S30V knives are more popular than M390 knives. However, M390 knives offer better performance than S30V knives because they have better edge retention, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. Both M390 and S30V feature almost the same level of toughness.
When choosing between M390 steel and S30V steel, you must consider all their properties, including toughness, edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening.
This article will discuss factors that will help you decide between M390 steel and S30V steel knives. We will look at the features, pros, cons, and differences in detail.
Are M390 And S30V Knives The Same?
If you are starting out in the steel knife industry, you might wonder if there are significant differences between M390 and S30V knives. Some of their characteristics might be similar or close, confusing first-time buyers.
M390 and S30V knives are not the same. The materials used to make them differ in toughness, edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening. You might not be able to differentiate the blades when placed side by side, but their steel grades differ in most factors.
| M390 | S30V | |
|---|---|---|
| Toughness | 3.5 | 4 |
| Edge retention | 6.5 | 6 |
| Corrosion resistance | 9 | 7.5 |
| Ease of sharpening | Hard | Easy |
To help you understand the differences further, let us look at the knife characteristics, pros, and cons of each knife in the next section.
M390 Knife Characteristics
M390 steel is popular knife steel, it is made by Bohler Industry following the Powder metallurgy process. The M390 knife is constructed from premium steel with good performance because it offers great edge retention, excellent corrosion resistance, and decent toughness.
The knife is a good choice for everyday and outdoor uses because it does not require frequent sharpening, is highly resistant to water, and can withstand tough applications.
Because of the premium quality of the steel, which entails a high Rockwell hardness and wear resistance, the M390 knife will be harder to sharpen and pricier than the S30V.
Pros
- Excellent corrosion resistance
- Good edge retention
- Good performance
- Made of premium-grade steel
Cons
- Expensive
- Hard to sharpen
- Not Tough
S30V Knife Characteristics
- Professional Knife Sharpener Rod: Crafted from high-grade Carbon Steel with premium Nickel-Chrome Plating. This durable honing steel offers superior hardness and corrosion resistance, ensuring your sharpening stick won't rust or wear down easily like generic models.
- Magnetized for Cleaner Sharpening: Our sharpening rod is specially magnetized to attract metal filings produced during use. This unique feature keeps your kitchen knives clean and prevents metal dust from contaminating food—a hygienic advantage over standard rods.
- 13-Inch Total Length Design: Features a convenient 13-inch overall design (rod + handle) that is lightweight and easy to control. The optimized length allows for smooth, fatigue-free maintenance of chef knives, paring knives, and fruit knives.
- Instant Edge Restoration: The rod surface features dense, uniform sawteeth. Just a few strokes on this knife sharpening steel will realign the blade edge, restoring dull knives to razor-sharp performance instantly.
- Ergonomic & Safe Grip: Designed with a streamlined, non-slip PP handle that fits perfectly in your hand. The textured grip ensures the honing rod stays stable during use, providing a safe and efficient sharpening experience without the bulk of heavy guards.
- Premium Steel Construction - The steel rod is made of carbon steel and plated with nickel-chrome; the fine surface of the steel rod prevents the cutting edge from damage when sharpening.
- Versatile Compatibility - Our knife sharpening steel rod is for all types of knives, including kitchen, household, sporting and pocketknives; sharpens standard and serrated edge knives. Restores dull knives to razor-sharp perfection with ease.
- Ergonomic Non-Slip Grip - Easy to use, with an ergonomic handle that fits your hand, be it right or left. The slip-resistant rubber bottom makes the rod easy to handle and firmly stays in place during use.
- Hanging Loop for Storage - Convenient design for easy access and space-saving storage.
- Effortless Maintenance - Use a non-woven cloth soaked with cooking oil to wipe the body and dry it. If washed with water, be sure to wipe the rod dry completely and hang in a cool place to air-dry. Do not put the sharpener into the dishwasher.
- Realigns Knife Edges for Smoother Cutting-This carbon steel knives sharpener honing rod helps realign the edge of your kitchen knives so they cut more smoothly through vegetables, meat, and herbs. A few light strokes before cooking provide quick daily knives sharpening maintenance without removing excessive metal from the blade.
- Designed for Chef Knives and Everyday Kitchen Use-Sized for common chef knives and other everyday kitchen blades, this honing steel is ideal for regular edge care at home. It supports the typical edge angles used on Western‑style chef knives, helping you keep your main cooking knives ready for meal prep, weeknight dinners, and weekend cooking projects.
- Durable Carbon Steel Honing Rod for Long‑Term Use-Made from hardened carbon steel, this knives sharpening rod is built for frequent honing sessions and long‑term durability. It straightens and maintains the blade edge instead of aggressively grinding it, helping extend the life of your knife set over time.
- Non-Slip Handle and Anti‑Slip Metal Tip- The textured, non-slip handle provides a secure grip even when your hands are slightly wet. A hanging loop at the end makes it easy to store on a kitchen rail or hook. With a metal anti‑slip tip at the end, allowing you to brace it securely against a cutting board so it stays in place instead of sliding.
- Practical Kitchen Gift for Many Occasions-This knives sharpener honing rod makes a practical kitchen gift for home cooks, cooking students, and anyone building a better knife set at home. It’s suitable as a thoughtful present for birthdays, Christmas, housewarming parties, or as a small gift for friends and family who enjoy cooking.
S30V steel is popular knife steel, it is made by Crucible Industry following the Crucible Particle Metallurgy process, S30V is also referred to as CPM S30V stainless steel.
The S30V knife steel is a favorite choice for many knife users because it offers a good balance between toughness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance. The knife is also easy to sharpen and comes at an affordable price.
Pros
- Good corrosion resistance
- Great edge retention
- Easy to sharpen
- Good balance
- Relatively Affordable
Cons
- Moderately Tough
How to Choose Between the M390 and the S30V
To choose the best knife for you between M390 and S30V options, you must be sure of how you want to use the knife and consider if the knife characteristics suit your needs. Here are the major factors to consider.
| M390 | S30V | |
|---|---|---|
| Toughness | 3.5 | 4 |
| Edge retention | 6.5 | 6 |
| Corrosion resistance | 9 | 7.5 |
| Ease of sharpening | Hard | Easy |
Toughness
The S30V steel knife offers better toughness than the M390 steel knife. According to Crucible Industry, the improved toughness of S30V steel is due to the CPM process that produces a very homogeneous grain structure.
The toughness of the M390 and S30V is almost the same, but it is not the best on the market because they are made from hard steel thus offering low ductility. However, you can still trust them to handle many tough and stressful applications without chipping, breaking, or cracking. See how M390 steel and S30V steel compares with the superior strength of Super Knife Steel.
Edge Retention
M390 knives offer better edge retention than S30V knives. According to Bohler, the improved edge retention is due to several factors including powder metallurgy production, higher Rockwell hardness, and higher Vanadium Carbide Contents.
M390 and S30V knives offer good edge retention because they are hard steels. The ability to stay sharp for a long time is associated with high vanadium and chromium carbides in their composition. The varieties of M390 and S30V knives will not disappoint you if you want a knife that does not require regular sharpening.
Corrosion Resistance
M390 and S30V knives can be used in corrosive environments, but M390 is more water resistant because it contains higher amounts of chromium elements. It will therefore last longer when used in highly corrosive environments.
However, any steel can rust when neglected. Consequently, you must ensure proper care and maintenance, ensure to wash and dry the knives after use.
Ease of Sharpening
Sharpening S30V knife is easier than M390 because it has a fine-grain structure. It will take less time and energy to get a sharp edge, even with standard sharpening tools. However, you need sharpening tools with higher hardness than steel itself.
If you are a newbie in knife sharpening and you are looking for a knife that is easy to sharpen and holds an edge longer, the options of S30V will not disappoint you.
Intention of Use
S30V is ideal for outdoor and everyday use because it offers good edge retention, does not rust easily, and is easy to sharpen. However, it is only ideal when used sparingly because it loses edge faster compared to M390 and will require frequent sharpening.
On the other hand, the M390 is ideal for outdoor use because it offers great edge retention, excellent corrosion resistance, and is durable. It is not ideal for kitchen knives due to high wear resistance making it hard to sharpen
Price
M390 is premium steel; therefore, its knives come at a higher price tag than S30V varieties. If you are out for a high-performance knife and money is not a challenge, go for M390 knives. On the other hand, if you are shopping on a budget, S30V knives are priced lower and still offer good performance.
What Makes A Good Quality Knife?
A good quality knife has the following characteristics, sharpness, good edge retention, and a high-quality handle. With good sharpness, the blade can easily cut through materials; a long-lasting edge ensures reduced frequency of sharpening, and an ergonomic handle offers comfort and prevents slipping accidents.
- Multipurpose Knife Set: This kitchen knives set includes 8" Chef Knife, 8" Slicing Knife, 7" Santoku Knife, 8" Serrated Bread Knife, 5" Utility Knife, 3.5" Paring Knife, Kitchen Shears and 6 pcs Blade Guards
- Anti-rust coating: The healthy anti-rust coating protects the knife from oxidation and dishwasher safe, while the non-stick coating ensures the blades stay clean all day long
- Easy to carry: Each knife comes with a blade guard for safe, compact storage in your kitchen cupboard. These knives are also easy to carry when camping or storing in your RV
- Perfect Holiday Gift: Ideal for kitchen enthusiasts or new cooks, this knife set meets all cooking needs. It makes an excellent holiday gift for family, friends, lover and colleague
- Lifetime Warranty: Every knife set is backed by rigorous quality inspection, we provide a lifetime warranty for every customer, ensuring superior customer service and peace of mind with every purchase
- 【15 Pieces Multipurpose Knife Set】 15 pieces knife set includes: 8" Chef knife, 8" Slicing knife, 7" Santoku knife, 8" Serrated bread knife, 5" Utility knife, 3.5" Paring knife, 6 Pcs 4.5" serrated steak knife, 1 Pc kitchen shear, and Black hard wood Knife Block with built-in Knife Sharpener.
- 【Black Non-Stick & Anti-Rust Coating】 The black coating on the stainless steel surface does a good job of stopping the knives from oxidizing in contact with oxygen in the air, so the kitchen knife set will remain non-stick and rust-proof for years to come.
- 【Amazing Built-in Knife Sharpener】 Kitchen knife sets with built-in sharpeners are very convenient and you can sharpen your knives with one hand. It saves you the trouble of finding a sharpener and sharpening your knives on a whetstone, which is great invention.
- 【Dishwasher Safe Sharp Knife Set】 Forged from 1.4116 high-carbon German stainless steel, this kitchen knife set is extremely resistant to stains and rust. Industry-leading tapered edge grinding technology provides optimal sharpness for precise cutting and easy resharpening.
- 【Astercook lifetime warranty system】Astercook each set of knives based on excellent quality, after strict quality inspection, superior customer service for each customer to provide a lifetime warranty, please feel free to buy!
- WÜSTHOF GOURMET SERIES – 12 Piece Knife Set with triple riveted synthetic polypropylene handles that resist fading, discoloration, heat and impact. Precisely laser-cut stamped knives offer superb quality and value
- WÜSTHOF KNIFE SET – Includes 3" Spear Point Paring Knife, (4) 4.5" Steak Knives, 5" Hollow-Edge Santoku, 6" Serrated Utility Knife, 8" Chef's Knife, 8" Bread Knife, Come Apart Shears, 2-Stage Handheld Sharpener and 15-slot Acacia Block. With four additional slots for complementing knives, the 15-slot Acacia block is a welcome addition to any countertop
- RAZOR SHARP – High Carbon Stainless Steel Blades, precisely cut with the latest state of the art technology for incredible sharpness and easy maintenance. In order to maintain maximum blade edge sharpness, Hand Washing is recommended for daily care
- DURABLE – WÜSTHOF Cutlery is crafted to resist corrosion and dulling. This German made Kitchen Knife set Comes with a limited Lifetime Warranty
- CENTURIES OF TRADITION – Family owned for seven generations, WÜSTHOF was founded in Solingen, Germany over 200 years ago. WÜSTHOF’s cutlery carries the Solingen name, a designation reserved for products that meet the strictest quality standards
Final Thoughts
In general, M390 steel is more premium steel than S30V steel, M390 offers better edge retention and corrosion resistance. On the other hand, S30V is much easier to sharpen than M390 and offers better toughness.
In terms of price, knives made with M390 steel are more expensive than those made of S30V steel. S30V knives are more popular than M390 knives because of the great balance of toughness, edge retention, corrosion resistance, and affordable price.
