? I'd love to see how it stacks up to the M390.

 

[Ankerson]

Gunmike,

Let me know, I'll be happy to send you mine to play with to see if you like 10V. If not, maybe Ankerson would like to play with it? I'd love to see how it stacks up to the M390.

What do you have?

 

[sodak]

It's a Coyote Meadow in CPM 10V that Phil pushed out to 64.5 HRC back when he was seeing how high he could/would go. He almost made me sign a disclaimer.

You really should try this one, I'd love to see a comparison and review. hint hint

But I'll warn you, it's been sitting idle because I haven't been able to get out hunting due to work/family requirements, so it's got a bit of attitude.

 

[Ankerson]

It's a Coyote Meadow in CPM 10V that Phil pushed out to 64.5 HRC back when he was seeing how high he could/would go. He almost made me sign a disclaimer.

You really should try this one, I'd love to see a comparison and review. hint hint

But I'll warn you, it's been sitting idle because I haven't been able to get out hunting due to work/family requirements, so it's got a bit of attitude.

Oh that's a nice one. :thumbup:

Sure I will give it a run on rope to see what it will do.

Send me a PM.

 

[sodak]

Will do, you might need to send it to Mike when you're done....

 

[Ankerson]

Will do, you might need to send it to Mike when you're done....

I can do that no problem. :thumbup:

10V is gonna be a little better than M390 in edge retention, but I will post the numbers comparing the 2 after I cut with it.

 

[on_the_edge]

I have four :foot::barf::foot: of Phil's knives, all in different steels, and I have to say, what he can do with steel--any steel that he uses--is nothing short of magic. Regardless of steel choice, I find it almost impossible to believe that someone could be less than extremely satisfied with the performance of Phil's knives.

 

[gunmike1]

Count me in on the 10V. I've been drooling about that knife since you got it, Sodak, I'll gladly use it a little so it doesn't feel ignored! 10V at 64.5 RC should prove very good in edge retention and brutal on sharpening stones. Thanks, Sodak.

Mike

 

[Ankerson]

I have four :foot::barf::foot: of Phil's knives, all in different steels, and I have to say, what he can do with steel--any steel that he uses--is nothing short of magic. Regardless of steel choice, I find it almost impossible to believe that someone could be less than extremely satisfied with the performance of Phil's knives.

I can't either.

Magic is a good word for it. :thumbup:

 

[DennisStrickland]

jim i got the bradley in m4 back from frank today. if you wish i'll mail it on out to you. frank showed 62 on the rockwell. set bevel as you wish. i believe you will find the bradley to be the flagship of spydie. i have them all but the bradley is simply in a class by itself .
dennis-- great wilson review but i expected no less since he wrote the book on powder alloys.
dennis

 

[Ankerson]

jim i got the bradley in m4 back from frank today. if you wish i'll mail it on out to you. frank showed 62 on the rockwell. set bevel as you wish. i believe you will find the bradley to be the flagship of spydie. i have them all but the bradley is simply in a class by itself .
dennis-- great wilson review but i expected no less since he wrote the book on powder alloys.
dennis

Yes, Phil Wilson is a legend in our time for sure no doubt in my mind on that. :thumbup:

Just send it whenever you find the time, I am glad I got more rope coming.

I heard it's a nice knife.

 

[knarfeng]

You will need a lot of rope.

I couldn't tell the difference in edge retention between M390 at 60.5 and CPM M4 HS at 62.0 in cutting manila rope. Both of them held an edge almost twice as well as ZDP-189.

At 62 the M390 should totally blow away the CPM M4 HS that Spyderco is using.

Thanks for the loan Dennis.
Frank

 

[Ankerson]

You will need a lot of rope.

I couldn't tell the difference in edge retention between M390 at 60.5 and CPM M4 HS at 62.0 in cutting manila rope. Both of them held an edge almost twice as well as ZDP-189.

At 62 the M390 should totally blow away the CPM M4 HS that Spyderco is using.

Thanks for the loan Dennis.
Frank

That's putting it lightly.

 

[gunmike1]

I'm getting several of my M4 folders tested and if any come back in the 63-64 range they might put up a fight. I should get my Krein Ultimate Caper tested, I believe it is 63 RC M4, but it's .007" edge with a full height hollow grind make it a wicked slicer. That knife was my introduction to good M4 and I've been hooked ever since. All of these reports of M390 just kicking major butt has me really thinking of going for it over S110V for my Wilson custom when I get it because it seems to be similar to S90V in performance, but can be ran harder and gets sharper. That is a great sounding steel. M4 at 64 RC should be right with it, but M4 does rust if you don't keep oil on it and keep it dry. It is a good thing to have so many great steel choices with Phil Wilson as you know you are getting a great steel brought up to it's full potential. I'm a sucker for M4 (I have 5 knives in M4) but I may need to expand my horizons and try M390 or one of the other new steels that Phil is working with. With Phil's grinds no matter what steel you get the knife would flat out cut due to the great geometry.

Mike