Why choose Spy27 over Magnacut?

Sounds like based on user reports Spy27 is worth it's more expensive asking price over s30v. I have a Native 5 in Spy27 I bought before magnacut was even available because I was too paranoid hearing S30V was "chippy" and s35vn had been phased out at the time. I really haven't put the knife through extreme testing but everyday use I've had zero complaints. Since then I did own and use a factory second S30V military and I loved that steel too. I think magnacut on a native 5 may win out since at that point it has no liners and has more corrosion resistance so just makes more sense but with a model that isn't linerless like a salt then Spy27 seems for sure good enough.
 
I've put handles on several Spy27 Mule2's and sharpened them. They do get very sharp easily. I certainly would not compare it to MagnaCut, I've made quite a few custom kitchen knives in it and some hunting knives. It is in a completely different league from Spy27.
 
In some ways they certainly are however Larrin had different design intentions with MagnaCut. He wanted a balanced stainless because there weren't really any balanced stainless knife steels, you either had high wear resistant steels OR tough stainless steels. He wanted a stainless steel with the same properties as CPM Cruwear/Z-wear. Very balanced. Where Spy27 is a great steel, no doubt about it, it has the same issues that the other steels in it's class have, CPM-30v, CPM-35vn, CPM-45VN, they are certainly wear resistant BUT the chromium carbide content in them makes the overall carbide size larger than is conducive to toughness. Larrin designed MagnaCut to have little or no chromium carbides. The Niobium and Vanadium in it refines the grain structure and without the chromium carbides they produce very fine carbides making the steel much tougher as cracks in hardened steel propogate along grain boundaries, with very fine carbides the grain structure is much more refined making the steel tougher.

Spy27 was designed to be an improvement on CPM-30v and it certainly is, to quote Larrin after testing it: "Experimental results of SPY27 line up well with the previously provided predictions. SPY27 has similar obtainable hardness to S35VN and similar corrosion resistance to S30V. The toughness is very close to S35VN. The microstructure confirms somewhat reduced carbide content relative to S35VN, S30V, and S45VN. The steel appears to be relatively well balanced and should do well for Spyderco."

MagnaCut actually surprised Larrin when he did the corrosion resistance testing on it, he expected it to be stainless because of the free chromium in solution even though the chromium content technically clasifies it as a "semi-stainless" but it ended up being almost as stainless as LC2000N which is more than 1 manufacturers are now moving to it in knives designed for fishermen.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a knife in Spy27 BUT I would pay more for the same knife in MagnaCut.
 
I really like SPY27 and Magnacut.
Either will serve you well.
 
Buffalohump said:
I wish Spyderco would publish a downloadable chart of all their steel options... comparing them. There's a lot to keep up with ! I'm still trying to figure out the difference between S35VN and S45VN. 🤨
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I quit wishing anything from Spyderco years ago they seldom publish hrc #, their warranty process is frustrating.... having shed all those tears I still buy their stuff, when they do it right it's super sweet 🧁
 
knarfeng said:
VG10 looks so-so on the charts, but it sings as an actual blade steel in an every day carry knife. I find that VG10 takes an extraordinarily fine edge. Noticeably better than 154CM or ATS34, which are fairly similar in composition.
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When I got my first blade in VG10, an Endura, I was blown away. And by this time I already owned a Manix 2 XL in S30V.
 
I bought the Manix in SPY27 a few years ago. I also bought a Tormek around the same time and setting the edge angle kept eluding me. So go figure I sharpened the Manix on it and ended up with a far too steep an edge. Instead of just grinding more steel away I decided to just use it around the house to see if the thin edge would roll over, chip away, or otherwise fail. Pretty sure the worst I've done with it is quarter up a chicken just to see how sharp it was compared to how sharp I kept my kitchen knife. I thought I was wiggling the edge between bones but I just sliced through the bones. Now this is just chick bones so really no big deal but I didn't even feel it going through them while the kitchen knife needed some effort. It's never needed more than stropping on some compound smeared leather. I need to figure out just how much I laid back that edge. And the regular Tormek wheel stripped the steel off it with ease. It will sharpen S30V but you do feel it skating over the stone a bit without some pressure. Yes, geometry cuts, but good steel keeps it cutting and this combo seems to be working.

And don't sharpen a nice knife on a Tormek until you know for sure what you are doing!!!
 
Maximumbob54 said:
I bought the Manix in SPY27 a few years ago. I also bought a Tormek around the same time and setting the edge angle kept eluding me. So go figure I sharpened the Manix on it and ended up with a far too steep an edge. Instead of just grinding more steel away I decided to just use it around the house to see if the thin edge would roll over, chip away, or otherwise fail. Pretty sure the worst I've done with it is quarter up a chicken just to see how sharp it was compared to how sharp I kept my kitchen knife. I thought I was wiggling the edge between bones but I just sliced through the bones. Now this is just chick bones so really no big deal but I didn't even feel it going through them while the kitchen knife needed some effort. It's never needed more than stropping on some compound smeared leather. I need to figure out just how much I laid back that edge. And the regular Tormek wheel stripped the steel off it with ease. It will sharpen S30V but you do feel it skating over the stone a bit without some pressure. Yes, geometry cuts, but good steel keeps it cutting and this combo seems to be working.

And don't sharpen a nice knife on a Tormek until you know for sure what you are doing!!!
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Yes many knife users . . .
who are not planning to break out of a stalag or cut nails shorter or cut chips off a fully dried hardwood board for no reason at all . . .
. . . tend to underestimate acute edge geometry on a knife with decent steel .
aaaaannnnd if it rolls a little it is stupid easy to go a degree steeper perside on the next sharpening .

e.g., turns a Swiss Army folder from frustrating key fob into a true pleasure to use tool .
 
mooniesdl3 said:
MagnaCut to have little or no chromium carbides. The Niobium and Vanadium in it refines the grain structure and without the chromium carbides they produce very fine carbides making the steel much tougher as cracks in hardened steel propogate along grain boundaries, with very fine carbides the grain structure is much more refined making the steel tougher.
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THANK YOU !
For where I live, high planes desert , and what I do , no fishing or kayaking , I had discounted MagnaCut as yet another stainless that I did not need .
I always just grab M4 or K390 and have everything I usually need in a steel if I am not playing the " how many of these can I cut game ".

I must confess to months ago grinding a Salt 2 in H2 to stupid thin and acute , to play with to test out all the propaganda about how tough / stable edge this stuff is supposed to be . Interesting the manufacturing hardening process of cold rolling it to death .

You may have talked me into doing the same with MagnaCut one of these days.
 
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