Steel matchup
MagnaCut and LC200N, compared on the five things that decide a blade: toughness, edge retention, corrosion, heat treat and how each one grinds.
A powder-metallurgy stainless steel balancing high toughness, strong edge retention, and excellent corrosion resistance, widely regarded as one of the most well-rounded modern knife steels.
Zapp's nitrogen steel (Z-Finit / Cronidur 30 / N360): part of carbon's job handed to nitrogen so chromium stays in solution - virtually rustproof in salt service, genuinely tough, fine keen low-carbide edge, ceiling around 58-60 HRC and modest wear resistance. The boat, dive and fillet steel.
Dimension by dimension
Each steel's own note, its score out of five, and what separates the two in that one column. The higher score in a row is marked in purple.
| Dimension | MagnaCut | LC200N | What separates them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toughness | In Charpy impact testing at 62.5 HRC, MagnaCut delivers roughly 38 ft-lbs of toughness, about 40% tougher than S35VN at similar hardness, and roughly double the toughness of M390. It performs on par with tough non-stainless steels like CPM 4V and Vanadis 4 Extra. | A quiet strength - low carbide volume leaves a clean, tough matrix comfortably above the premium PM stainless class, in the AEB-L neighborhood. Thin fillet blades flex, tips survive, and edges dent rather than chip at sensible hardness. | Both genuinely tough for stainless - LC200N from its near-carbide-free matrix, MagnaCut from its engineered fine vanadium/niobium carbides. MagnaCut holds its toughness at higher hardness, which in practice makes the tougher KNIFE at equal edge stability. Call it MagnaCut by function, not by chart. |
| Edge retention | CATRA edge-retention testing places MagnaCut between S35VN and S45VN, very good, though not at the extreme end occupied by steels like S90V or M390. | The tradeoff for everything else. Few carbides means wear resistance sits well below M390-class steels - fine edges that touch up in seconds but need touching up sooner in abrasive media. In its natural wet-duty roles (flesh, food, line) the difference rarely shows. | MagnaCut, clearly - its carbide design out-wears LC200N's clean matrix by a comfortable margin, and it runs 2-4 HRC points harder to boot. LC200N edges are keen and fast to maintain but visit the strop sooner. |
| Corrosion resistance | MagnaCut keeps its full 10.7% chromium in solid solution, giving it corrosion resistance that exceeds S35VN, S45VN, M390, and 20CV, among the best of any high-performance knife steel, approaching though not quite reaching saltwater-grade steels like Vanax or LC200N. | The category king. Larrin Thomas rates LC200N 10 out of 10 for corrosion resistance, the top of his table alongside Vanax, half a point above MagnaCut (9.5) and ahead of 20CV (9), Elmax and S45VN (8) and S35VN and S30V (7.5), and he found no rust spots on it in his 1% saltwater test or in the harsher 3.5% retest. Nitrogen keeps ~15% chromium dissolved and working, so the passive layer survives salt water, sweat, blood and acids. This is the steel for knives that live in the ocean, a class beyond conventional stainless, with MagnaCut its nearest rival here. | LC200N wins the crown - nitrogen keeps its chromium fully in solution, and Larrin Thomas rates it 10 out of 10 against MagnaCut's 9.5, with no rust spots on it in his 1% or harsher 3.5% saltwater tests, where MagnaCut was on the border in the 3.5% retest. Salt-immersion service that eventually finds MagnaCut's limits leaves LC200N effectively immune, short of crevice abuse such as trapped salt under scales. MagnaCut is remarkably close (the best of the carbide stainless steels). |
| Heat treat | Recommended heat treatment from Crucible's CPM MagnaCut data sheet: preheat at 1550-1600 degrees F, austenitize at 2050 degrees F (1120 C) for 20 minutes (Crucible's hold-time chart runs from 30 minutes at 1950 F to 5 minutes at 2200 F), quench to below 125 F with a plate, air or positive-pressure gas quench (or a salt or interrupted oil quench to about 1000 F, then air), then double temper at 350 degrees F (175 C) for at least 2 hours each, cooling to hand warm between. Crucible's aim is 60-63 HRC. For that recipe its table lists 61.5 HRC after a plate or oil quench and 62 HRC with dry ice or liquid nitrogen after the quench, and Larrin Thomas reports around 61-62.5 HRC. Higher hardness needs a different cycle: with a 300 F temper the same 2050 F austenitize gives 62.5 HRC (63 HRC with dry ice or liquid nitrogen), and the table's results of 64-65 HRC all come from austenitizing at 2100-2200 F with a cold treatment (a freezer for 64-64.5 HRC, liquid nitrogen or dry ice for 64-65 HRC, or cryo in a vacuum furnace for 64 HRC), mostly with a 300 F temper; one cell, 64 HRC, is a 350 F temper at 2200 F with liquid nitrogen or dry ice. At the recommended 2050 F and 350 F cycle a cold treatment is optional, and Crucible warns that tempering above 750 F reduces corrosion resistance. Because MagnaCut is a stainless PM steel, it should be heat treated in a foil-wrapped or controlled-atmosphere environment to prevent scale and decarburization, and requires an oven capable of holding precise soak temperatures. A dedicated quench plate system makes it much easier to control warping during the plate quench step. For the general principles behind every stage of this process, see our Complete Guide to Heat Treating Knife Steel. | Zapp's LC 200 N data sheet (revision July 2020): preheat at 750-780°C (1380-1435°F), austenitize at 1030°C (1886°F) and hold 20-40 minutes once the part is heated through, then quench in oil, a salt bath or air at a minimum of 5 bar overpressure to 550°C (1020°F). A subzero treatment is recommended in every case (at least -80°C, about -112°F, for at least 60 minutes, as soon as the part can be held in bare hands, or liquid nitrogen at -196°C for at least 30 minutes) and is mandatory when austenitizing above 1000°C (1832°F). Then temper twice, 2 hours each. For a 1030°C austenitize with that subzero step the sheet's table gives above 58 HRC (plus or minus 1) with a 160-180°C (320-355°F) temper, 55-58 HRC with 220-300°C (430-570°F) and above 58 HRC again with 460-475°C (860-885°F), where its toughness and corrosion ratings drop; it lists an operating hardness of 58-60 HRC, and a 1000°C austenitize with a 550-620°C temper gives only 30-40 HRC. Larrin Thomas's testing at Knife Steel Nerds found about 59-60 Rc from a 1900°F austenitize (within 15°F of Zapp's 1030°C) and a ceiling near 60 Rc. Zapp advises a controlled-atmosphere or vacuum furnace and about 0.2 mm of grinding allowance for decarburization and denitrization, so this is stock-removal, controlled-kiln work. | MagnaCut has the wider window and the harder result. Crucible's MagnaCut sheet: austenitize 1950 to 2200°F (2050°F recommended), quench to below 125°F, double temper at 350°F, aim 60 to 63 HRC. At 2050°F and 350°F its table lists 61.5 HRC after a plate or oil quench and 62 HRC after dry ice or liquid nitrogen, so a cold treatment is optional; its 64 to 65 HRC cells all use a 2100 to 2200°F austenitize and a cold treatment, mostly with a 300°F temper (the one 350°F cell, 64 HRC, is at 2200°F with liquid nitrogen or dry ice). LC200N is the lower-temperature, lower-hardness steel, and Zapp's data sheet (revision July 2020) gives its recipe: preheat at 750 to 780°C, austenitize at 1030°C (1886°F) for 20 to 40 minutes, quench in oil, salt or air at 5 bar or more, then a subzero treatment of at least -80°C (-112°F) for 60 minutes, mandatory above 1000°C, and two 2-hour tempers. Its table lists above 58 HRC at a 160 to 180°C (320 to 355°F) temper, 55 to 58 HRC at 220 to 300°C (430 to 570°F) and an operating hardness of 58 to 60 HRC, and Larrin Thomas found about 59 to 60 Rc from a 1900°F austenitize and a ceiling near 60 Rc. That puts MagnaCut roughly 2 to 4 HRC harder. Both want a controlled kiln; the difference is that MagnaCut's cold step is optional while LC200N's is mandatory at Zapp's 1030°C. |
| Grinding | Like other vanadium-rich powder-metallurgy steels, MagnaCut is moderately demanding to grind because of hard vanadium and niobium carbides. Expect belt wear similar to or slightly higher than S35VN; ceramic or high-quality zirconia belts are recommended for stock removal. | Friendly. Low carbide volume grinds and drills easily by stainless standards, finishes cleanly, and sharpens on ordinary stones to a screaming edge - no diamonds required. One of the least punishing premium steels in the shop. | LC200N is the pleasant one - low carbide volume grinds fast and sharpens on ordinary stones. MagnaCut is moderate: easier than M390-class, still a step up in effort from LC200N. For production fillet work, LC200N's shop friendliness is a real cost advantage. |
Best use
MagnaCut
premium kitchen and EDC, hunting blades, hard-use fixed blades near water - the better all-rounder wherever absolute immunity is not the spec.
Open the MagnaCut referenceLC200N
fillet and bait knives, dive and rescue blades, boat boxes, coastal EDC that lives in sweat and spray.
Open the LC200N reference
The long answer
The two steels that made rust optional, solving the problem from opposite directions. MagnaCut engineered its carbides to leave chromium free; LC200N handed part of carbon’s job to nitrogen. MagnaCut brings the more complete knife package — hardness, edge retention, toughness — while LC200N holds the absolute corrosion crown and the friendlier sharpening. For salt-water living, the gap matters; for everything else, so does MagnaCut’s.
Keep comparing
Keep reading
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Same bench
Whichever steel wins, the grind is only as flat as the platen behind it. I machine the parts, hand-assemble, track and test Torus grinders in Sterling, Illinois.
Current dual-axis platform with a fiber-laser-cut 6061 chassis and single-knob tracking.
Current dual-axis platform with a steel chassis, more mass and less vibration.
Prior-design aluminum chassis, 90-degree tilt and 1.5-inch tooling arms.
One-man shop
Tell me what the blade is for and how you heat treat, and I will tell you which of these I would put on the bench — including when the answer is neither.
