Which Steel Is Your Favorite For A Folder?. . . .

Purely subjective, and it depends on use.

Cruwear when I am away from a good sharpener and might need to touch up the edge quickly. Edge holding is pretty good and I love the way it sharpens.

My heart says M4 as a close second. But if I can get to a good sharpener and have time, maybe K294, S90V, or M390. Those hold an edge pretty well but are not as easy to sharpen as Cruwear or M4.

For a folding knife, I don't think the toughness of 3V is needed unless the plans are to make an Adamas competitor.

As for the subjective part, I also have Magnacut and I like it very much. But it seems that Cruwear holds the edge just a tick longer, and is a bit easier to sharpen. If someone said their experience was the opposite, I would not argue. We like what we like and often for no good reason.

Than I could be wrong, at least according to my wife....
 
If I could choose any steel for a folder : Cruwear , PD-1, M4, PSF27 or K390 - tougher than anyone needs in a folder and toothy edge retention is excellent ( I also live in a dry climate though ).

*154CM still gets the job done for my needs..
 
ferider said:
At 60.5 HRC wear resistance of 3V and Magnacut are very close, while 3V is significantly tougher. Helps for instance, when cutting into a staple when cutting boxes, cutting zip ties, etc. I’ve broken the tip of a 4V folder cutting bamboo, for instance.

Just saying.
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You make a very interesting point here! The higher than standard hardness may change things (and we know that Swamp Rat brings 3V to 62 HRC even in large swords). But I still doubt the toughness gap is so high, assuming Magnacut is still heat treated by the likes of Busse or CPK. Nathan Carothers has some YT video in which he comparatively tests a Magnacut blade and a 3V blade (I think they were both delta heat treated). His conclusion was they are close in toughness except for the bolt cut test (where Magnacut failed miserably).

PS: Between 3V at 62 HRC and Magnacut at 59 HRC, I would also prefer 3V.
 
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S90V. Magnacut at a high hardness, 63-64 RC the way Chris Reeve does it is second place currently.

Magnacut with a Jerry Busse heat treat sounds impressive, but for a Busse folder, INFI would be the way to go.
 
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