So...................................

I tried to get out and use it some today, specifically because of your question. But I had too much yard and car work to do. It only got to cut some trimmer-string. Did fine, but that's a lousy test.

I think it's a good steel. I've used it some before, just not hard. And it certainly seems stainless. I'm not disappointed I have it in 20CV, as opposed to 3V. I'm contemplating getting the 4.7 in 20CV, too.
 
Thanks man, i appreciate the incentive of trying to get out and use it to address my question as well as your responses & opinion :)

So far i am leaning towards it, it seems as though as far as stainless steel goes 20cv is one of the better all-rounders. There is a video where Guy uses 20cv in "cold weather testing" quite hard and it holds up very well.
But i certainly appreciate/acknowledge real world testing from customers moreso than the manufacturer
 
After several years of following releases of different "super" steels and trying out everything on the spectrum from MTech's 440(?) stainless to Spydercos in s110v and k390, I definitely reached a point of alloy fatigue and frankly never saw much of a difference in use. For me, normal day to day folder use is so light that edge retention has never been much of an issue. When I do have heavier use tasks, it seems like anything I choose goes dull.

I'm also a quite a lazy sharpener and use my blades to low sharpness (snagging on printer paper) before I sharpen them back up. Some people maintain that high carbide steels are easy for them to sharpen, which is great. I've always felt they're a b!tch, especially with the relatively thick, wide factory bevels that most production knives ship with. If those are easy, give me the "super easy" to sharpen steels that have been aggressively thinned out and can be taken from dead dull to shaving in 2-3 minutes freehand on a $5 Norton Economy combo stone.

Ironically, this is partly what led me to Bussekin. Sensible steels for the intended application, tough and easy to maintain with good but not extreme wear resistance. A company that really focuses on nailing the heat treat and built their reputation with live demonstrations, really cool stuff. I often find them too thick at the edge, but have no problem dialing them in to my preference and understand what they do considering the warranty and claims of "the toughest knives on the planet."

The M390 popularity is interesting. I haven't tried it or its analogues, and I'm not saying it's a poor choice by any means, but how different can it be from s30v really? If you look at the compositions and note that the percentages given are really ranges and that they will vary from batch to batch; what is the end user going to see that couldn't easily be trumped by differences in the hardening, primary grinds, edge angle and finish, or even the random nature of the materials being cut? I suspect the reality is maybe corrosion resistance?, but otherwise not much.

abs091.png


/rant off
 
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Well, having S30V from a couple manuf. (Benchmade and ZT) , and M390 from Benchmade, I can tell you that small difference in composition makes a world of difference in edge holding.

It might be a bear to thin out, but I don't know. It was run very thin behind the edge on the BM I got. And after carrying it all over the world and using it for whatever I use a pocketknife for, I still haven't had to sharpen it, that I recall. If I did, it was so minor that I don't remember.
 
Forgive me for being skeptical brother, but even if I accept your observation that knife A in M390 performed significantly better than knife B in S30V as 100% true, I still wouldn't be immediately convinced that the difference you saw was due to the composition of the alloys. It may well be, but then again it may not be the whole story.

As noted above, there are a number of factors that could have as great or an even greater influence on the perceived performance than the differences in composition alone. That's all I was saying.
 
I got a PM2 in S30V and Kershaw Blur, Factory 2nd, that i bought just cuzz it was there, and cheap. I used Blur for a while, than skinned and halfed 2 rather large sheep, and by the end of the day it was still pretty Dannn sharp.
Just my .02
 
Wow. I really surprised how popular m390 is with the folder guys. In in the process of selling all my m390 folders as i can not get it to not roll the edge withen a few days of use. My 20cv, s30v, and xhp stuff does not have that issue. For fixed infi wins. But if it came from somewhere other than busse i think my opinion would change. The exact steel does not matter to me. Its all in the ht imo. Infi, sr101, a2, all at the same level imo as long as the ht is done my the right person [emoji6].


Eed
 
inkynate said:
Forgive me for being skeptical brother, but even if I accept your observation that knife A in M390 performed significantly better than knife B in S30V as 100% true, I still wouldn't be immediately convinced that the difference you saw was due to the composition of the alloys. It may well be, but then again it may not be the whole story.

As noted above, there are a number of factors that could have as great or an even greater influence on the perceived performance than the differences in composition alone. That's all I was saying.
Click to expand...

I cannot disagree with you on those points. The only comparison that I have that is nearly valid is the S30V & M390 Benchmades. But even in that, if you assume both are HT'd optimally, they are in different blades, so the edge geometry could be a factor. Nevertheless, I do have several Benchmades in S30V, as well as several ZT's in S30V. None of them can hold a candle to the Benchmade in M390. Yet, I don't know that is a valid argument still.
 
I was super impressed wwith cpm m4 ib a large folder. It fairly easily took about the finest edge I had ever sharpened on a folder. I loved the blade on edc type tasks. I took it out in the yard to test it out some more. Five minutes later the edge had completely rusted with the sweat through my pant leg. A great steel, just not for me. INFI otoh also takes a great edge but hasn't corroded even with my sweat. A great steel.

Aren't 20cv and m390 virtually identical?
 
rockspyder said:
I cannot disagree with you on those points. The only comparison that I have that is nearly valid is the S30V & M390 Benchmades. But even in that, if you assume both are HT'd optimally, they are in different blades, so the edge geometry could be a factor. Nevertheless, I do have several Benchmades in S30V, as well as several ZT's in S30V. None of them can hold a candle to the Benchmade in M390. Yet, I don't know that is a valid argument still.
Click to expand...

Ha, I don't know what knocked me into "question everything" mode. At the end of the day what works for you is all that really matters :thumbup:
 
As others have commented, ot seems the best way to really tell if a blade steels are really having a large impact on performance (besides obvious rust vs not, or roll etc) is to have bunch of as far as possible, the same blade length width, height, grind, etc, with optimal heat treatment, to try to eliminate as many variables as possible. The mule team knives are a great example of the concept. Busse has made very similar knives in different steels too.
 
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