I have a confession. I don't like N690

[Doc Dan]

I really don't care for N690 that much. In my use, it just doesn't hold an edge as well as VG10 and other steels. N680 would at least give us corrosion resistance that was greater, though the edge retention isn't great, either. I wonder if there is a better base steel that could be used on Italian Spydercos?

I realize I am probably alone in this opinion, but it is what it is.

[Stuart Ackerman]

N690 and VG10 are closely related.
The HT is almost the same.

Could the HRC be an issue?

[Zipper]

I don’t have a lot of experience with N690. Is it N690 in general, or just that made by the Italian manufacturer. The reason I ask is I had a M390 steel I was disappointed in from a reputable Italian company. It was a pole apart from other M390/20CV/204P I own.

[Zipper]

N690 and VG10 are closely related.
The HT is almost the same.

Could the HRC might be an issue?

Sorry OP and Stuart, I was typing when you posted. Didn’t mean to bombard!

[elena86]

I have a confession. I like N690Co more than VG10. It sharpens like a dream and keeps an edge as long as VG10. My N690Co Urban is a champ. Sorry Thomas …

[R100]

I'd have to say the edge holding of the N690 in my Pattada seems a bit better than any of my many VG10 blades and it's just as easy to sharpen. Fit and finish of that one is perfect too. As good as any of my Taichung models. That's the only Spyderco N690 I have though so maybe I just got lucky.

Dan

[Ramonade]

N690 can be heat treated to a really good spot ! I've had a custom blade in this steel with a very good heat treat. Good resistance to impact for a stainless, better corrosion resistance than VG10 and relatively similar edge retention.

In my mind, it's a good simple steel.
But to each their own !

[Doc Dan]

I have 4 or 5 knives in the steel and while I really like the knives, I tolerate the steel. Maybe it is my imagination, but I have knives in all sorts of steels and this is the only one ever complain about.

I can get the knives extremely sharp very easily. That is no issue. I mainly use knives to open packages that have been delivered nowadays, though fruit cutting does happen. To me, it seems I open a couple of packages and I have to resharpen. The only other steel that I have like that is plain edged H1 and that is expected with that steel.

[horzuff]

Custom heat treated N690 can be really nice. I remember testing an N690 knife treated to around 63 HRC and it was a weird but great experience. Felt glassy on sharpening yet took nearly zero effort to reprofile. Held an edge similarly well to production S30V blades in cardboard and similar cutting. Didn't do any toughness testing but I didn't experience any chipping etc during sharpening and cutting

[RamZar]

N690 is a perfectly adequate non-powdered stainless steel and it’s still used a lot in Europe and South Africa. It’s more like 154CM and VG-10. I remember back in 2005 these three were the most common stainless steels. Arno Bernard of South Africa and Extrema Ratio of Italy still use N690. Emerson is a 154CM diehard. VG-10 is used a lot by Spyderco for their Japanese-made knives.

[Doc Dan]

N690 is a perfectly adequate non-powdered stainless steel and it’s still used a lot in Europe and South Africa. It’s more like 154CM and VG-10. I remember back in 2005 these three were the most common stainless steels. Arno Bernard of South Africa and Extrema Ratio of Italy still use N690. Emerson is a 154CM diehard. VG-10 is used a lot by Spyderco for their Japanese-made knives.

Yes, it is in the same class as VG-10 and 154CM and ATS-34, et. al. I just prefer those steels to it, for some reason.

[dull&blunt]

My experience with N690 has been similar to others in this thread. It’s a balanced non-PM steel, very similar to 154CM and close to VG10

The main thing that bothers me about N690 is it being sold on expensive production Euro knives at a premium price.

[dull&blunt]

double post, apologies

[RamZar]

The main thing that bothers me about N690 is it being sold on expensive production Euro knives at a premium price.

Extrema Ratio of Italy is the most guilty of still using N690 steel on expensive production knives. To a lesser extent, Fox of Italy and Boker of Germany.

[Wartstein]

I have a confession:

I am biased, cause N690 is an Austrian steel and I love my home country...

... actually never tried N690 in a Spyderco, but only in an Enzo Trapper fixed blade (smaller bushcraft knife)- ffg version, not the scandi grind that is actually more popular in this model.

Not a bad choice for that knife in my use, but can't really compare it to an EDC folder.

[Doc Dan]

It isn't a bad steel, at all. I just prefer the others.

[Wartstein]

It isn't a bad steel, at all. I just prefer the others.

I fully understand!

Can't even really tell how I'd like N690 in an EDC folder.
It does just fine in that bush craft fixed blade I have, but I don't use that one much.

[zuludelta]

I've had a good experience with Spyderco's N690, on the now-discontinued Spy-DK model. For edge retention, I'd rate it as being somewhere between Spyderco's BD1 and VG-10, although this is obviously just a subjective assessment.

I have had a bad experience with another company's N690, though: sharpening it felt "gummy" & gave rise to a burr that I could just knock back & forth all day. Maybe it was poor technique on my part, but while I'm not a pro-level sharpener like many of the folks here, I'm no amateur either & have years of experience sharpening my own knives & others' knives. I chalked it up to a suspect heat treatment & from what I've since gathered online, this seems to be a relatively infrequent but nonetheless recurring complaint about this particular manufacturer's knives.

[Doc Dan]

I've had a good experience with Spyderco's N690, on the now-discontinued Spy-DK model. For edge retention, I'd rate it as being somewhere between Spyderco's BD1 and VG-10, although this is obviously just a subjective assessment.

I have had a bad experience with another company's N690, though: sharpening it felt "gummy" & gave rise to a burr that I could just knock back & forth all day. Maybe it was poor technique on my part, but while I'm not a pro-level sharpener like many of the folks here, I'm no amateur either & have years of experience sharpening my own knives & others' knives. I chalked it up to a suspect heat treatment & from what I've since gathered online, this seems to be a relatively infrequent but nonetheless recurring complaint about this particular manufacturer's knives.

I'm glad you said "gummy". I was going to use that exact word describing sharpening this steel. It never feels crisp while sharpening, though it does take a sharp edge.

[zenith2]

N690 tends to feel gummy around 58HRC in my experience, at 61+ different steel on the stones.