Two premium knife steels known for their exceptional performance are S45VN and S90V. However, they are two different steels that have their own separate areas of specialty. So it is only fair to compare these two steels to see which is better and why.
Short Answer:
S45VN is known for its balanced performance, offering good edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening. CPM-S90 is a premium stainless steel known for its exceptional edge retention and wear resistance.
Now that we have looked at the short answer, we can look closer at each steel, how these two steels compare in-depth, and what the best knives in each steel are.
In-Depth Look at S45VN
S45VN is a high-performance stainless steel designed to provide a balanced combination of edge retention, corrosion resistance, toughness, and sharpenability.
Here is the composition of S45VN:
- 1.45% carbon
- 14% chromium
- 4% vanadium
- 2.00% molybdenum
- 3.00% Vanadiumniobium
- 0.37% niobium
Edge Retention: S45VN offers good edge retention but not the best. It is going to offer fairly good edge retention that is suitable for lots of work but you will have to resharpen your knife more often than with other steels like S110V.
Corrosion Resistance: With a significant chromium content, S45VN exhibits good corrosion resistance. However, it won’t be a steel you could use in saltwater and then never dry off, it will require some work to keep it from rusting.
Sharpenability: S45VN is designed to be reasonably easy to sharpen. This is nice because most steels with good or exceptional edge retention are often extremely hard to sharpen.
Toughness: S45VN, being a well rounded steel, is going to have good toughness. However, it will not be as tough as a simple steel like 1095.
In-Depth Look at CPM-S90V
CPM-S90V is a premium powdered metallurgy stainless steel celebrated for its exceptional edge retention, wear resistance, and overall performance.
Here is what S90V is made of:
- 2.30% carbon
- 14.00% chromium
- 9.00% vanadium
- 1.00% molybdenum
Edge Retention: CPM-S90V excels in edge retention, and is even one of the more edge retentive steels out there. But you will have to keep in mind this means it will be hard to resharpen once your blade goes dull.
Corrosion Resistance: With a substantial chromium content, CPM-S90V offers fantastic corrosion resistance, especially considering its fairly low chromium content.
Toughness: Because of the carbon content in S90V. It will be a pretty tough steel that will hold up well to heavy use. Although its also not going to be as tough as a simple steels like 1095 or 52100.
Wear resistance: S90V is a very wear resistant steel. When it comes to repeated use, not many steels will hold up as well as S90V.
In-Depth Comparison
Edge Retention: CPM-S90V offers far superior edge retention compared to S45VN. So if you are going to need a knife you will touch up once and last a long time, S90V is the better steel.
Corrosion Resistance: Generally, S90V will offer slightly better, if not, the same corrosion resistance as S45VN. Both of these steels have good corrosion resistance to the extent that the only steels with better corrosion resistance are usually specialty steels.
Sharpenability: S45VN is designed to be an easy to sharpen sharpened steel while CPM-S90V is not. So while S90V will hold an edge longer, it is going to be much harder to resharpen when your knife goes dull.
Toughness: Both these steels are roughly the same when it comes to toughness. They are going to hold up well to fairly heavy use, but S45VN is usually slightly tougher.
Wear resistance: Being one of the more wear resistant steels out there, S90V is going to have far better wear resistance than S45VN. So if you are using your knife repeatedly, then S90V is the far better steel.
Best knives in each steel
Now that we have looked at each steel in-depth and how these two steels compare in-depth, we can look at the best knives in each steel.
Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter – S90V
The Hidden Canyon Hunter is a small full-tang fixed-blade knife that is lightweight and thin yet durable. If you want a lightweight camping or hunting knife, this is the knife for me.
Check out this knife here (link to Amazon)
Benchmade Bugout – S90V
The Bugout is one of Benchmade’s most famous folding knives. It boasts being only 2.2 ounces and has a buttery smooth action. It has Benchmade’s deep-carry pocket clip, a carbon fiber handle, and a 3.24 inch CPM-S90V steel blade.
See this knife for yourself here (link to Amazon).
Spyderco Para Military – CPM-S45VN
The Para Military is perhaps Spyderco’s most popular knife. It’s got Spyderco’s signature thumb hole for opening (which won’t snag on your pocket), a reversible pocket clip, a G10 handle, and Spyderco’s compression lock. It’s a solid workhorse of a knife that will keep going no matter what you put it through.
Check it out here (link to Amazon).
Conclusion
The choice between S45VN and CPM-S90V depends on individual preferences and the intended use of the knife. If a balanced combination of edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening is sought after, S45VN is an excellent choice. However, for those who prioritize cutting performance at the highest level, especially in edge retention and wear resistance, CPM-S90V is the superior option.