Spyderco Forums

It’s good stuff! I’ve found it’s very dependent on heat treatment though, I’ve had less than stellar experiences with steels in the m390 family from other makers.

But I have two knives in the collection (and one on the way!) in 20cv from spyderco, and they preform spectacularly. Extremely corrosion resistant (which is saying a lot in my state), not unreasonably fragile (less chipping than other high-ish wear resistance steels), and easy as pie to sharpen. It’s a great stainless middleground. Happy to see it making the rounds in the lineup.

My only concern with it is that it will be 100% replaced by Magnacut once it’s widely available. And the fomo will be unbearable...

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 6:24 pm

It's my favorite stainless for EDC folders. I prefer it to almost every other stainless (I do like s90v better in some applications--specifically thin edges on fixed blades).

I am really enjoying the Kapara exclusive. I also really like the Watu.

I like 20CV quite alot but I like S90V even more, don't ask me why though . Sometimes you just can't explain these things. I love my 20CV Smock and I need to thank to a cool forumite mate who made it available for me. Thanks again bro ! I also looove the Kapara and especially the Watu with that awesome thin blade and edge profile but man... when I cut with my S90V Para3 I'm in heaven. I reprofiled the edge at 16dps and now it's a beast !

I find that s90v has more toughness than m390. Where I would chip a thin m390/20cv/204p edge, s90v will roll.

M390 seems to hold it's working edge for me longer though. And it's definitely more stain resistant.

I like the way 20CV responds to the Spyderco medium bench stone.

Abyss_Fish wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 11:07 pm

My only concern with it is that it will be 100% replaced by Magnacut once it’s widely available. And the fomo will be unbearable...

I don't know about that...though for sure MagnaCut will be an awesome steel for most applications. The 20CV should still hold an edge longer, (unless my understanding is incorrect), but will not have the toughness of MagnaCut which should be akin to CPM Cru-Wear.

I have yet to have to sharpen my 20cv manix 2 but out of the box it cut easier and held an edge longer than my s90v pm2. It could be poor cutting angles on my part but it has been a pleasure to use on cardboard, gardening and cutting down a few apply tree branches. I would love to pick up a para 3 in 20cv.

I've been carrying my 20CV Manix2 LW almost exclusively since I received it. This weekend I was breaking down the boxes that some new patio furniture came in, and found some staples the fun way!



I did smooth it out a little on the CBN benchstone, but didn't remove much steel and didn't really adjust the factory bevel angle:



It's noticeable but not huge when putting the whole blade in perspective:



For now I'll just continue to use and touch up as normal. If it keeps happening I may get out the diamond sharpmaker rods and put a 40 deg bevel on the edge, but I'm not too worried about it. I think I did something similar to my M390 PM2 years ago and didn't really have any issues after reprofiling on the edge pro (which was admittedly more involved and thorough than the re-surfacing of the factory bevel I did here).

I'm really curious as to how my CruWear Manix2 would've reacted in the same situation, but not quite curious enough to pull it out and go looking for that stapled piece of cardboard. :o

One interesting thing to note, even on the CBN stone I found it much easier to put a clean, hair-popping edge on the 20CV M2LW than on the S90V Sprig I was sharpening at the same time. I'm sure some of this is driven by differences in geometry and my own decidedly lukewarm sharpening ability, but it's consistent with my experience between M390 and S90V for other models and manufacturers as well.

@Larrin's "Carbide Types in Knife Steels" (https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/07/15/ ... fe-steels/) is really interesting to me in light of this, in particular the carbide fraction table in the "Edge Retention and Carbides in Different Knife Steels" near the end of the article. S90V and 20CV/204P aren't too far apart at 22% vs 20% carbide, but S90V is 13% CrVC (vanadium-enriched chromium carbide) and 9% MC (presumably mostly VC for these steels), while 20CV/204P are 17.5% CrVC but only 2.5% MC. I much prefer sharpening the lower % VC 20CV, and my experiences with M390/204P suggest that it will hold an edge about as well S90V for my uses. I really only buy S90V (or S110V) now if I really like the model - such as the Sprig - and otherwise prefer M390/204P/20CV for most folders and small fixed blades.

It's the best!

M Sea wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 8:40 am

I have it on several knives and absolutely love it. Nothing bad to say. I have found that keeping it touched up is easier than having to sharpen it. So I hit the brown/white rods on the sharpmaker a few times when needed and its good to go. Excellent steel

To maintain the factory edge what angle are you using the SM rods at 15 or 20?

Pcexbird wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 08, 2022 8:15 am

M Sea wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 8:40 am

I have it on several knives and absolutely love it. Nothing bad to say. I have found that keeping it touched up is easier than having to sharpen it. So I hit the brown/white rods on the sharpmaker a few times when needed and its good to go. Excellent steel

To maintain the factory edge what angle are you using the SM rods at 15 or 20?

He's no longer around, he probably broke the blade sharpening and switched over to Benchmade

Pcexbird wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 08, 2022 8:15 am

M Sea wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 8:40 am

I have it on several knives and absolutely love it. Nothing bad to say. I have found that keeping it touched up is easier than having to sharpen it. So I hit the brown/white rods on the sharpmaker a few times when needed and its good to go. Excellent steel

To maintain the factory edge what angle are you using the SM rods at 15 or 20?

Spyderco factory edges tend to be about 17 degrees, with a 20 degree microbevel, so the 20 is the right angle for touching up a factory edge. The 15 is useful for reprofiling if you have diamond rods, but I generally wouldn't use it with the brown or white rods unless you're dealing with a *very* easy to sharpen steel.

I really like 20CV and the analogues. Functionally rust proof for my uses, holds a very good edge, but is certainly not the toughest, I've chipped a few blades I ran thin and got rough with.