M390 vs 3V

bladeflana

bladeflana

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Ok tell me the benefits of M390 over 3V.

Feel free to send me a link to a thread addressing this.

Thx
 
M390 comes from Bohler out of Austria I believe. I had a knife in N690 from the same steel manufacturer and it was a real work horse of a knife.

CPM 3V is made here in the States by Crucible which I have several blades in and all get a fair amount of use. This is my go to steel. Performs better than everything else I've had.
 
your comparing one of the most premium stainless steels to the toughest tool steel, Why?
 
20CV is the American made equivalent of M390.
 
Thanks guys for the direction and guidance. Helps me make a good decision.

I will say that I am not sure why when a 4.1 comes up for sale on the Exchange here that everyone goes "ooh" and "ah" over it and you can get premium dollar for one (almost $300). What was so special about 4.1's in M390 vs the 3v now offered? Wasn't 4.1 offered in 20CV at some point as well?
 
bladeflana said:
Thanks guys for the direction and guidance. Helps me make a good decision.

I will say that I am not sure why when a 4.1 comes up for sale on the Exchange here that everyone goes "ooh" and "ah" over it and you can get premium dollar for one (almost $300). What was so special about 4.1's in M390 vs the 3v now offered? Wasn't 4.1 offered in 20CV at some point as well?
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Guy is all about trying out premium steels. Perhaps to the point he doesn't come out ahead. Keep in mind, he's a perfectionist. His work proves it over and over so when you see an SK! anywhere, it's what you think it's worth to you. You. That's it.

If you've never owned one (assuming you don't already) it is worth the wait. They're really that good. Guy's OCD, Premium Materials, Saber Grind, Peter's HT, Interchangeable Handles...He practically gives them away. I have $500+ knives that don't compare to SK! So if you're on the fence about getting one, well now you have more reason to consider it.
 
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I have owned over 10 of various lengths and currently own only 3, but I have never owned one in M390. All mine are 3V.

Oh, and they are not safe queens...not a fanboy.
 
fishface5 said:
Actually the 3 are very close but not exactly identical in composition
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Even two lots of the same steel are not exactly the same in composition. I doubt that anybody can tell the difference just by using the knives.
 
There was one on eBay last week that sold for $265 and I almost bid on it just to see how m390 worked. I was really impressed with that steel after watching the torture test that Guy did on one. I think I'll have to own one someday just because of curiosity.
 
bladeflana said:
Ok tell me the benefits of M390 over 3V
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It really comes down to what you want.

There is a tradeoff in tool steels- a steel can be tough or it can have good wear resistance, but it is hard to have both. Different steels will optimize towards one property or the other, and can move the tradeoff point up or down the scale. M390 is on the side of high wear resistance (ability to hold an edge), 3V is on the side of high toughness. For some uses you might like M390, for other uses you might like 3V. You just have to match the steel to your needs.
 
Thanks and that has been my understanding. I perhaps should have been more specific in my question and that is this: M390 has a weird, "cult" following when it comes to SK available items in the Exchange. Of course most of what Guy is currently pumping out is in 3V so M390 is either out or on hold for a while (never know about new models and what further experimentation and research may reveal) and he may move from 3V to another steel that is even more in line with his philosophy of what his knives should be providing in terms of their build, use and customer expectations.

Therefore, saying all that, that is where my question comes from is what is the difference between M390 and 3V in terms of preference.

I believe that an M390 blade, being more in the camp of S30V and other "stainless" steels, which has a finer grain and very excellent edge retention, would begin to fall apart in the field in terms of practicality because if you cannot sharpen your knife on a piece of granite rock, like you would be able to with 3V, then what's the use? You may lose your pack with your diamond sharpening stone and then where are you when you dull it out? Additionally, you give up toughness (ability to bend/give under lateral pressure) with the "stainless" steels, unlike the tool steels such as 1095, 4140, O1, A2, 3V, Z-Wear, PD#1, etc....

Hope that helps everyone.

bdmicarta said:
It really comes down to what you want.

There is a tradeoff in tool steels- a steel can be tough or it can have good wear resistance, but it is hard to have both. Different steels will optimize towards one property or the other, and can move the tradeoff point up or down the scale. M390 is on the side of high wear resistance (ability to hold an edge), 3V is on the side of high toughness. For some uses you might like M390, for other uses you might like 3V. You just have to match the steel to your needs.
Click to expand...
 
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