I hear you on not blindly following hype, but magnacut seems to be a nice well balanced steel that should be a nice addition to play around with. It'll be my first knife with it.
I'm interested to see how it compares to SR-101. Will it feel kind of like a stainless version of that with more abrasion resistance? Will it handle thin edges as well? I don't imagine it'll be as tough as SR-101 but should be like a stainless 4V and they use that in the cutting competitions so it should be plenty tough for some serious use and hold a fine edge well.
Should also be like Busse's Elmax but tougher and more stainless by all accounts.
Factory mass-produced knives have heat treats that can often be lack luster, hence why I haven't felt the urge to buy any magnacut knives. (besides, Jerry has all my money anyways)
The swamp has tested this extensively and I'm confident they wouldn't bother with it if it didn't offer something unique above their current offerings. I mean, look how long they've stuck with "old" ingot steels, they're not chasing the latest fads or flavor of the month. They use what works and as Jerry has said, if something better comes along, rest assured they'll use it.
They'll no doubt make this magnacut something special versus what you can get from more mass produced offerings on the market.
They understand that just hitting a Rockwell hardness target isn't nearly as important as having a proper microstructure and that's why I love and spend my money on Bussekin, because they get this and therefore give me the performance I crave.
All that said, and steel aside, these guys have this uncanny ability to make designs that I can't ignore. Heck, even when I do and I pass on an offering, inevitably, a few weeks pass and I'm back and have to get it after all!
No doubt, this knife will only continue that trend.
