CPM MagnaCut – The Next Breakthrough in Knife Steel

Another vote for Jarod Todd. He is my go to for all my stainless steel heat treating, and well worth the cross border shipping. He's done a great job again and again on AEB-L, LC200N, and MagnaCut for me so far.
 
Has anyone tried a rustic heat treat on this? IE heat to non magnetic and quench? I'm curious if it would turn out ok if I tried it at home, but I dont wanna waste a $50 piece of steel.
 
i doubt it. I think it's the latest "super steel." Like all steels it should have it's ups and downs. If it's for you or not depends on how you intend to use it. Then there is proper heat treat and quality control.
 
Chronovore said:
Forgive me if this already came up but how do the experts feel about MagnaCut in large knives (12-14")? Specifically, how would it compare to something like 14C28N?
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14C28N is a very different steel, it is specifically a stainless steel used for Razors. It is very stainless and can be very sharp but is not tough. Magnacut is a stainless tool steel, it is very tough by comparison and will hold an edge longer.
I managed to mangle the edge of a 14C28N Southern Grind Bad Monkey by pushing it through thick cardboard from an appliance box, the edge had visibly rolled. I have used a 4.5” Magnacut blade in the kitchen for over a year now, and have butchered and carved with it, I have caught quite a few bones and only experienced minor rolling in that time.
 
Freedom Pullo said:
14C28N is a very different steel, it is specifically a stainless steel used for Razors. It is very stainless and can be very sharp but is not tough. Magnacut is a stainless tool steel, it is very tough by comparison and will hold an edge longer.
I managed to mangle the edge of a 14C28N Southern Grind Bad Monkey by pushing it through thick cardboard from an appliance box, the edge had visibly rolled. I have used a 4.5” Magnacut blade in the kitchen for over a year now, and have butchered and carved with it, I have caught quite a few bones and only experienced minor rolling in that time.
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According to Larrin Larrin , 14C28N should be significantly tougher than MagnaCut. It's actually supposed to be one of the toughest stainless blade steels.

I'm not sure what was up with your Bad Monkey. Was it a factory edge with fatigue from the factory grinder? Was there something up with the cardboard?
 
Chronovore said:
According to Larrin Larrin , 14C28N should be significantly tougher than MagnaCut. It's actually supposed to be one of the toughest stainless blade steels.

I'm not sure what was up with your Bad Monkey. Was it a factory edge with fatigue from the factory grinder? Was there something up with the cardboard?
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It was likely a bad heat treat or the edge was thin or had a wire edge on it. 14C28N acts very similar to AEB-L, Nitro-V, and 13c26 but with a little more stain resistance and slightly lower attainable hardness. From the user standpoint, you likely won't be able to tell the difference in the steels but you would notice the difference in heat treatment quality.

Magnacut has far better edge retention and stain resistance. Based on Larrin's data, it would be difficult to get rust on a magnacut blade without intentionally trying to get it to rust or playing in salt water and letting it sit instead of drying it. I believe Spydero is planning to use it in some of their salt lineup, to tell you a little about how stain resistant it is.

So far, magnacut sharpens pretty well for how good the edge retention it has. If you're familiar with cruwear, CPM 4V, or vanadis 4e, this is the edge retention/toughness balance Larrin was aiming for. I think it's the sweet spot for small or mid sized knives that will be used for a living. Take those and add a lot of stain resistance and that's kind of what you get with magnacut.

For a large blade, I would prefer AEB-L, 14C28N, etc. because it is tougher, but mainly because it's easier to maintain the edge... and there is a lot of edge on a 12-14" blade. But, magnacut would do well to deter deformation from denting and such, one of the things that annoys me with thinner machetes when cutting dry limbs when I'm maintaining mountain bike trails. I know latin machetes are aimed at greenery but a stronger edge would be nice. They're very easy to clean up in the field and for the price of most latin machetes, understandable. Maganacut is "tough enough" to do well on a large blade as long as you know what it is and isn't. I think if you keep the rockwell in the middle or lower side, it would be better than at the higher hardness. Magnacut will also be noticeably more expensive in that blade length.

This assumes you're doing chopping and brute force tasks with the blade. If you're looking for a long slicer, it would do well. I think as a pig sticker or something, it would be a good choice. You can also get increased edge and blade strength by choosing the grinds to support it. Don't run a thin, full height hollow grind on it, for example.

In summary, I don't think magnacut is the best option for most big blades but it would make a useable blade just fine. This is all in my opinion based on my reading, discussions with makers and users, and my own experiences using the steels. AEB-L, 14c28n, and the similar steels are some I have considerable experience with so I feel very confident in my assessment for that side of the comparison.
 
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Curious how thin behind the edge folks can take magnacut and still have it be practical for EDC/utility knife uses. I just received a Roosevelt Oz and it is super thin behind the edge and slices better than any production folding knife I have used. I am curious how it will hold up to whittling hardwood, encountering a staple in cardboard, etc. A youtuber stated that the BTE thickness of the Roosevelt is about .012.
 
Toivo said:
Curious how thin behind the edge folks can take magnacut and still have it be practical for EDC/utility knife uses. I just received a Roosevelt Oz and it is super thin behind the edge and slices better than any production folding knife I have used. I am curious how it will hold up to whittling hardwood, encountering a staple in cardboard, etc. A youtuber stated that the BTE thickness of the Roosevelt is about .012.
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It has very good edge stability.
 
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