Can’t wait for new Spyderco K390 series
- Thread starter DocT
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wow, this seems to be really popular, I'm surprized k390 is holding up as well as reported...
thing is, if you have cpm-m4, it feels like it stays sharp forever (imho)
I honestly don't think I need higher edge retention
so you guys go 2 months between sharpening? 4 months? half year?... honestly curious
thing is, if you have cpm-m4, it feels like it stays sharp forever (imho)
I honestly don't think I need higher edge retention
so you guys go 2 months between sharpening? 4 months? half year?... honestly curious
K390 is an awesome cutlery steel for folders and makes perfect sense to me to be the next 'common super steel' IMHO...its edge stability is just stellar. Now also might be an optimal time to launch a full K390 line as well, as it seems like diamonds have become much more common in the sharpening arsenals of many knife owners. When Spyderco launched their ZDP-189, I didn't own anything very optimal to sharpen it, and it seemed like many knife enthusiasts did not at that point in time.
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I thought Pete (Cedric & Ada on youtube) made a good point in his review of the K390 Ladybug: when you've got a smaller blade, and therefore less edge length to spread wear over, the benefit of really high edge retention is magnified. On something like the Dragonfly (2.25" blade) or Ladybug (1.94"), your ability to shift to a different part of the blade when the sweet spot dulls is pretty limited. As I mentioned earlier, the only production steel these models are offered in that has notable edge retention is ZDP-189, which is much less tough than K390 (and was actually out-performed by K390 in edge retention in Larrin's testing). If you look at why the ZDP-189 variant of the Dragonfly is popular, K390 offers a performance upgrade for a negligible price difference ($98 vs $94.50 on BHQ).
How it compares to M4 isn't particularly relevant to these knives, since none of the Spyderco K390 production knives have been offered in variants with anything similar to M4. Even accounting for limited production variants, S90V is the only other steel that has comparable performance to K390 (and that was a 600 knife dealer exclusive Delica; none of the others have anything other than the ZDP versions for high edge retention steels).
The review:
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A K390 uncoated blade will rust easily and for an EDC it's not convenient so I will not buy a K390 knife if it's not DLC.
I hope Spyderco will offer the DLC option for interested buyers.
I hope k390 (or equivalent) makes it into the Golden and Taichung models. Given the recent success of M4 and REX-45, I think demand would be high.
The elephant in the room is that k390 is only made in Austria (as far as I am aware). If subject to tarriffs, it raises the already substantial cost of shipping. It’s probably more likely that analogues from Crucible (CPM 10V) or Carpenter (Micro-melt A11) get used in Golden and perhaps Taichung.
It would be cool if Sal (or another knife manufacturer) could convince either Crucible or Carpenter to to modify A11 or 10V by adding Niobium and Cobalt to improve hardness and toughness. If SPY27 ends up being a success, hopefully we will see more of this.
The elephant in the room is that k390 is only made in Austria (as far as I am aware). If subject to tarriffs, it raises the already substantial cost of shipping. It’s probably more likely that analogues from Crucible (CPM 10V) or Carpenter (Micro-melt A11) get used in Golden and perhaps Taichung.
It would be cool if Sal (or another knife manufacturer) could convince either Crucible or Carpenter to to modify A11 or 10V by adding Niobium and Cobalt to improve hardness and toughness. If SPY27 ends up being a success, hopefully we will see more of this.
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I have a much carried and used Urban Light Weight K390 that has yet to show a single spot of rust, yet I live near the sea where the air is salty and humid. So, while not a “stainless” steel, it resists rust pretty well.
oldmanwilly
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Has anyone gotten their hands on a K390 Police? I am waiting for Knifecenter to fulfill my pre-order for one and am anxious to know what others think about it.
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The Police was one of the first K390 models Spyderco offered, going back a few years. I recall people complaining about lock rock, but otherwise a great knife.
I have a PM2 and am currently carrying an Endura in K390.
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Do we know toughness yet?
In another BF thread, I found a post that said “The Bucorp lit shows the impact resistance of 10V (K390’s parent alloy) to be about 75% that of K390 at 61HRc.” –cm bushman. If calculating from 10V, Larrin plots 10V at 7-8 ft lbs (unknown test) across 61-65 Rc. If that's 75%, then K390 would calc to 9-11 ft lbs by that same test. Does this seem a reasonable extrapolation?
In another BF thread, I found a post that said “The Bucorp lit shows the impact resistance of 10V (K390’s parent alloy) to be about 75% that of K390 at 61HRc.” –cm bushman. If calculating from 10V, Larrin plots 10V at 7-8 ft lbs (unknown test) across 61-65 Rc. If that's 75%, then K390 would calc to 9-11 ft lbs by that same test. Does this seem a reasonable extrapolation?
I've always understood 10V to be very similar to K390 in performance, so it would be in the same ballpark. I would be hesitant to assume you can extrapolate accurate numbers the way you are asking though.
Is there any reason you need specific numbers rather than an approximate expectation of what it would be capable of? Are you planning on doing some tests or usage that will push performance close to where it will fail?
Is there any reason you need specific numbers rather than an approximate expectation of what it would be capable of? Are you planning on doing some tests or usage that will push performance close to where it will fail?
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Thanks! Do you have a rationale why extrapolation might not work, or is this a general caution against extrapolation? (BTW, it's not "my" extrapolation, it's CM Bushman's.)
Yes, I have several reasons for wanting that number, and so far, Larrin doesn't supply it (or I missed it). I was not aware that such knowledge was on a "need to know" basis.
I am just saying I personally would be hesitant to say extrapolating from that would give me much confidence of an accurate figure, given that you are going off data from one random source that doesn't seem to offer much information as to how scientifically the test was carried out, then combining results with someone else's tests doesn't strike me as having much of a chance of getting an accurate result. Just my opinion. You can do what you wish, but given you have asked for exact numbers, it would seem odd(to me) to take that as a baseline.
LOL. Maybe someone else has this information and is willing to share it with you.
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Well stated, and agreed. I basically have no valid data on K390 toughness at this point. Thanks for the caution. If and when toughness results are published it will be interesting to come back and see if 9-11ft lbs (by whatever test Larrin uses--I don't know that either!) was even close to reality.