Background
MagnaMax has been in development for a long time. When I first proposed the idea for MagnaCut to Crucible and Niagara in June 2019 I also proposed a high wear resistance version I was calling “stainless 10V.” This version was intended to match the combination of toughness and wear resistance in the non-stainless grades K390, Vanadis 8, and CPM-10V. K390 has developed some popularity in recent years from Spyderco using it in many knives. This steel hits a real sweet spot for having good toughness with very high wear resistance. That high wear resistance gives it excellent edge retention. MagnaMax achieves that same level of toughness and edge retention but with the same excellent corrosion resistance of MagnaCut. MagnaMax achieves these properties by using the same general approach to composition as MagnaCut while increasing carbon, niobium, and vanadium for wear resistance. We are still waiting for the ok from our patent lawyer before releasing the composition, but that will hopefully come soon. The first commercial “heat” of MagnaMax has been delivered to a few knife companies, so it is time to talk about the steel, even if we can’t reveal every detail yet.
