Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

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Bolster
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Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#1

Post by Bolster »

It's human nature, after expecting something wonderful and new, to be disappointed with the reality, which is never as perfect as the mind can imagine.

Do you think we will see a MagnaCut backlash after it's widely available? If not a backlash, perhas a lot of "meh" or "I've seen better" responses?

Or, do you think most owners of MagnaCut will be blown away by its performance? Will it become "THE" new knife steel by popular demand?

Or, do you think most new MagnaCutters will have a rational view of it as a well-balanced steel that excels within its particular niche?

I'm expecting option 3 from THIS crowd, but I'm curious what'll happen out there amongst the masses.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#2

Post by ladybug93 »

there's definitely enough hype and excitement that people are going to be disappointed. we've already seen it with some people that opted out of trying for the mule. as someone that's perfectly content with s30v and lc200n, i can't imagine i could be disappointed by magnacut.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#3

Post by nerdlock »

I don't think regular folks who rarely use their knives other than for light cutting purposes will be blown away by Magnacut. One of the main selling point of the steel is its toughness, after all, a characteristic that isn't usually felt unless these blades are put to moderate to hard use.

We've already seen a few people here in the forum being disappointed by the edge retention rating of this steel.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#4

Post by RustyIron »

Bolster wrote:
Wed Dec 08, 2021 10:00 pm
do you think most owners of MagnaCut will be blown away by its performance? Will it become "THE" new knife steel by popular demand?
Yes. Fanboys are going to be all gaga over Magnacut for a while. After the novelty wears off, many will become ambivalent. Another "new" steel will come along, and only those heavily invested in a bunch of Magnacut knives will stubbornly maintain that it's still the best thing for slicing bread.

The objective among us will use it, play with it, learn about it, and find that it still has limitations just like any other metal since Dagrim first threw a chunk of malachite into the fire and discovered metallic copper.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#5

Post by abbazaba »

Shoulda made it a poll!

I think Larrin said somewhere he was aiming for something similar to the M4 user experience minus the corrosion? I'm excited.

Not everyone loves every steel. With expectations so high, there is likely to be some disappointment. I'm still trying to understand why anyone would want S110v or Maxamet over M4 or K390 ;). We're all so lucky.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#6

Post by Doc Dan »

There are some personality types that simply want to sound cool and in the know who will put down Magnacut shortly after it is released. This is based on zero actual evidence, only manufactured claims. Bank on it.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#7

Post by Fireman »

If there is a backlash, smart people will just have a cheap source of Maggie cut on the secondary market. What could people not be happy with? That it does not hold an edge like Rex121? They won’t be upset about corrosion resistance or edge stability or toughness. The real issue won’t be about Maggie Cut but heat treat.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#8

Post by Wandering_About »

Having had a couple MagnaCut knives for a while... I think it's pretty awesome stuff. But there are probably a lot of very unrealistic expectations out there that are not going to be met. It was designed for balance, and I feel that it does that extremely well. In my personal experience, at ~62Rc it can hold up well with a thin, fine edge. If you're expecting magic though, simmer down please.

Here are a few notes from my experiences: On sharpening stones, it feels surprisingly similar to S35VN. But it takes a fine edge a bit more easily, and has much better edge stability (although my experience with S35VN is typically around 60Rc). Toughness is pretty good. Following picture is of a saw made exclusively with a custom blade in MagnaCut at 62Rc. I broke 3 batons while making this. This blade is made of 1/8" stock. There are other steels that can hold up to this kind of abuse, but this knife has a very thin edge, and is very stainless, and still sharpens up nicely. Again... balance.

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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#9

Post by Bolster »

RustyIron wrote:
Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:00 pm
...only those heavily invested in a bunch of Magnacut knives will stubbornly maintain that it's still the best thing for slicing bread...

Roaring LOL, well said, man.

Wandering_About wrote:
Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:15 pm
On sharpening stones, it feels surprisingly similar to S35VN. But it takes a fine edge a bit more easily, and has much better edge stability (although my experience with S35VN is typically around 60Rc). Toughness is pretty good. Following picture is of a saw made exclusively with a custom blade in MagnaCut at 62Rc.

Thanks for the preview, and may I be the first to say: Awesome field-made saw!!
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#10

Post by kobold »

Youtubers will tell to most of us what to think. :zany
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#11

Post by Evil D »

I already said it once, there will be those who still prefer other steels, it's inevitable. People need to stay grounded and remember what the steel really is and what it's really not, and I think most knife guys seem to want endless edge retention, and when this steel doesn't hold an edge as long as they predetermined that it should, they'll come back around saying _______ steel is still better and MagnaCut is all hype.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#12

Post by Toucan »

Bolster wrote:
Wed Dec 08, 2021 10:00 pm
It's human nature, after expecting something wonderful and new, to be disappointed with the reality, which is never as perfect as the mind can imagine.

Do you think we will see a MagnaCut backlash after it's widely available? If not a backlash, perhas a lot of "meh" or "I've seen better" responses?

Or, do you think most owners of MagnaCut will be blown away by its performance? Will it become "THE" new knife steel by popular demand?

Or, do you think most new MagnaCutters will have a rational view of it as a well-balanced steel that excels within its particular niche?

I'm expecting option 3 from THIS crowd, but I'm curious what'll happen out there amongst the masses.
Call me cynical, but I think there's gonna be a lot of youtube videos of yahoos trying to baton a gnarly knotted log with a linerless FRN 3", 3mm Magnacut folder -- and when things obviously go wrong, they're gonna say the steel was all fluff and hype.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#13

Post by Matus »

It is just a human nature. Those who invested time and effort to learn a bit about steels & knives won't be expecting a miracle, but rather a steel with some interesting mix of properties that has not been available before. Those who see magnacut as the next unicorn may be disappointed if the balance of the properties is not what they target.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#14

Post by rhaug »

Based on my limited knowledge, I expect that MagnaCut will make its way to become a new default steel. As such, it will serve many knife users well with its great balance of corrosion resistance, toughness and edge retention.

As far as I understand, it is neither more expensive nor harder to make than current default steels such as S35VN, but has them beat by improved performance, particularly in toughness. Higher toughness allows for edge geometry that is more cutting friendly, which should lead to blades that cut better while sustaining less damage to the edge as compared to less tough steels. I think edge geometry is a deciding factor in real world use that is hard to control for in scientific testing as it introduces another dimension of variables.

If cost and availability are no hinderance, I'd expect MagnaCut to outperform similarly priced steels and thus become the steel of choice for the majority of "regular" knife users, i.e. users seeking balance rather than outlier performance within any single attribute of the steel (i.e. extreme corrosion resistance or edge retention)

This is only my expectation, based on forum reading and intuition rather than real world experience of this steel yet. I should probably extend my argumentation by including more specific data points or examples. But I'm too lazy.

Personally, I'm holding off on any major knife purchases for the foreseeable future, as I'm well set up for my needs and I'm excited to invest in some well made MagnaCut cutlery when it becomes available.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#15

Post by Tgmr05 »

Based on Spydercos first model choice available , other than a mule, it should be apparent how the steel will perform, and how its performance will be perceived.

Example, imagine lc200n being initially offered in a para 2….
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#16

Post by JRinFL »

Backlash? Sure, it has already started.

MagnaCut has all I want and need in a steel and it hits the sweet spot as far as I am concerned. For those who are single column performance junkies, well, it's not likely to impress. Of course, I'm now pretty honest about my actual needs when it comes to blade steels. Vivi does so much with his thinned out H1, far more than I do, and if H1 performs so well for him, then MC will be beyond what I need.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#17

Post by Snacktime »

Marketing, S30V doesn't sell products anymore so it's time for something that does. Spyderco is trying Spy27, S45V and now Magnacut. I remember when I just got into knives and would search by steel and length online to find something to try. With YouTubers controlling the masses I could see this steel staying popular for a while, it's easily the most middle of the road steel with a good name. Sad but the next standard steel will be decided over media content. Magnacut will most likely have a 4-5 year run for standard base steel.

Side note:
Spyderco needs to rename Spy27 to something catchy to compete with Magnacut.
Last edited by Snacktime on Thu Dec 09, 2021 8:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#18

Post by James Y »

When the “new super steel” excitement wears off, I’m certain there will be a lot of people who will be complaining that it doesn’t live up to the hype. A few years after it becomes common, some will be saying it sucks, like many do about S30V now. Many will love it and some won’t, like every other steel. And some will bash it because they watched a YouTube vid or read a post bashing it, and it’s the cool thing to do.

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Last edited by James Y on Thu Dec 09, 2021 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#19

Post by Snacktime »

Double post..
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Re: Will there be a MagnaCut backlash?

#20

Post by p_atrick »

kobold wrote:
Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:34 am
Youtubers will tell to most of us what to think. :zany

There are a far greater number of knife people who spend their time on YT than on niche forums like this (I'd lump Facebook groups and Instagram into the YT category of content). These places can be a bit more hyperbolic than this forum (though we are plenty exuberant on our own). I've fallen victim to YT hype before (hello Nano Oil!). So yes, there will be some sort of a let-down. I hope it is more deflationary than backlash. The last thing I want to see/hear is more ranting about how companies like Spyderco are trying to "swindle" us out of our money by charging higher prices and "forcing" scarcity in the market for a steel that's "no better" than [insert some inferior steel here].

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