Top 5 Premium Steels 

20cv, M390, and cts 204p are essentially the same steel, just different manufacturers.

I place a lot of emphasis on toughness. Here’s my list: 1. CruWear 2. MagnaCut 3. 3V 4. M4 5. Elmax

Perhaps not all "super steels", but my current favorites are: K390, m390/20cv/204p, CTS-XHP, Vanax, s45vn. Honorable mention for CruWear and Elmax.

Thank you for the video TC

Personal opinion my 5 favorite steels are S45VN because I have very good experience with it from multiple manufacturers, and Nitro V, that Nitro V is freakin tough and stays sharp for quite awhile. S90V, S35VN and S30V are also great.

Great list a lot of great steels!!

I'm very impressed with CPM S45VN, I've cut all kinds of stuff at work working in the dirt installing irrigation, opening fertilizer bags, pruning bushes and cutting sand covered straps and hasn't had to sharpen it yet, a couple of swipes on the strop and it's back to shaving hair.

Always enjoy your videos, lots of great info. I agree mostly with your list but would put S45V in place of 3V

Still need to try out some other steels, but man I love s35vn and s45vn.

Great list!

I love me some m4 and s45vn!

For me it's: 1) Vanax 2) LC200N 3) CPM-20CV / M390 ( I can't tell the difference, and they're chemically nearly identical) 4) CPM-S45VN 5) Elmax

Love you put cpm 3v in this! I use to not know about it until a few months ago I got my Demko 20.5 in cpm3v. Honestly I like3v more so vs m390 or 20cv. 3v is super underrated in my opinion

Boy! He’s throwing out some bangers! I too was not on the 3v hype, but man when i used it i fell in love.

My top 5: 1. K390, the edge is wear-resistant, easy to sharpen \ deburr, "has bite", Low-cost high performance 2. Magnacut for stainless, best stainless if Rockwell 62- 64 3. SPY 27, stainless and strops back to razor edge easily 4. 15v (better than K390) has higher costs and is hard to get. 5. 20CV - Stainless, generally holds an edge better than M390. Thanks for the video! 😎👍

My list :- 1. M390/M398 - Have multiple machete, knives on this love it's toughness and edge retention 2. Vanax - have a machete but will buy SMKW Vincent's soon 3. Elmax 4. Vanadis 8...N690.. 5. S45VN...CruWear Yeah it's debatable topics..between toughness..edge retention..stainless and sharpen it..and of course price 😋

I have a Kershaw Thistle, my bestman uses it to cut a wire that is used to tie decorations in my wedding day, it's about more than 6yo now

Over all, I love S45 VN. For à fix blade, surprise😮Over all and on the field, I love 5160. A tank

Isn’t 20cv the same or very similar to m390? I’m no metal expert, but pretty sure they’re very similar. Your choices are solid.

Great content brother. Appreciate the thoughts.

My full time work knife is a Ray liconico 20cv titanium frame lock and it's a beast. however my next best would be my Spyderco manix in M390. I've found s90v very hard to sharpen and although I feel like I can get it the sharpest out of all my blade steels it's not as easy to hold a hair popping edge on. Good list and good thoughts thank you.

in love with magnacut right now, got a gso5.1 soon and a bradford guardian 3 atm

made me happy seeing 3v in the top 5! got the copper snake and mars valley. the site has been teasing me today it says the lava flow is in stock in the elmax but its not really in stock ;( i want it bad haha

Great list TC, I've had mixed results with M390 mostly because they get the heat treat wrong ( I prefer 20CV or 204p over M390). My top 5 soould be- RWL-34, Nitro-V, K390, 20CV and Magnacut.

Damn car screech made me jump! I was about to look out my window lmao 🤣 8:34

K390, Cruwear, Magnacut, 15V for me. Not sure about #5

I just ordered a spy27 I think, I love m390 for sure.

Essaie l'huile d'olive pour la toux 😮‍💨ou le miel 🍯 😉 excellent médicament TC je suis hors sujet 😅

Magnacut, S45VN, S35VN, Nitro V. I think CRUwear is a good steel but I have not personally had a knife with the steel

Mine are Rex 45, k390, cruwear, XHP and 4v. Great list! Different but same!

Any discussion of "best," must first clarify "best for what . . ."

I just got a manix 2 in 15v so far is absolutely amazing time will tell how it compares but it certainly seems like it’s a great choice

Woof, rough list. Here's mine. Cruwear M4 K390 10V Magnacut for salty work

CPM Cruwear, CPM D2, CPM M4 are my most desirable steels. CPM 15v, CPM Magnacut are notable. Magnacut is the only stainless that isn’t chipping out on me that holds a good fine edge that strops back well I’ve experienced. 15v is the only crazy working edge retaining steel I’ve experienced that I enjoyed reprofiling and strops back well. I’ve got way too many chipped out S30v blades. This is what I’ll avoid most now.

S 45vn lc200n

Hello mon ami américain préféré 🇺🇸🫡 vidéo très intéressante j'ai appris beaucoup sur les aciers en regardant tes vidéos TC 💯 pour ma part j'ai beaucoup de couteaux avec un acier S35VN mes après j'ai un coup de ❤️ pour le M390 mes il est cher et compliqué à aiguiser

I don’t know what people use to sharpen there knives but diamond stones do work on hard tool steel , also m390 is 20 cv it’s just bolher and crucible’s variations My list would go M390/20cv/204p as it’s almost always not heat treated correctly and in testing soft m390 dose only as good as meh s30v 4:3v 3 cruwear 2cpm m4 1 Magnacut (63-64 hrc)

AR RPM9 from CJRB has impressed me on an overall basis. It holds up great for a well-priced steel

Not a bad list TC. I agree with most of your list. I think I would take out 3V on my list however. I think maybe Vanax may be in my top 5.

guess is CPM Cruwear

Fixed blade gotta go with cpm3v and for a folder cpm m4. I have used a lot of different steels and prefer those to any out there now. Being stainless isn't a priority for me.

you need more videos explaining blades from your store.. even a practice lab.. I am into your explaining and consideration by application

1095, M4 & 14c28n forever

Correct me if I’m wrong because I am certainly no expert. I have seen several videos where people say that 20CV and M390 are basically the same just different manufacturers. Could someone tell me ? And if they are different which is better for an edc pocket knife ?

Which is the best for chopping out lines of coke? Not those puny gen z lines, but those big old beef rails from the old days.

I recently cut a pomegranate with my s35vn steel blade and I forgot to wipe it It turned black should I just patina the rest of it ?

TC just a request for some of those generic sheaths in left hand configuration!

K390 for me !

Maxamet. Rex45. CpmCruwear.cpmM4. K390 👍🏻

Magnacut, Vanax, M398, 15V,

My top 3 in no particular order: Elmax, Cruwear, and Magnacut

3V is my favorite. Most underrated steel out there.

I have a pd1 mule team thats in my top 5

So could you hear us all screaming at the screen to stop jerking us around and just say the top steel. 😆

I like m390 and D2 isn't bad at all when it is hard.

Id definitely go m390, rex45, 20cv, magnacut, vanax

Any one use terravantium dendritic cobalt knives? Been very interested in that blade steel. I enjoy my nitro v. At the end of the day I lean heavy on my 1095 high carbon. Love it. Not exactly a fancy steel, can't help the one we love lol stay sharp y'all!!

How about cru-wear??

Elmax, 15V, Rex45, S90V and... Elmax 😇

where did you get that Tri-star camo hat?

I don’t know much about blade steel still, but I hope s35vn is in it lol 😂

I need the ESEE JG5 liner video fellas. Please make it.

M390

Cruwear, 4v, 10v, s35vn, magnacut

i thought the debate for the ultimate high end steel ended with the introduction of magnacut....... 🤦🏽‍♀️ i stick to my aeb-l/nitro-v fixed blades.

Pgk, elmax ,m390, cpm m4, best qpm 53

1. Bohler K890 2. Bohler Vanax SuperClean 3. CPM 3V 4. CPM CruWear 5. Bohler M398

S30v

Every premium blade steel is nothing more than a slightly different trade off .

14:30 for the abbreviated version.

loren tomas said d2 was in the top 5 on his video

lol I remember when I got into this and spent $2k on knives ...that sit in the safe 😀

ZDP-189 is by far the best steel that exists in terms of edge retention vs sharpen-ability. No other steel that comes anywhere close to it's edge retention is easier or more of a joy to sharpen. The reason for that is it has ZERO vanadium carbides. Only chromium and vandium enriched chromium carbides. It's got way higher edge retention than anything on this list, but it's actually just as easy to sharpen and takes a better edge than most steels on this list. It's not for bushcraft tho. For the kitchen or EDC tho, it's one of the best overall user steels you will try. It sharpens like it's s35vn but it holds edge like s110v. Nothing else even comes close to that aspect. If you want max edge retention in a steel, that sharpens nicely and easily, this is by far the best steel that exists. And that isn't my opinion, that's a fact. I already explained why. It's the type of carbides. It's a high carbide steel, almost 1/3 is carbide, but those carbides are only chromium, which is the least pain in the ass to deal with in a blade steel. It's also amazing how small hitachi manages to get those carbides. The stuff takes insane edges, thanks to the small carbides but also thanks to it's very high hardness. Sorry but hrc 66 blades can cut so much better than hrc 60 blades. They feel nothing alike in use. If I was bushcrafting tho, I'd want aeb-l or I'd want 3v that's laminated with aeb-l or 4v laminated in lc200n. I'd love to see someone try that for edc too, as an alternative to high end stainless like s90v and s110v. Take some 10v and 15v and laminate it with something like aeb-l or lc200n. Very stainless and tough steels. Then you will have it all. Hard, tough and edge holding at the edge, and super stainless and super tough lamination.

Two of the steels on the list are identical twins (M390 and 20CV) and a third, Elmax, is in the same family.

Surprised it took you so long to get around to CPM 3V.

Wood booger approved. And I'm listening.

I think your no.1 blade steel is...S30V, or one of its SxxVN successors. But you may throw a wild ball and hit us with an AEB-L or 1095 for old school charm.

D2

Very curious about n690 cryo

I'm guessing S35vn your Fav?

Steel panther !

M390/Rex45/Cruwear/4v/H1

Vanax

1)Great video. 2)EVERYONE wants to see you featherstick with different...KNIFE GRINDS!

What? No crew wear!!? 😱

I think the #1 is going to be cpm154 (maybe that's just me)

How about vanax?

NITRO V BABY!!!

1095 bar none. Best there is.

I can't wait for Magnacut to become super available and be offered by almost every manufacturer

I am going to guess the number one is Cruwear.

Bohler K890

A mon avis personnel je pense🤔 qu'il faut se poser la question oui la nature de l acier est un facteur a prendre en compte mes d'autres facteurs sont a prendre en compte comme le traitement thermique la géométrie de la lame et l'utilisation que l'on souhaite en faire tout est histoire de concession 💵💵

big talk, Big Sale. New m398 huh ??? I just want the meteorite knife Blade Ultimate knife lol

Get ready folks, he's going to be honest, he even said so, the amount of dishonesty will be at an all time low, but that's only if he's going to be honest.

vanax

Magnacut>Maxamet>Rex 45=Cruwear>S90V

3V is so freaking tough all its drawbacks are meaningless

20CV is just Murican M390..... so.... kinda redundant. I think m390/20cv are by far one of the most over rated knife steels around. it's not a balanced steel. it won't hold up to hard use and won't hold up in performance oriented geometries. it's basically a marketing job that noobs love.

First