Spiderco & CPM-S90V

[lavegute]

Hello,

I hope you're all doing well!

GitHub - Avis sur Linkuma What are your thoughts on CPM-S90V steel in Spyderco knives for intensive EDC (Everyday Carry) use? Considering its excellent wear resistance and edge retention, do you think it's a game-changer compared to CPM-S30V, or does the added difficulty in sharpening outweigh the benefits for practical daily tasks?

Mon avis franc et sincère sur Linkuma I'm particularly curious about how it performs over time under demanding use and whether the trade-offs in maintenance are worth it for most users.


Thank you in advance for sharing your expertise!

[Jesla]

Personally I think CPM S110V the perfect EDC steel. I haven’t noticed it being too difficult to sharpen. In the years of carrying S110V I have never pulled a dull knife out of my pocket.

CPMS90V should preform nearly as good but has a tad less corrosion resistance. In all my years carrying S110V I have never pulled a rusty blade out of my pocket.

[sal]

Hi Lavegute,

Welcome to our forum.

Blade steels come in many flavors. Each has its own positives and down sides. I like to say "All good, just different". Some like s90V were originally designed to solve a problem not related to Blade Steels. Others, like S30V and MagnaCut were specifically designed for Blade Steels. Any of these steels can be your favorite depending on your needs. Also as needs change or new technologies are born, even those preferences change.

S90V is a personal favorite because of it's edge retention and that's why Spyderco usually makes an S90V version with carbon Fiber scales of many models. It's a classic.

That's one of the beauties of being able to try out, use, sharpen and "test" the many avalable Blade Steels to determine your personal preference.

sal

[sal]

double tap

sal

[Deadboxhero]

Hello,

I hope you're all doing well!

GitHub - Avis sur Linkuma What are your thoughts on CPM-S90V steel in Spyderco knives for intensive EDC (Everyday Carry) use? Considering its excellent wear resistance and edge retention, do you think it's a game-changer compared to CPM-S30V, or does the added difficulty in sharpening outweigh the benefits for practical daily tasks?

Mon avis franc et sincère sur Linkuma I'm particularly curious about how it performs over time under demanding use and whether the trade-offs in maintenance are worth it for most users.


Thank you in advance for sharing your expertise!

CPM S90V

Seems to have been everybody's favorite high edge retention stainless for the past 20 years. So it's quite proven.

You won't notice difficulty sharpening if you don't let it get incredibly dull.

Of course, sharpening technique and abrasives seem to be the biggest factor for sharpening difficulty more so than the steel.

The edge retention is nice because if you are doing something that requires a lot of non-stop cutting it won't blunt completely smooth and die on you.

Hair shaving edges are fleeting regardless of steel, so keep in mind what you are paying for is a prolonged working edge.

As far as durability and chipping resistance, as the end user, you have a lot of control of that by choosing what edge angle you want.

If you use a more obtuse edge angle, you can get to a certain point where you don't have to worry about chipping. However, it will be a trade-off with how nicely it cuts.

I think a lot of us really like the experience we get when we use more delicate acute edge angles and use the knife more judiciously because the performance is better for cutting.

You can really dial it in for how you use the knife also so there is no one size fits all with edge angles.


Hope that helps.

[Synov]

It is the ideal EDC steel for me, which is why I own seven S90V Spydercos and counting. It has just the right balance for my use, which is not too rough but not just slicing cardboard all day.

[mikey177]

CPM S90V. My favorite steel. is a recent thread that discusses how forumites find this steel.

[lavegute]

Rencontre trans ParisThank you very much for your responses, what responsiveness !

[Jesla]

Something strange is happening to this thread…

I didn’t start this thread.

The originating thread post seems to be missing.

Lavegute was the thread stater and his post is missing as off 6:00am EST 1/19/25

[TazKristi]

Something strange is happening to this thread…

I didn’t start this thread.

The originating thread post seems to be missing.

Lavegute was the thread stater and his post is missing as off 6:00am EST 1/19/25

Hi, Jesla:
Lavegute edited his post, which put it back into the approval queue as they're a new member. A post isn't visible if it's waiting for approval. It's visible again now.

Kristi

[JFR1]

Personally I think CPM S110V the perfect EDC steel. I haven’t noticed it being too difficult to sharpen. In the years of carrying S110V I have never pulled a dull knife out of my pocket.

CPMS90V should preform nearly as good but has a tad less corrosion resistance. In all my years carrying S110V I have never pulled a rusty blade out of my pocket.

I agree that S110V is pretty awesome! S90V is no slouch either! I have not rusted S90V myself, and the edge just seems to last a little bit longer for me vs S110V. I've damaged the edges on both steels, and S90V takes a bit more work to clean up with my rudimentary sharpening methods.
I'm a fan of both!

I'm still hoping there will be a carbon fiber/S90V UKPK at some point.

[RazorSharp86]

Arguably the best folding knife steel out thee.
I find that many people do not have realistic expectations when it comes to high end suprateels.
If you expect s90v to hold a razor sharp edge for a significant amount of use over s30v (for example), then you might be grossly disappointed.
However, it allows you to take up on a substantial, prolonged cutting task and feel like your tool is sharp enough to perform it from start to finish.
I recently used my s90v Siren on a large Whitetail deer, and it performed flawlessly. However, I did put a convex edge on it, which was relatively thicker and more robust (by choice) than I’d choose to put on it if I were tackling a bunch of rope or cardboard.

In terms of sharpening it, you just need to make sure to use the right abrasives - diamonds or cbn.
Stainlessness is extremely good, as well. Doesn’t get much better without going into a Magnacut, Lc, h2, etc.

Some ppl compare it to s110v, but I find that it is a bit easier to sharpen if you’re new to sharpening, and that it is more resistant to chipping than s110v (I’ve had s110 chip after hitting bone on animals).

[Pacu0420]

S90V is one of my faves. Excellent edge retention and corrosion resistance.. I like to test different steels and compare results. My tests certainly aren't scientific by any means. (Like whittling on a piece of oak.) But they are good enough for me to come to basic conclusions. And S90V so far has some of the best edge retention out of the 26 different steels in my collection. Toughness is not really a concern of mine since I don't use my knives like a pry bar or screw driver. As for sharpening, S90V was a breeze. I just recently added CTS 204P to my collection. That stuff was a pain in the rear. (strange that M390 and 20CV didn't seem to give me as hard of a time) I should clarify that I'm talking about adjusting the edge bevel by a degree or two. Not just resharpening a dull knife. Anyway, S90V is a winner inmy book.

[Synov]

I think Larrin was working on an improved version of S90V with Crucible but who knows if some other steel company will want to produce it. I'm excited to see it but also don't want my S90V collection to go obsolete! (Kidding, it will always be a great steel)