Spyderco Manix with 15V steel

• Sal, Can we get CPM 15V
• CPM 15V Manix 2
• the "new to sharpening" thread

Notes from the forum discussions

6" 300grit Ultra Sharp diamond plate. $35. 1um diamond paste on a paint stick. You're on your way.

15v has a balance in properties between k390 and Maxamet

And Phil Wilson even had a nice bit to add:

I like to think of blade steels fitting into criteria categories. 10v, 15V, 90V, and Maxamet are in a category where long lasting edge holding is the primary requirement. Given that other mechanical factors are sometimes compromised. I think Shawn has explained that pretty well. Its all a balance and we are lucky now to have blade steel grades that cover a wide range. CPM 15V is is on the upper end of long wear resistance. I remember when I was about 10 working in my Grandfathers shop and him standing there while I was filing on a piece of steel. I banged the file on the edge of the vise to clean out the metal chips. He said "never, never bang a file that" it is the abuse of a tool and it will for sure break. I think that carries over into knives as well. 15V is like a file. Don't bang it or twist it and it will be ok. Use it like it was designed and intended for. The heat treat and geometry and sharpening all play into that as well and Spyderco has the ability to get that on spot based on Shawn's experience with the steel. I know for a fact that he has more flying time with that one for a knife blade application than any one else out there. I will anticipate putting one to my test. I just ordered 200 feet of 3/4 inch manila rope Phil

Rex 121 will "outcut" both.
Maxamet runs harder than 15V, but 15V is close.
A lot depends on how they are heat treated and sharpened.
15V has finer structure than Rex-121 and harder carbides than Maxamet
It will kick the K390 Police 4 out of my pocket.
S125V and K390 are other steels that get mentioned in comparisons.
PMA11 and 10V get mentioned also.
He says you can't just go by the spec sheet and every batch of the same steel can be different.

Keep in mind edges are highly customizable and you should customize them to your needs.

BBB tested a "production knife in 15V" and found it to be 65 HRC. This was an early "sample" of the Manix 2.
Some comments later mentioned that the K390 PM2 measured 63.5 and the REC PM2 with 10V was 64.6. Another fellow measured 67.1 on Rex 45 in his Para 3 lightweight.

More from BBB:

Well, its been no secret I've been a big huge fan of K390 and 10V over the years. I've also enjoyed Maxamet. When I first looked at 15V several years ago it piqued my interest as perhaps a sleeper or a sweet spot, like the top end of the A11 type steels without going into Rex121/Maxamet territory. The heat treatment from the data sheet yielded disappointing results at the knife edge so work was done to focus the attributes of the 15v towards knife use specifically to increase the edge stability and sharpenability compared to the data sheet heat treatment. The ideal application is the same application you would use for steels like k390, 10V and Maxamet.

If you're using knives for cutting and they seem to be blunting smooth during your cutting task requiring you to stop and hone then steels like 15V synergize nicely in that role. If you're also doing a cutting task that requires slicing an elastic, medium density materials with draw cuts like animal hide and tissue the additional aggression at the edge does seem to help with this.

The 15V should fit into a nice sweet spot between the K390 and the Maxamet.
More edge holding than K390 but less toughness.
Less edge holding than Maxamet but more toughness.

I find steels such as K390, 10V, PMA11, Vanadis 10, Vanadis 8 and Vancron are in a really nice high strength and wear category which most people who like CPM M4 for will definitely like this range/class of steel. Back when K390 was first coming out with Spyderco, people were very concerned about it not being tough enough and saying that CPM M4 was better overall due to fear of lack in durability in K390. However, we saw with hard use testing that K390 was basically an "M4 Killer" like Doc Dan said and that the decrease in toughness in real world wasn't going to be seen as much on a small knife because the added strength made up for any lack of toughness you would see at the edge.

As it turns out, resistance to deformation is incredibly crucial for a small knife and people are often confusing what the want in toughness with what they need in strength. CPM 15V is basically the king of the 10V, K390 range of cold work PM tool steels in regards to wear resistance without moving into further trade-offs with Rex 121 and Maxamet.