Sharpening M390

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emjay4248

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Oct 8, 2016
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This is my 2nd posting on M390. I have now sharpened 5 M390 blades from 3 different companies. Their is a slight difference between from company to company but the work was about the same and the high polish finish was the same. I got the High polish @ 1500 grit on my KME w/ dia. stones but it was more than acceptable @ 600 grit. I stropped it but it was really not necessary.
I am going to try and get my knives in M390. I am going to try and curb my purchases and get one M390 as opposed too buying two knifes with lesser metal.
 
M390 is a great steel. I have several knives now in M390 or 20cv, it's my favorite general purpose stainless at this point although CTS-XHP is a close 2nd. Have gotten my best sharpness results to date using all diamonds for this steel, and typically 2 grits: something coarse 300/400 range, and something fine/extra-fine in the 1200 to 2K range. Experimented with using a silicon carbide stone for the 300/400 coarse work (because cheaper, and in some ways, easier to use the stone), and then still use a fine/extra-fine diamond grit to finish. Have also seen a couple folks post recently that they can get excellent results with just a single grit, for instance a DMT fine in the 600 mesh range. I need to test the sharpness results I can get by using just that single grit versus the 2-grit approach. Obviously, being able to sharpen in as few steps/grits as possible and get the same results is a good thing!
 
maximus83 said:
M390 is a great steel. I have several knives now in M390 or 20cv, it's my favorite general purpose stainless at this point although CTS-XHP is a close 2nd.
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I agree. M390 and 20CV have become my favorite steels. I also enjoy XHP. S110v and S90v were not bad but I did like the M390 better. My M390 and 20CV knives are my goto blades now. I have not received my Maxamet blade yet so i will be interested to see how it compares to those, but in my mind it does not matter. If I could get everyone of my favorite knives in M390 or 20CV I would be very happy.
 
I think the dmt 600 grit is a great all around stone. If you maintain your knives well, you could easily get by with just that stone. I just re profiled my valet in m390 with it. It took less than 10 min, maybe around 5 to 7min. I went from about 20 degrees per side to about 17-18dps. I finished with spyderco medium ceramic which took it from sharp to very sharp, then 2 passes each side with loaded strop to clean edge. Dmt red to spyderco medium makes for a very sharp and agressive cutter.
 
woodsmanoh said:
I agree. M390 and 20CV have become my favorite steels. I also enjoy XHP. S110v and S90v were not bad but I did like the M390 better. My M390 and 20CV knives are my goto blades now. I have not received my Maxamet blade yet so i will be interested to see how it compares to those, but in my mind it does not matter. If I could get everyone of my favorite knives in M390 or 20CV I would be very happy.
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I am with you on that. 20cv/m390 are great edc knife steels. I love how sharp they can get and how easily it gets there. They have good edge stability. I had s90v and while it cut well, it did not hold a very fine edge for long like m390 and 20cv. It was difficult for me to get that extra level of sharpness that i can get with these two steels.
 
I more or less sharpen on diamond stones up to 600 grit exclusively, but I always use diamond in super steels as a rule of thumb. After 600 I may finish on ceramic or water stones whatever I'm in the mood for.

Most days I do a few passes on a 600 dmt stone and then go back and forth on a ceramic rod and that's enough to maintain an edge with s35vn, 20cv, and s110v being my edc steels. I'll go down to dmt blue (300 grit?) To fix a chip or rounded point.
 
m390 has been frustrating for me to sharpen, I have a valet also. However I do not use diamond based sharpening systems, which is a must have for this type of steel, evidently.
 
knoxknives said:
m390 has been frustrating for me to sharpen, I have a valet also. However I do not use diamond based sharpening systems, which is a must have for this type of steel, evidently.
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If you are going to reprofile it then diamonds are a must. As for touchups I am having no problem turning my quite dull Southard to very sharp just using ceramic sharpmaker rods. The Southard is CTS 204p which is pretty much the same as m390.
 
The only knife I have in m390 is my Bradford Guardian 3, so I have limited experience with the steel.
However, I sharpen it like all my other knives with the sharpmaker. I did purchase a few coarser "ruby" 1/2 inch triangle rods from Congress Tools to supplement the Sharpmaker's rods, but only use them when reprofiling blades. The sharpmaker plus a strop (with compound) is able to get my m390 blade sharp enough to make me happy: shaving my arm or a few passes on my stubble-covered face without issues or nicks. It's also sharp enough my wife thinks twice before using my Guardian3...in the rare instance when she doesn't have a knife in her pocket. ;) (She is the one person I have no reservations lending/handing a knife to.)

I had a lot more trouble sharpening my s30v Manix2 than my Guardian.... to the point I held a DMT stone against the sharpmaker rods to reprofile the Manix to the angle I wanted. Now the sharpmaker can do it's magic, but it took numerous attempts before I got it shaving sharp.

Ya know... it has been a week or two since I touched up my knives.... I know what I am doing tomorrow. :cool:

Good luck
 
M390 and Elmax are the only high vanadium carbide steels I've used and sharpened that like to keep a razor edge. XHP is another steel that has liked the razor edge.
 
M390 is an excellent steel it is one of the easiest stainless steels to sharpen and to maintain. It holds an edge remarkably well.
 
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M390/20CV/204P are fantastic steels for smaller blades, they are my favorite stainless along with Elmax and AEB L(or well done 14C28N)

For hard use my favorite is definitely CPM 3V, but I always like to have companied by a M390 blade, or two, or more! :)
 
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