I’m so old I consider my 1974 Queen folder with 440C to be a super steel.
440C was a super steel, in 1974.
Today there are many super steels.
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Böhler M390 steel: what is it and why is it so popular?
Böhler M390 is one of the most popular types of steel at the moment. It is praised for its excellent sharpness retention. But where did this superstar in the knife world come from? And why is M390 so popular? Knivesandtools explains!
Where does Böhler M390 come from?
Böhler M390 comes from the Böhler Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG factory in Kapfenberg, Austria. This manufacturer produces types of steel that are incredibly wear and tear resistant. The so-called 'specialty steels'. It might come as quite the surprise, but almost all types of steel as we know them today were not developed as knife steel. Many types of steel were developed for ball bearings or parts in jet engines. The same applies to Böhler M390.
Even though Böhler M390 is one of the most popular and best performing types of steel on the market, Böhler developed it to be used in moulds for the injection moulding industry. When you look at the Böhler datasheet you can still see that it is listed as the primary purpose. The fact that it is also great for use in knives is considered to be an alternative purpose.
For these moulds the steel also needs to be extremely wear and tear resistant. If you want to be able to take the same shape from one mould approx. 10.000 times, it shouldn't wear out between casting it the first or the 10.000th time. That is why these moulds are made from top-quality types of steel.
It is therefore not that surprising that M390 is used as steel for moulds. The industrial market is, after all, much bigger. Böhler can sell a lot more kilos of steel to this industry than the knife industry where you are talking about relatively small and light-weight sheets of steel.
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If you gave the Chinese factory a sheet of 390 they’d make the same knife as my $13.50 Doom Blades D2 flipper.
The cost would be higher not just because 390 is more expensive than D2, but 390 would wear out the tooling cutters quicker.
The frame of my cheapie Doom brand knife is milled, or laser cut, probably from 440A steel. It also has stainless screws. The scales are molded from circuit board grade G10. That knife frame will last as long as the pyramids of Egypt.
Today a new fad is knife frames with replaceable blades.
My Queen is still as good as it was in 1974.
Every big folder I’ve bought since has been just another toy in the box.