The manufacturer of the M390 is Bohler-Uddeholm. Bohler-Uddeholm is actually merger of the two companies, which is Bohler in Austria and Uddeholm in Sweden. And M390 is one of a new kind of "super steel" made by Bohler-Uddeholm.
M390 is manufactured by the third-generation PM process, a steel specially developed for blades requiring high hardness, high corrosion resistance and high wear resistance. But in industrial applications, it is usually used for screw, barrel, injection molding. After treatment, M390 can reach 60-65HRC, which also belongs to a higher hardness gradient in stainless steel.
Bohler calls the M390 "Microclean," which means "tiny pure." M390 can be polished to achieve a true mirror effect. But the M390 is more difficult to polish, but slightly better than the S90V.
In steel, the addition of chromium, molybdenum, vanadium and tungsten can improve blade sharpness and edge sharpness retention. Unlike ZDP189, most of its carbides are formed from vanadium and molybdenum, while the remaining "free chromium" is used to resist corrosion. M390 is considered the best all-round knife steel. This also makes it widely used in high-end knives by many big-name knife manufacturers. It is a fine-grained alloy and is one of the first choices for high-end pocket knives, small straight knives. Butterfly's 581 is a better product made with M390.
M390 has excellent corrosion resistance and high hardness. This also means that its blade will be very fine and will retain its sharpness with repeated use.
The elemental composition is as follows:
Iron: 71.5%
Carbon: 1.9%
Silicon: 0.7%
Manganese: 0.3%
Chromium: 20%
Molybdenum: 1%
Vanadium: 4%
Tungsten: 0.6%
Bohler's M390 steel is similar in quality to Latrobe's DuraTech 20CV stainless steel in the United States. However, its corrosion resistance is better than 420C stainless steel, and its edge sharpness retention is twice that of 420C stainless steel. While it's not as hard to sand as the S90V, it's also hard to sand. The main reason is that the powder metallurgy (PM) structure has fine grains, small carbides and high cleanliness.
The high corrosion resistance of M390 is also one of its advantages. Although it is more difficult to sand than other steels, it is less prone to dulling. Because of these characteristics, many knifemakers and knife makers often use the M390 for their products.
Although more and more knife manufacturers are now turning to S35VN steel in American crucibles, M390 is still widely used. Manufacturers such as CKF, Steel Will, Steel Lion, Kaxiu, etc. all use the M390 to produce their products. Just like the products made by Kashio M390, although the pixels are not high, the performance is excellent. CKF is a fan of M390, and always uses M390 steel to produce products. Although M390 has strong corrosion resistance, if you are a knife friend living in a hot and humid area, you should also pay attention to the maintenance of the blade and the cleaning after daily use, otherwise it may rust.
Like many "super steels", they are more expensive and more expensive in their initial use. But as their users grow, their costs will slowly come down. Just like the products made by Kaxiu with the M390, although the pixels are not high, the performance is excellent.
