M390 vs CPM 20CV
The internet’s favorite trick question. Bohler’s M390 and Crucible’s CPM 20CV (plus Carpenter’s CTS 204P) are near-identical compositions produced by different mills — the real-world differences come from heat treat and grind, not the label on the bar. Here is what is genuinely the same, what occasionally differs, and how a maker should actually choose.
Quick Verdict
They are functionally the same steel - pick by price, availability and bar size, not mystique. If a specific knife performs differently in one or the other, credit the maker's heat treat and geometry, not the mill. For makers: buy whichever your supplier stocks in your dimensions this month.
Toughness
Statistically even, with some testing giving M390 a slight chipping-resistance edge at equal hardness - a margin smaller than heat-treat variation between two shops. Both sit in the modest-toughness super-stainless class: fine for folders and slicers, wrong for impact.
Edge Retention
A tie by design - same ~1.9% carbon, 4% vanadium, 20% chromium carbide chemistry, same CATRA-class results at equal hardness. Any difference you can measure came from hardness targets, not chemistry.
Corrosion Resistance
Identical in practice: comfortably stainless for EDC, kitchen and weather duty. Neither is LC200N-grade salt-proof; both make rust a non-issue with minimal care.
Heat Treat
Same protocol family: high-temperature austenitize with real soak, plate quench, prompt cold treatment, low temper for 60-62 HRC. Both punish skipped cold treatment with retained austenite. Follow the respective datasheet numbers and they land in the same place.
Grinding
Equally demanding: ceramic belts while annealed, diamond or CBN once hard, patience throughout. No meaningful difference at the grinder or the sharpening bench - the powder practice of both mills produces similarly fine, similarly stubborn carbide structures.
Best-Use Scenarios
Premium EDC folders, high-end slicers, kitchen knives for low-maintenance owners. Choose M390 when European sourcing or the brand cachet matters to the customer; choose 20CV when Crucible pricing or domestic supply wins; treat 204P as the same answer from a third mill.