M390 vs. Elmax vs. S35VN

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BaconButcher

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Nov 20, 2014
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HULLO. Another VS. thread for you guys. After browsing, I saw some really nice knife steels able to withstand huge amounts of abuse, and retain edges for extreme periods of time. But, to conclude, I saw that 3 steels in particular were most popular among knife collectors. I personally love the M390, as it has unprecedented edge retention, and can be sharped to hair splitting levels (Not kidding, look it up). But since this is just one opinion, out of the millions out there, I thought that it would be best to ask for others opinions for their recommendation (of these 3 steels, you can suggest others if you like, but state the facts, why do you like it? Etc...), feel free to share personal experiences with these steel. Discussion is now in effect.
 
I think you're over-thinking this.

M-390>Elmax>S35VN

Same thing pretty much everyone else told you in the other thread. But they're all great and IMO if these are the three steels you're looking at you should just pick the knife that you like best and buy it n
 
BaconButcher said:
I saw that 3 steels in particular were most popular among knife collectors.
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I dunno about that.

"Collectors" are usually interested in definitely examples of a particular knife, regardless of steel, with the more unique the better.

"Users" are more likely to go for whatever the 'best' steel is available for a particular knife. After all, unless it's a custom or a sprint run, there's really not much of a choice.

"Steel Snobs" now *they* are the ones who'll turn up their nose at a knife simply cuz it wasn't in steel 'X". And I've seen lots of them wanting S90V and S110V as well.


But, to answer the question ... M390 > Elmax > S35VN
 
When I see a thread with Review in the title I think I am going to see a review of whatever else is in the title. I think you might be using that function incorrectly.

That said, and like others have said, you have them in correct descending order in your misleading title. I have em all and prefer M390 then Elmax then s35vn.
 
As far as performance with comparable heat treats: M390>Elmax>S35VN

Now, my personal preference is S35VN from Chris Reeve. It takes a great edge but doesn't chip/roll easily. Also it's super easy to sharpen on the go; a few swipes with a Fallkniven DC-4 and that edge is ready to work. I can't say the same for Elmax or M390, even though their edge retention is better.
 
craytab said:
When I see a thread with Review in the title I think I am going to see a review of whatever else is in the title. I think you might be using that function incorrectly.

That said, and like others have said, you have them in correct descending order in your misleading title. I have em all and prefer M390 then Elmax then s35vn.
Click to expand...

Sorry bout that. Rather new to the forums. Will consider in the future, thanks.
 
celtic11 said:
I think you're over-thinking this.

M-390>Elmax>S35VN

Same thing pretty much everyone else told you in the other thread. But they're all great and IMO if these are the three steels you're looking at you should just pick the knife that you like best and buy it n
Click to expand...

YES...agreed
 
edge retention is a nice feature to have if you dont sharpen your blades, but ive gotten through a days work with almost every type of steel and all of them needed the strop at the end of the day- from m390 down to aus8.

i like this (dated) article here... anything from upper midrange and above will suit most peoples needs IMO and i think the differences are marginal:
http://bestpocketknifetoday.com/discovering-the-best-knife-steel/

dont overthink the steel- go with what you like.
 
After buying and using knives for 20+ years, I’m now much less concerned about getting ‘the very best’ in edge retention. But this assumes you aren’t too scared of sharpening (i have the Chris onion worksharp). I also have a chris Reeve and I think their S35VN is a great balanced steel - sharpenability, edge retention, toughness. M390 would also work great, as well as Elmax (which I think is underrated) if heat treat is good. I would worry more about getting the right style for you, fit, etc. depending on your sharpening system, M390 would be the most tricky to reprofile. So I’d look for nice precise edge geometry. Maybe ~35 degrees inclusive for steel with vanadium carbides.
 
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I like them all.
With diamond and silicon carbide abrasives, they are all easy to grind.
They perform well and keep the cutting ability for a long time with a relatively coarse edge at #240 refined with 1 micron diamond.

The only gripe I have with S35VN is that it tends to develop a burr difficult to remove.
 
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