k390 vs s110v for light duty edc

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Heckeng

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Apr 17, 2015
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Is there any advantage for somebody to choose a K390 steel over and S110V for EDC? From what I’m reading, it seems like they are pretty comparable except the K390 will rust much easier if not maintained properly. Any other features that I missing here? I am a Para 3 addict and I prefer the S110V steel generally speaking but I ordered a K390 and really like the ranger green G10 so I’m thinking about swapping an S110V blade in there and selling the K390 with different scales. Or do I need to keep the K390 blade?
 
S110V - wont rust, holds an edge better, harder to sharpen until you get the hang of it.
K390 - might be slightly tougher than S110V (?). Patina.
 
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Probably would be better off returning the K390 Para3 and getting custom green scales for the S110V one you have.

K390 and tool steels in general seem overkill to me in a folding knife that size. Tool steels are known more for toughness in heavy duty cutting and not rolling/chipping etc. For light duty, stainless works great.

Having a heavy duty folder with a tool steel is a good thing to have, again right tool for the right job. When it comes to the gnarlier stuff that might damage the edge, I have my Spyderco Gayle Bradley in CPM-M4. It's a beast.

To me, in a sub 3" folder, steels like K390 are more of the cool kids club. For a folder, most of the time I'll take stainless and edge retention over toughness. I only have two folders that are not stainless (I believe).

The para 3 is nice, especially the law, I have one in Spy27 and it's good.
 
K.O.D. said:
Probably would be better off returning the K390 Para3 and getting custom green scales for the S110V one you have.

K390 and tool steels in general seem overkill to me in a folding knife that size. Tool steels are known more for toughness in heavy duty cutting and not rolling/chipping etc. For light duty, stainless works great.

Having a heavy duty folder with a tool steel is a good thing to have, again right tool for the right job. When it comes to the gnarlier stuff that might damage the edge, I have my Spyderco Gayle Bradley in CPM-M4. It's a beast.

To me, in a sub 3" folder, steels like K390 are more of the cool kids club. For a folder, most of the time I'll take stainless and edge retention over toughness. I only have two folders that are not stainless (I believe).

The para 3 is nice, especially the law, I have one in Spy27 and it's good.
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K390 is usually run harder by Spyderco than s110v. And even at that hardness is more tough. Which equates to better edge stability.

Also S110v has a bit more of edge retention in a controlled environment but in real life use k390 will probably be a bit better due to higher hardness since it will avoid micro rollings.

However S110V is stainless so they are both good options depending on what you want.
 
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K390 has the advantages i listed above in the response to kod.

But for light use. S110V may be better since rust resistant
 
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Currently owning Spyderco in K390 and S110V. For me the K390 has been a mistake. But only because it rusts.
It has not seen water or rain or even humid weather. It develops rust spots just sitting in my jeans pocket often enough.

S110V seems to be great. No chipping or any other issues at all.
 
Nuuskamuikku said:
Currently owning Spyderco in K390 and S110V. For me the K390 has been a mistake. But only because it rusts.
It has not seen water or rain or even humid weather. It develops rust spots just sitting in my jeans pocket often enough.

S110V seems to be great. No chipping or any other issues at all.
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Hm, thanks. I was thinking about jumping in K390 head first with models like the coming SE Police and the XL Stretch, but maybe I should just get a Dragonfly and see how I go first. Is the rust on your Spyderco red rust or patina?
 
If corrosion resistance is an issue for you, I would say go with S110V. I don't think you will notice much of a difference in edge retention for light use.

K390 will just give you piece of mind if you want to cut something that might require a bit more edge stability. With S110V you just have to be mindful of the fact that it doesn't like lateral stress etc
 
Not to rob the op thread. I'm a farmer and use my knives pretty hard. Not abuse. Just getting into Spyderco and sv30 in other knives hasnt work for me at all unless you like to sharpen weekly. Wold 110 or 390 be better suited? Currently using sv45n in para 3 and loving it. Not sure if the full flat grind may help me also. Looking for a para 2 in something
 
chalby said:
If corrosion resistance is an issue for you, I would say go with S110V. I don't think you will notice much of a difference in edge retention for light use.

K390 will just give you piece of mind if you want to cut something that might require a bit more edge stability. With S110V you just have to be mindful of the fact that it doesn't like lateral stress etc
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A microconvexed bevel could take care of that, but I think after two or three sharpenings, once we removed the factory burned material, any PM steel can take care of itself. Especially with the thick TBE in all the production knives.
 
Deereman7 said:
Not to rob the op thread. I'm a farmer and use my knives pretty hard. Not abuse. Just getting into Spyderco and sv30 in other knives hasnt work for me at all unless you like to sharpen weekly. Wold 110 or 390 be better suited? Currently using sv45n in para 3 and loving it. Not sure if the full flat grind may help me also. Looking for a para 2 in something
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Hi Deereman, what kind of materials are you cutting the most? I find a Spyderedge (serrated) will outlast a plain edge in the same steel.
 
AntDog said:
For “light duty edc” you really don’t need either one. This is purely your personal preference.
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That was my first thought. K390 and S110V are both very highly wear resistant. Kinda like wearing Redwing work boots to lounge around the house.

If the knife isn't going to be used frequently or heavily, it kinda behooves you to stick with stainless steel. The advantages in using K390 over S110V are going to be rather moot if it's not a "working" knife.

Deereman7 said:
Not to rob the op thread. I'm a farmer and use my knives pretty hard. Not abuse. Just getting into Spyderco and sv30 in other knives hasnt work for me at all unless you like to sharpen weekly. Wold 110 or 390 be better suited? Currently using sv45n in para 3 and loving it. Not sure if the full flat grind may help me also. Looking for a para 2 in something
Click to expand...

Kinda depends on what you're cutting. Generally speaking, there's a trade-off between wear resistance and toughness. K390 and S110V are highly wear resistant and thus perhaps more likely to suffer damage from "accidental abuse" like an unintended twist or hitting a staple or wire. Without knowing specifics, I'd be inclined suggest something like M390, CPM 20CV, or CTS 204p. Those 3 steels are close to identical and essentially interchangeable, and are some of the best, if not the best all-around use steels currently available. Very corrosion resistant, high wear resistance, etc. I'm not certain on how "tough" they are, but I would guess that they're more forgiving than S90V or S110V. If you have the skills and equipment to get S30V sharp, you'll be able to get those steels very sharp without any difficulty and you'll be sharpening it less.

Speaking only for myself, I've used both CTS 204p and K390 on cardboard quite a bit at work, and the 204p is significantly better than S30V and CPM-154. K390 is even a step or 3 above that. However, if I had to choose only one, I'd chose the 204p (or M390 or 20CV, but 204p is the version I own) because it's less "specialized" and definitely a better "all around" steel for my needs (my non-stainless knives are currently "on vacation" until monsoon season is over). There's a good reason that so many high-end knives right now are made in M390 and CPM 20CV.
 
It depends on what you put your EDC knife through on a daily basis.
Either one could be (or might be;) overkill for a lot of applications.
If you can put an edge on it: S110 would be in my pocket...
 
kobold said:
Hm, thanks. I was thinking about jumping in K390 head first with models like the coming SE Police and the XL Stretch, but maybe I should just get a Dragonfly and see how I go first. Is the rust on your Spyderco red rust or patina?
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It is red rust for sure. For some reason it does not develope any patina. I’ve thought about forcing a patina or acid washing it, but not tried it yet.
 
Nuuskamuikku said:
It is red rust for sure. For some reason it does not develope any patina. I’ve thought about forcing a patina or acid washing it, but not tried it yet.
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Thanks! I did an image search and I like the blue hue, but it forms patina weirdly, not uniformly like Maxamet. Forcing maybe a good idea.
 
Planterz said:
That was my first thought. K390 and S110V are both very highly wear resistant. Kinda like wearing Redwing work boots to lounge around the house.

If the knife isn't going to be used frequently or heavily, it kinda behooves you to stick with stainless steel. The advantages in using K390 over S110V are going to be rather moot if it's not a "working" knife.



Kinda depends on what you're cutting. Generally speaking, there's a trade-off between wear resistance and toughness. K390 and S110V are highly wear resistant and thus perhaps more likely to suffer damage from "accidental abuse" like an unintended twist or hitting a staple or wire. Without knowing specifics, I'd be inclined suggest something like M390, CPM 20CV, or CTS 204p. Those 3 steels are close to identical and essentially interchangeable, and are some of the best, if not the best all-around use steels currently available. Very corrosion resistant, high wear resistance, etc. I'm not certain on how "tough" they are, but I would guess that they're more forgiving than S90V or S110V. If you have the skills and equipment to get S30V sharp, you'll be able to get those steels very sharp without any difficulty and you'll be sharpening it less.

Speaking only for myself, I've used both CTS 204p and K390 on cardboard quite a bit at work, and the 204p is significantly better than S30V and CPM-154. K390 is even a step or 3 above that. However, if I had to choose only one, I'd chose the 204p (or M390 or 20CV, but 204p is the version I own) because it's less "specialized" and definitely a better "all around" steel for my needs (my non-stainless knives are currently "on vacation" until monsoon season is over). There's a good reason that so many high-end knives right now are made in M390 and CPM 20CV.
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M390 is equally as tough is not a little less though than s90v.

M390 is more stain resistant than s90v and s110v

M390 is less tough than k390

M390 is overated. It got it's fame due to third generation powder metallurgy propaganda which was debunked by larrins. Is just almost S30v. It has a bit more wear resistant than S30v and is more stainless.

I don't see any big difference between S30v and m390. The reason why m390 is usually decently better is because is on more expensive knives and tough have a better treatment.
 
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