Thanks to my Patreon supporters for funding knife steel research. If you want to join the community, visit Patreon.com/KnifeSteelNerds
Video
Here is the video version of the following information:
Can You Even Tell the Difference?
MagnaMax Is Here: The Next Evolution in Knife Steel
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.
Testing Erasteel MagnaCut (vs Crucible Original)
Crucible, Niagara, Erasteel, and MagnaCut
In case you haven’t been following steel news, Crucible Steel went through a bankruptcy and no longer exists. I interviewed Bob Shabala of Niagara Specialty Metals about this transition several months ago. Niagara is the company that purchased ingots from Crucible and would hot roll, anneal, and distribute them to knife companies and steel suppliers. They have also recently started a new online store to better sell directly to individual knifemakers. Niagara has managed to keep production going for a wide range of Crucible (and other) knife steels, including:
Moran vs Loveless – Knife Steel Edition
Bill Moran and Bob Loveless are the most influential knifemakers in the modern era. They were two key figures in the rise of custom knifemaking, which began in 1970 with the formation of the Knifemakers Guild. Both predated the Guild and had fully formed philosophies on knifemaking before its formation. There are an impressive number of dichotomies between Loveless and Moran. For two men who were influential in a similar time period for making the same product – knives – they had surprisingly different philosophies. Both men served as president of the Knifemakers Guild in the early years: Moran from 1972-1973, and Loveless from 1971-1972 and again from 1973-1974. B.R. Hughes wrote about the two knifemakers in 1986 [1]:
Buderus Steel Mill Closing? Yes, But Also No
Video
There is a video version of the following information:
What is Buderus?
Buderus is a steel mill in Germany. They have several of their own knife steel products, including Nitro-V, Nitro-B, and Nitro-X7. They have also produced a wide range of standard grades, including 1095, 80CrV2, 15N20, and W2.
Is Straightening with a Carbide Hammer Dangerous?
Patreon
Research like this is made possible by Patreon supporters. That allowed me to purchase the carbide straightening hammers and perform the experiments below. Join at Patreon.com/KnifeSteelNerds if you would like to support further research.
Knife Broke with CPM-3V! Isn’t it a Tough Steel? (Q&A Video)
New video with Q&A! If you want to ask questions for Q&A videos come join us at Patreon.com/KnifeSteelNerds
Knife Engineering 2nd Edition – Expanded and Updated
11/18/2025: I added that the book is now available in South Africa from SD Knives & Supplies.
Links to buy are at the bottom of the article!
Video
Knife Engineering
In recent years, I have been mostly known as the “MagnaCut man,” but before MagnaCut, my biggest success was probably with Knife Engineering. When I started my website, Knife Steel Nerds, I hadn’t thought about writing a book because I thought I was doing a website instead. But I soon realized that a website works better for individual articles than it does for introducing an entire subject. So that led me to writing the book Knife Engineering: Steel, Heat Treating, and Geometry. That allowed people to learn the subject in order with all of the appropriate introductory material. The book has been a big success with many copies sold and many rave reviews from knifemakers and knife buyers alike. I tried very hard to make the subject as easy to understand as possible, and so it has been gratifying to hear people say that the book was exactly that.
Making ProCut Damascus with Devin Thomas
We traveled to Nevada to visit my dad, Devin Thomas, and make some Damascus with Pop’s ProCut. Along the way we saw some sites around my hometown and my wife tries to prove that her town is better.
