M390 or CPM S30V

J

Jan Z

Joined
May 28, 2019
Messages
14
Which one is better?
I own both and am hard pressed to choose one better than the other, your opinion?
 
I greatly prefer M390. S30V varies greatly on the company, heat treat, etc. I find it to be very hit or miss.
 
I own a Kershaw and Sog boneing in S30v and a couple of Benchmades with M390 and frankly all four are wonderful to own.
The little Valet knife is a favourite for me around the house as it's small and very handy.
The Blur and Barrage are my edc going out blades. I use the SOG in the kitchen after modifying the handle.
I'm leaning towards the M390 as my steel of choice as well.
 
Larrin said:
M390 came before S30V. You can see M390 as an upgrade if you wish, but not chronologically.
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When did M390 become a popular/household knife steel?

I know I encountered S30V before M390.

Edit:
I prefer M390, just to answer the OPs question.
 
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Rykjeklut said:
When did M390 become a popular/household knife steel?

I know I encountered S30V before M390.

Edit:
I prefer M390, just to answer the OPs question.
Click to expand...
I don't see any mention of it prior to 20CV on bladeforums. 20CV started showing up around 2004 or 2005 I think. I don't think M390 was available in good sizes prior to 20CV. So they were leaders in developing it but followers when getting into knives it seems.
 
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Bill1170 said:
Both are good, and I prefer M390.
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miso2 said:
I prefer M390, too.
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etc., etc.,
er . . . why ? . . .
I agree, of course, but let me say why.
I'm one of those crazies, minorities, that prefers push cutters (do push cutting in my work) (and for fun) and I like to look at sharpening bevels that are polished and winking back at me.
S30V can get that sharp and take that kind of edge.
M390 can get that sharp and take that kind of edge.

S30V really requires diamonds to get sharp, especially polished sharp, and . . . I hate using diamonds (got piles of 'em . . . even the latest Matrix diamond stones kind of T me off cause the stone gets black and I'm supposed to leave it that way . . . I like looking at a nice clean swarf free stone ready to go. I guess that's just a personal flaw of mine.

M390 might benefit from diamonds at the last couple of stones but can take a mirror and have a durable edge that lasts and lasts . . . without those funny diamond stones.

S30V looses that push cutting crazy hair whittling edge in minutes after some serious use.
I hate that. It's like when you tell the paper delivery person to not throw the paper in the bushes but put it in the box near the mail box and they leave it near the box on the ground in the snow. Close but no banana.
Sure it will saw away for ever after wards . . . for me an edge isn't sharp unless I can push cut little microscopic curls off stuff . . . again I'm not saying that is rational but I can't help what I like. :mad: :eek: o_O :)

M390 . . . ahhhhhh . . . I love the polished edge M390 takes AND HOLDS FOR A LONG TIME ! ! !
No diamonds required to touch up M390 !
In addition I REALY enjoy some of the knives M390 was offered in too !
:( One or two I can only admire from afar because they are not available and people hold onto them like rare prized possessions (which they are).

I hope I've given some sort of clue as to my preference. ;)
 
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Rykjeklut said:
When did M390 become a popular/household knife steel?

I know I encountered S30V before M390.

Edit:
I prefer M390, just to answer the OPs question.
Click to expand...
I don't know that m390 is actually made into kitchen knives. I repurposed an SOG boning knife in s30v into my kitchen and it's quite handy.
 
I prefer M390 for its stainlessness. I find S30V in my Lil Native
a superior EDC steel since it is so easy to touch up.
M390 in my Spyderco PM2 (blue scales) gets carried a lot
but used little. It is hair popping sharp. My 2 other PM2 S30V
knives are also used infrequently...and I have sharpened them.
The M390 one still does not need it.
 
I was researching a knife I was interested in that happened to have an M390 blade. I found many who said that the Italians do a poor job on the heat treatment of M390.
The point being that as the first replier said, there are other factors that make the difference. The type of steel isn't going to save it a poor heat treatment. Bad geometry renders a blade difficult to use.
 
I really enjoy m390. It is relatively easy to sharpen, I leave it pretty coarse.
My experience with s30v across the board is I can put a nice edge on it, but the true zippy, razor edge is gone after a few cuts, leaving a good, serviceable blade for a long time.

Russ
 
S30V is a fine blade steel.
It does NOT require diamond sharpeners to get and maintain an extremely keen edge...ceramic stones work just fine.
And S30V does not micro-chip like some harder steels.
No doubt heat treatment does matter...but that matters in all blade steels.
 
allenC said:
S30V is a fine blade steel.
It does NOT require diamond sharpeners to get and maintain an extremely keen edge...ceramic stones work just fine.
And S30V does not micro-chip like some harder steels.
No doubt heat treatment does matter...but that matters in all blade steels.
Click to expand...

3/5ths of the the S30V knives I owned microchipped/chipped quickly doing mundane, light to medium duty tasks.
 
I’d prefer M390 mostly due to how it sharpens. I enjoy sharpening M390. That isn’t the case for S30V or most “super steels”. I’ve blunted M390, but I’ve never chipped it. I can’t say the same for S30V, either. S30V is still a pretty good steel, but given it’s characteristics, I’d choose something like 154(both versions) over it as well.
 
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