What Is MagnaCut Steel? A Comprehensive Guide to This Game-Changing Knife Steel

CPM-MagnaCut is a new stainless steel that has been making waves in the knife community. Invented by Dr. Larrin Thomas, it is designed to be a high-performance blade steel that combines excellent toughness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance to levels that have never been achieved in a single steel before.

What Are the Best MagnaCut Steel Knives?

You can browse our selection of MagnaCut Steel Knives here, but here are some of our favorites.

1. Spyderco Native 5 Salt: Spyderco was among the first to embrace MagnaCut steel with their Salt Series. This knife is designed for ultimate rust resistance and features a three-inch blade, full flat grind, and a generous grip. With its stainless qualities and everyday usability, the Native 5 Salt is a standout choice.
   
2. Kershaw Dividend: The Kershaw Dividend, sometimes referred to as an improved Leek, features a slightly larger blade but retains a slim profile and excellent cutting performance. With its stonewashed MagnaCut steel blade, aluminum handles, and assisted opening, the Dividend offers a great balance of form and function.
   
3. Hogue Deka: This Hogue stands out with its polymer handles, lightweight design and choice of clip point or modified Wharncliffe blade. This knife is ambidextrous and features a deep carry pocket clip, dual thumb studs, and Hogue’s ABLE crossbar lock. With its practicality and strength, the Deka is a reliable choice for everyday use.
   
4. Tactile Knife Company Bexar: Tactile’s Bexar is a traditional slipjoint knife with a modern twist. With its slim blade and handle design, the Bexar offers easy pocket carry and exceptional slicing capabilities. The titanium handles and quality construction make it a dependable choice.
   

Here are some of the benefits of using MagnaCut steel in knives:

1. High toughness: MagnaCut is very tough, which means that it is resistant to both chipping and breaking. This makes it a great choice for larger knives that will encounter hard use tasks such as chopping. On smaller knives, it also means a blade’s edge can be ground thinner so they can cut better while still being durable.
2. Good edge retention: MagnaCut has good edge retention, which means that it can hold its sharp edge for a long time. This is important for knives that will be used for tasks that require a very sharp edge, such as food prep and woodworking.
3. Excellent corrosion resistance: MagnaCut is extremely corrosion resistant, which means that it will not rust or corrode easily. This is important for knives that will be used in wet or humid environments.

What is MagnaCut Steel?

MagnaCut is a powder metallurgy (PM) steel, which means that it is made from very fine particles of metal that are sintered together. Thanks to this process and the actual “recipe” of the steel itself, this results in a very uniform microstructure, which contributes to the steel’s excellent toughness and edge retention. Impressively, the microstructure of this steel is even finer than other marquee PM steels such as S35VN, M390, and Elmax.

Where is MagnaCut Steel Made?

CPM-MagnaCut steel is made by Crucible Industries in partnership with Niagara Specialty Metals in Akron, NY, USA. “CPM” is an acronym for Crucible Particle Metallurgy, indicating its formulation as a powder metal alloy.

How Good Is MagnaCut Steel?

So far, the results of testing on MagnaCut have been very promising. MagnaCut has been shown to be just as tough as high-performance steels like the non-stainless CPM-CruWear with similar edge retention. While other steels can still beat MagnaCut in terms of ultimate edge retention, none so far can do so while also boasting good toughness and stainless properties. MagnaCut is more corrosion resistant than CPM-20CV, and is nearly as stainless as alloys considered “virtually rust-proof” such as LC200N.

These results suggest that MagnaCut could be a game-changer in the knife industry, and in the few short years since its introduction we have already seen that prediction coming true. Because of its high-performance nature in every factor of knife steel performance, it is a great choice for a wide variety of knives, from EDC pocket knives to hard-use fixed blades.

If you are looking for a new knife steel that offers the best of the best, MagnaCut is definitely worth considering. Shop our selection of MagnaCut Knives today.