Böhler M390 knife steel
Böhler M390 is a powder-metallurgy (PM) stainless knife steel, typically hardened to HRC 60-62.
| Type | Stainless · powder metallurgy |
|---|---|
| Hardness | HRC 60-62 |
| Edge retention | very-highhigher than 37 of 48, tied with 5 |
| Corrosion resistance | very-highhigher than 39 of 48, tied with 6 |
| Toughness | mediumhigher than 4 of 48, tied with 20 |
| Ease of sharpening | hard to sharpenamong the hardest to sharpen of 49 |
| Price tier | Super / high-end |
| Best for | EDC / foldersKitchen |
Böhler M390 chemical composition
| C | Cr | Mo | V | W | Mn | Si |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.9 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
Nominal weight %. Source: Bohler datasheet page. What the alloying adds: vanadium (4%) gives hard vanadium carbides, the main source of wear resistance; tungsten (0.6%) gives hard tungsten carbides that keep their hardness when hot.
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Knives in Böhler M390
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Compared with
Böhler M390 vs CPM-S30V Böhler M390 vs CPM-20CV
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