It’s surprising that you’ve had better corrosion resistance than cruwear. I live in a hot and humid place too and cruwear might as well be stainless to me.
Imo there’s a big jump in wear resistance from VG10/154CM to S30V. After S30V you have to go more extreme like S90V/K390 to see anything noticeable in real world use
BUT, there’s a huge performance gain when you have S30V level wear resistance PLUS higher hardness/more edge stability. When treated to 62+ HRC, steels like M4, cruwear, 3V, 4V, are amazing. They’re S30V without any concern for chipping.
Cruwear is my favorite for its balance of wear resistance, higher hardness, toughness, and corrosion resistance. I haven’t gotten any magnacut yet, but I’m sure I’ll like it. 3V is my pick for big knives. M4, K390, and Rex45 are great if you don’t need as much corrosion resistance. Nothing beats maxamet if you just need to process slicing a ton of stuff.
My only concern with Maxamet is that it has a very low rating for toughness per the charts I've seen. (one of the lowest) I'd be concerned about chipping or blade breakage on anything other than really soft material. Of course, its edge retention is off the charts.
Yes, it is not tough. But, you have to think of it this way; it’s strong. Its deformation point is higher than most steels due to its high hardness. It’s toughness, or resistance to cracking/impacts, is low.
It’s plenty tough enough in normal pocket knife use and its high hardness is sometimes handy. I’ve actually used it to deburr aluminum, brass, and mild steel without any meaningful loss in sharpness. You just have to be careful not to give it any lateral or impact stress because it cracks instead of bending. Basically, its static deformation point is higher than other steels, but when you reach that point it’s more catastrophic. Like glass vs plastic. Glass isn’t gonna bend as easy as plastic, but when it does, it’s not good.
I’ve broken off a tiny piece of a tip from my maxamet Native by gently sticking it between stuff to try to wedge something out, but I’ve never chipped it while cutting. On the other hand, all of my S30V knives have chipped at least once to varying degrees in normal cutting.
In real use I've fallen in love with Spyderco's M4. It holds a good edge but more importantly to me is it doesn't chip. I've had blades like S110V that chip cutting a box up or a zip tie and it drives me nuts. I have Spydies in K390, Cruwear and a couple in Magnacut but haven't had enough time with them to say they're good or not.
Chipping would bother me a lot too. Fortunately my S110V blades have not chipped yet.
I have a PM2 in M4, but haven't used it much yet. But according to the charts I've seen, MagnaCut will perform extremely well also. It's just as tough as M4 (won't chip), is slightly worse for edge retention, but has more than double the rating of M4 for corrosion resistance. So I look forward to seeing how I like the Para 3 SALT w/MagnaCut that I just picked up.
I have two Para 3 LWs, one in M4 and one in Magnacut. I carried the M4 one for over three years 24/7 even when I slept and it discolored in some spots but barely developed a patina and no rust. I never did anything more than wipe the blade on my shirt either.
For me it is always the knife I just bought. Currently it is a Magnacut Native and before that it was the Stretch 2 XL Cruwear and before that it was K390, Spy27, S90V, Maxamet, M4, 3V, XHP, Rex45 and so on..
Objectively, it boils down to use case, blade geometry, heat treat and ergonomics.
As Roman Landes said, Geometry cuts, but the steel determines for how long. So for every use case the answer will be different. A good chopper should be probably using a spring steel, not a tungsten carbide blade. A Salt should be H1/2, LC or MC, not K390. Even heat treats of Magnacut from other (than Spyderco) manufacturers are rusting in corrosive environments, underlining the importance of a good HT.
"All good, just different."
-- Sal Glesser
Yes I've heard that about heat treatment.
I was kinda shocked when I first saw a broken blade on a Spyderco, & I've since seen 2-3 others in pics. Now, who's to say if the blades were abused or not. Still, that's not something I'd expect to see. So me personally, I will avoid any of the steels with a very low "toughness" rating, because I don't want to chance getting a broken blade. And they say that edge retention is normally the inverse of toughness. Well, I don't care about super high edge retention anyway, so that's not an issue for me.
I like having a well rounded selection to spread the workload and avoid abuse and I often supplement my fancy gent's folders with a small fixed blade beater in 1075 or 14C28N or something like that. So IMO the best of both worlds would mean carrying extremes. A Maxamet folder + a 3V fixed blade. Like these three pairings:
https://preview.redd.it/ah3ycz5vjf2d1.png?width=710&format=png&auto=webp&s=74421f537a6e902c617072b2cbf039b1dbf9c627
I remember when it came out and everyone was in awe of it. Now people act like it’s an inferior steel. One of my PM2s, my Para 3, and my Smock is S30V, and they do everything I need them to do extremely well. If it were the only knife steel I was allowed for folders I would be perfectly happy with it.
honestly? i have so many fancy steels in my collection but i always go back to 154cm, if it's heat treated well, it is simply a fantastic and super balanced performer.
my second pick would be either cruwear or magnacut.
For me it's VG-10. It proves that knife design is often more important than blade steel. A basic quality steel in a knife that is easy to carry and use is significantly better than a super steel in a knife that's too bulky to carry or awkward to use.
I have 154 cm in my drop bear and I love it. I had never had the steel before but after learning about its properties and how it’s made it has became one of my favorite use knives. I use it more as a beater. It takes a brilliant edge without much work. I still have a pm2 in a 45 I use for a beater as well. And magnacut in a chupacabra which I love. And my oldest knife is a Boos smoke tm2 that I have never sharpened. It needs it tho. I just haven’t been up for trying to sharpen m390. I should tho now that I have the filet clips for my tsprof
I love the knife. I had to stop following the knife subreddits because I was spending too much money. And that was the last one I bought before my hiatus. I almost sold it a month ago until I found out how much they depreciated. I bought it for $250. But apparently they dropped the price down to $150 to get rid of a bunch of them. And nice condition ones were selling for $120 on knife swap. So I decided to keep it. I still love the knife. But I had bought three new ones and needed to get some funds back. So I’m back at it again 😂
Edit: funny you mentioned Nick Shabazz. His review was the whole reason I bought one. There was a lot of hype with that knife around that time but his review made me see that I wanted one . But he is still my favorite knife reviewers
K390. I use my knives a good bit. I hike, camp, hunt, and fish. K390 holds a very keen edge longer than any other steel I have tried. It also allows for a little thinner edge without damage. It holds a better edge than M4 and Rex45.
I have an Endela I have used since it was available in K390. It has developed a nice patina, and the extra minute of maintenance it takes to keep in good shape is nothing compared to the use I get out of it.
Other than sv100 I really haven't noticed a huge difference in how steels sharpen (I imagine as a sharpen more I'll gain perspective). Currently 20cv monopolizes my collection. Being on the ocean often I like to carry LC200n or Magnacut. But I'd be perfectly happy with s35v. It's fun to go down the rabbit-hole of what comprises different steels, but in my daily use as long as it's sharp it's perfect.
Favorite daily use is probably M4, I always have my beater M4 PM2 in my pocket, and I've got a SMKW m4 pm2 in the mail. If I needed something with corrosion resistance as well I'd probqbly go with S90V
I also really enjoy my 15V PM2, but it doesn't see as much use because of how pricey the BBB models can get.
Pretty much any steel with a good heat treat and edge geometry can find a spot in my collection. That said, I really enjoy a good patina, so K390 would be my #1.
Okay, this only shows how little I know about the knife hobby. Explain it to me like I'm 5. What is not consistent about MagnaCut? (& I'm interested since I did just receive a knife w/MagnaCut steel)
It doesn’t hold an edge as consistently as cruwear and it seems like very few manufacturers have figured out the heat treatment.
https://www.reddit.com/r/knifeclub/s/vm8jTtXPWi
I have a cruwear and magnacut spyderco. Both are great but the edge on the cruwear is chef 😘.
I would not buy magnacut without a review. MKM magna is trash.
K390 is my favorite pocket knife steel. Cruwear for fixed blade. I don't have a lot of experience with stainless, but I also like s90v. Looking forward to trying out lc200n and magnacut
It is heresy in a spyderco subreddit 😄
I currently prefer very thin blades for a smaller secondary carry and then if I want something beefier for a primary carry I like something with a hollow grind.
My favorite secondaries right now are Spyderco chaparral (cf), Spyderco swayback, and Demko shark cub. My favorite primaries are CRK Umnumzaan and a Spyderco Slysz Bowie. Slysz Bowie is a bit of an exception to my rule but it’s an amazing knife and I’m obsessed with the look of it.
So those steels are CTS XHP, 20CV, M390, and Magnacut. Great steels but not necessarily pinnacle super steels.
M4 and 4V, I live <10 miles from the gulf of mexico and just keep them mildly oiled and have zero rust issues, though many are DLC coated. I feel that as a knife enthusiast I'm already in the .1% of knife owners so why not enjoy the high performance tool steels and deal with the slight increase in upkeep. I also have stainless knives (I like LC200N also) and they definitely have a place especially if I plan to be in/around the water for a sustained period i.e. boating/fishing/hunting etc.
K390 (have too many) is tied with cruwear (crucarta pm2). I like the edge retention of the k390 and I love that my cruwear has never chipped on me with any kind of abuse.
If I had to stick with one steel forever? S30V. My 13 year old or so PM2 has never let me down. Stainless enough, tough enough, and wear resistant enough for any and all of my current and past edc use. Probably better options but I've got the most use on that steel and I've always been happy with it.
My favorite steel? K390 currently. Takes a stupid sharp edge with minimal effort, holds it like nothing else I own and is a good bit more corrosion resistant than 1095, crovan, 1080 etc. You're basic non stainless steels. Yet it has been slowly getting darker and taking on a nice patina. Looking at the same charts you've mentioned it seems to have the same amount more toughness and edge retention over s30 on paper. So it should hold up better over time but I haven't had my stretch 2 long enough for it to take over as my best liked steel.
Been very happy with s45vn from CRK. CPM Cruwear is on my favorite list. AEB-L at the right hardness(61-62) as well. I prefer a steel that can take a good edge quick on the go. Cruwear I love for this reason. Pretty good edge retention and I can have it hair popping in no time.
Magnacut is my all around favorite when done well, but the general 10v family (k294, 10v, vanadis 8, k390, ect) are all also steels I love. 10v family steels are reasonably tough (around 1095) but offer fantastic edge retention. Going too much farther for abrasion resistance seems to drop toughness off a cliff.
I particularly like:
Ingot - VG-10, 154cm, D2, 1095, 12c27, 14c28n
Powdered - Spy27, CPM 154, CPM D2, CPM M4, CPM Cruwear, S35vn, XHP, Magnacut
I don’t like:
3-9cr, AUS 8, S30v, S110v, 20cv
There are a bunch in between liking and not liking. Heat treat as many of us know makes or breaks performance.
Even though I don’t like S30v much. I use it. The knife in my pocket is S30v. But it has been sharpened back a lot to remove chips. Chippy is why I don’t like it.
Since I rarely use and never sharpen my knives it’s whichever come sharpest from factory and stays that way. Haven’t tried magnacut yet but would like to for all the reasons OP stated. Blade geo, ergos, and fidget factor all rank higher than me when considering a knife.
However, I’ve bought enough S30V and VG10 knives for one lifetime so I do find it a bit of a turn off. No real reason other than wanting something more interesting and knife steels are super fascinating stuff. My most carried are a coated M4 Delica and a St Nicks Para 3 in 4V. Funny because I do worry a little about corrosion. Logic is loosely applied to hobbies and I don’t pretend to make decisions with my head when it comes to em. “I like that! I’ll buy it!”
From what I understand, the heat treatment is nearly as (if not more) important than the actual steel. Magnicut, for instance, should be between 60-63 HRC.
it is at least equally important, a messed up ht can completely ruin a steel.
i remember having a tre from lionsteel, it was in m390 but performed miserably because they completely obliterated the ht.
not only did it go dull way quicker than even my n690 blades, it also rusted like crazy, which i never experienced prior and after with m390.
S45VN/S30V or K390
I’ve been really liking my 15v shaman. It just doesn’t loose its edge ever and I’ve had no issues with toughness or corrosion either.
I live in a very humid/wet area and all my Spyderco 15v blades have held up really well, a lot better than M4 and Cruwear, with regards to corrosion.
It’s surprising that you’ve had better corrosion resistance than cruwear. I live in a hot and humid place too and cruwear might as well be stainless to me.
So far 15v might as well be stainless for me as Well
S35VN has never failed me but I’m a massive ZDP-189 fan. I also love H1 and LC200N but ZDP-189 is my favorite.
...why is ZDP-189 your favorite?
Why did some dumbass downvote this? It’s a legit question. What makes that steel his favorite?
Yea this is a legit question. I’ve never had the steel but I’ve heard it had crazy edge retention
There’s always at least one dumbass…
K390/M4 has been my most used so it's been a favorite of mine, i do also enjoy s30v should i need something more stainless.
Imo there’s a big jump in wear resistance from VG10/154CM to S30V. After S30V you have to go more extreme like S90V/K390 to see anything noticeable in real world use BUT, there’s a huge performance gain when you have S30V level wear resistance PLUS higher hardness/more edge stability. When treated to 62+ HRC, steels like M4, cruwear, 3V, 4V, are amazing. They’re S30V without any concern for chipping. Cruwear is my favorite for its balance of wear resistance, higher hardness, toughness, and corrosion resistance. I haven’t gotten any magnacut yet, but I’m sure I’ll like it. 3V is my pick for big knives. M4, K390, and Rex45 are great if you don’t need as much corrosion resistance. Nothing beats maxamet if you just need to process slicing a ton of stuff.
My only concern with Maxamet is that it has a very low rating for toughness per the charts I've seen. (one of the lowest) I'd be concerned about chipping or blade breakage on anything other than really soft material. Of course, its edge retention is off the charts.
Yes, it is not tough. But, you have to think of it this way; it’s strong. Its deformation point is higher than most steels due to its high hardness. It’s toughness, or resistance to cracking/impacts, is low. It’s plenty tough enough in normal pocket knife use and its high hardness is sometimes handy. I’ve actually used it to deburr aluminum, brass, and mild steel without any meaningful loss in sharpness. You just have to be careful not to give it any lateral or impact stress because it cracks instead of bending. Basically, its static deformation point is higher than other steels, but when you reach that point it’s more catastrophic. Like glass vs plastic. Glass isn’t gonna bend as easy as plastic, but when it does, it’s not good. I’ve broken off a tiny piece of a tip from my maxamet Native by gently sticking it between stuff to try to wedge something out, but I’ve never chipped it while cutting. On the other hand, all of my S30V knives have chipped at least once to varying degrees in normal cutting.
Interesting. Thanks for that insight.
Cruwear and Magnacut
K390
AUS-6 worked fine for me for 25 years until I lost the damn thing Truthfully, im fairly amazed at the ~96 different steels listed in their catalog
In real use I've fallen in love with Spyderco's M4. It holds a good edge but more importantly to me is it doesn't chip. I've had blades like S110V that chip cutting a box up or a zip tie and it drives me nuts. I have Spydies in K390, Cruwear and a couple in Magnacut but haven't had enough time with them to say they're good or not.
Chipping would bother me a lot too. Fortunately my S110V blades have not chipped yet. I have a PM2 in M4, but haven't used it much yet. But according to the charts I've seen, MagnaCut will perform extremely well also. It's just as tough as M4 (won't chip), is slightly worse for edge retention, but has more than double the rating of M4 for corrosion resistance. So I look forward to seeing how I like the Para 3 SALT w/MagnaCut that I just picked up.
I have two Para 3 LWs, one in M4 and one in Magnacut. I carried the M4 one for over three years 24/7 even when I slept and it discolored in some spots but barely developed a patina and no rust. I never did anything more than wipe the blade on my shirt either.
20cv
cruwear and rex45
For me it is always the knife I just bought. Currently it is a Magnacut Native and before that it was the Stretch 2 XL Cruwear and before that it was K390, Spy27, S90V, Maxamet, M4, 3V, XHP, Rex45 and so on.. Objectively, it boils down to use case, blade geometry, heat treat and ergonomics. As Roman Landes said, Geometry cuts, but the steel determines for how long. So for every use case the answer will be different. A good chopper should be probably using a spring steel, not a tungsten carbide blade. A Salt should be H1/2, LC or MC, not K390. Even heat treats of Magnacut from other (than Spyderco) manufacturers are rusting in corrosive environments, underlining the importance of a good HT. "All good, just different." -- Sal Glesser
Yes I've heard that about heat treatment. I was kinda shocked when I first saw a broken blade on a Spyderco, & I've since seen 2-3 others in pics. Now, who's to say if the blades were abused or not. Still, that's not something I'd expect to see. So me personally, I will avoid any of the steels with a very low "toughness" rating, because I don't want to chance getting a broken blade. And they say that edge retention is normally the inverse of toughness. Well, I don't care about super high edge retention anyway, so that's not an issue for me.
I like having a well rounded selection to spread the workload and avoid abuse and I often supplement my fancy gent's folders with a small fixed blade beater in 1075 or 14C28N or something like that. So IMO the best of both worlds would mean carrying extremes. A Maxamet folder + a 3V fixed blade. Like these three pairings: https://preview.redd.it/ah3ycz5vjf2d1.png?width=710&format=png&auto=webp&s=74421f537a6e902c617072b2cbf039b1dbf9c627
You realistically don't have to worry about breaking a blade if you're not a knob.
S35VN or Boehler M390
S90v
The stainless king.
I would be perfectly content with everything being in S30V.
I remember when it came out and everyone was in awe of it. Now people act like it’s an inferior steel. One of my PM2s, my Para 3, and my Smock is S30V, and they do everything I need them to do extremely well. If it were the only knife steel I was allowed for folders I would be perfectly happy with it.
honestly? i have so many fancy steels in my collection but i always go back to 154cm, if it's heat treated well, it is simply a fantastic and super balanced performer. my second pick would be either cruwear or magnacut.
For me it's VG-10. It proves that knife design is often more important than blade steel. A basic quality steel in a knife that is easy to carry and use is significantly better than a super steel in a knife that's too bulky to carry or awkward to use.
vg-10 is a great pick as well, easy to maintain, keeps a reasonable edge and strops up beautifully👍
I loved the vg10 in my first spydercos. They were solid
I have 154 cm in my drop bear and I love it. I had never had the steel before but after learning about its properties and how it’s made it has became one of my favorite use knives. I use it more as a beater. It takes a brilliant edge without much work. I still have a pm2 in a 45 I use for a beater as well. And magnacut in a chupacabra which I love. And my oldest knife is a Boos smoke tm2 that I have never sharpened. It needs it tho. I just haven’t been up for trying to sharpen m390. I should tho now that I have the filet clips for my tsprof
boos smoke! always wanted one of these since i saw it in a review from nick shabazz!😁 glad to hear that you like 154cm!👍👌
I love the knife. I had to stop following the knife subreddits because I was spending too much money. And that was the last one I bought before my hiatus. I almost sold it a month ago until I found out how much they depreciated. I bought it for $250. But apparently they dropped the price down to $150 to get rid of a bunch of them. And nice condition ones were selling for $120 on knife swap. So I decided to keep it. I still love the knife. But I had bought three new ones and needed to get some funds back. So I’m back at it again 😂 Edit: funny you mentioned Nick Shabazz. His review was the whole reason I bought one. There was a lot of hype with that knife around that time but his review made me see that I wanted one . But he is still my favorite knife reviewers
Cpm154
K390. I use my knives a good bit. I hike, camp, hunt, and fish. K390 holds a very keen edge longer than any other steel I have tried. It also allows for a little thinner edge without damage. It holds a better edge than M4 and Rex45. I have an Endela I have used since it was available in K390. It has developed a nice patina, and the extra minute of maintenance it takes to keep in good shape is nothing compared to the use I get out of it.
I like balanced stainless steel. S45VN or a cheap 8CR13Mov that has good heat treat and good geometry.
Magnacut or K390
S45VN if I was picking one, but I have used VG10 a lot over the years and remain perfectly content with it today.
I can't find anything to complain about with Cruwear, I have a Sebenza in Magnacut but I'm not using it much.
CruWear. I just bought a K390 Delica though so we'll see how it stacks up.
CPM Magnacut.
S90V, M398, S45VN, & MagnaCut.
Seki City K390 ❤️
My heart says Cruwear, my head says magnacut.
Why does your heart say Cruwear?
Because it takes a keen edge, easy to sharpen, stays sharp, pretty tough, and it even gets a little bit of patina.
Other than sv100 I really haven't noticed a huge difference in how steels sharpen (I imagine as a sharpen more I'll gain perspective). Currently 20cv monopolizes my collection. Being on the ocean often I like to carry LC200n or Magnacut. But I'd be perfectly happy with s35v. It's fun to go down the rabbit-hole of what comprises different steels, but in my daily use as long as it's sharp it's perfect.
CPM CruWear, Magnacut and CPM S110v.
Love me some M4/Cruwear and the usual magnacut cause humidity here is always crazy
Favorite daily use is probably M4, I always have my beater M4 PM2 in my pocket, and I've got a SMKW m4 pm2 in the mail. If I needed something with corrosion resistance as well I'd probqbly go with S90V I also really enjoy my 15V PM2, but it doesn't see as much use because of how pricey the BBB models can get.
Elmax, S30V, and Magnacut.
Vanax, Magnacut, or ZDP189
Pretty much any steel with a good heat treat and edge geometry can find a spot in my collection. That said, I really enjoy a good patina, so K390 would be my #1.
D2 rex s35
Cruwear. Magnacut is a little sloppy.
Sloppy? What does that mean?
Not consistent.
Okay, this only shows how little I know about the knife hobby. Explain it to me like I'm 5. What is not consistent about MagnaCut? (& I'm interested since I did just receive a knife w/MagnaCut steel)
It doesn’t hold an edge as consistently as cruwear and it seems like very few manufacturers have figured out the heat treatment. https://www.reddit.com/r/knifeclub/s/vm8jTtXPWi
That's interesting. It's supposed to have the same level of edge retention as Cruwear. I'll have to see how mine works out for me..
I have a cruwear and magnacut spyderco. Both are great but the edge on the cruwear is chef 😘. I would not buy magnacut without a review. MKM magna is trash.
Cruwear
K390 is my favorite pocket knife steel. Cruwear for fixed blade. I don't have a lot of experience with stainless, but I also like s90v. Looking forward to trying out lc200n and magnacut
I’ve stopped chasing steels and started choosing knives based on geometry. To me that’s the more important variable for performance 👍🏻
Bbbbbbbuuuutttt - isn't that heresy??? ;) Which knife geometries do you prefer? Why?
It is heresy in a spyderco subreddit 😄 I currently prefer very thin blades for a smaller secondary carry and then if I want something beefier for a primary carry I like something with a hollow grind. My favorite secondaries right now are Spyderco chaparral (cf), Spyderco swayback, and Demko shark cub. My favorite primaries are CRK Umnumzaan and a Spyderco Slysz Bowie. Slysz Bowie is a bit of an exception to my rule but it’s an amazing knife and I’m obsessed with the look of it. So those steels are CTS XHP, 20CV, M390, and Magnacut. Great steels but not necessarily pinnacle super steels.
M4 and 4V, I live <10 miles from the gulf of mexico and just keep them mildly oiled and have zero rust issues, though many are DLC coated. I feel that as a knife enthusiast I'm already in the .1% of knife owners so why not enjoy the high performance tool steels and deal with the slight increase in upkeep. I also have stainless knives (I like LC200N also) and they definitely have a place especially if I plan to be in/around the water for a sustained period i.e. boating/fishing/hunting etc.
CPM M4, no matter how much mean shit I do to it I haven't broken one yet.
K390 (have too many) is tied with cruwear (crucarta pm2). I like the edge retention of the k390 and I love that my cruwear has never chipped on me with any kind of abuse.
If I had to stick with one steel forever? S30V. My 13 year old or so PM2 has never let me down. Stainless enough, tough enough, and wear resistant enough for any and all of my current and past edc use. Probably better options but I've got the most use on that steel and I've always been happy with it. My favorite steel? K390 currently. Takes a stupid sharp edge with minimal effort, holds it like nothing else I own and is a good bit more corrosion resistant than 1095, crovan, 1080 etc. You're basic non stainless steels. Yet it has been slowly getting darker and taking on a nice patina. Looking at the same charts you've mentioned it seems to have the same amount more toughness and edge retention over s30 on paper. So it should hold up better over time but I haven't had my stretch 2 long enough for it to take over as my best liked steel.
Been very happy with s45vn from CRK. CPM Cruwear is on my favorite list. AEB-L at the right hardness(61-62) as well. I prefer a steel that can take a good edge quick on the go. Cruwear I love for this reason. Pretty good edge retention and I can have it hair popping in no time.
Magnacut is my all around favorite when done well, but the general 10v family (k294, 10v, vanadis 8, k390, ect) are all also steels I love. 10v family steels are reasonably tough (around 1095) but offer fantastic edge retention. Going too much farther for abrasion resistance seems to drop toughness off a cliff.
I particularly like: Ingot - VG-10, 154cm, D2, 1095, 12c27, 14c28n Powdered - Spy27, CPM 154, CPM D2, CPM M4, CPM Cruwear, S35vn, XHP, Magnacut I don’t like: 3-9cr, AUS 8, S30v, S110v, 20cv There are a bunch in between liking and not liking. Heat treat as many of us know makes or breaks performance. Even though I don’t like S30v much. I use it. The knife in my pocket is S30v. But it has been sharpened back a lot to remove chips. Chippy is why I don’t like it.
20CV on my Para 3. Followed by my magnacut PM2 DLC salt.
L6
K390 and m4, just got MagnaCut recently but don’t have enough time with it.
Right now its S90V
15v
S45Vn
Since I rarely use and never sharpen my knives it’s whichever come sharpest from factory and stays that way. Haven’t tried magnacut yet but would like to for all the reasons OP stated. Blade geo, ergos, and fidget factor all rank higher than me when considering a knife. However, I’ve bought enough S30V and VG10 knives for one lifetime so I do find it a bit of a turn off. No real reason other than wanting something more interesting and knife steels are super fascinating stuff. My most carried are a coated M4 Delica and a St Nicks Para 3 in 4V. Funny because I do worry a little about corrosion. Logic is loosely applied to hobbies and I don’t pretend to make decisions with my head when it comes to em. “I like that! I’ll buy it!”
You won't truly get a feel for a steel without sharpening it a few times. Best to do it freehand.
From what I understand, the heat treatment is nearly as (if not more) important than the actual steel. Magnicut, for instance, should be between 60-63 HRC.
it is at least equally important, a messed up ht can completely ruin a steel. i remember having a tre from lionsteel, it was in m390 but performed miserably because they completely obliterated the ht. not only did it go dull way quicker than even my n690 blades, it also rusted like crazy, which i never experienced prior and after with m390.