Spyderco Forums

for those who are in the know, how does the sprint Elmax compare to the production 690?

N690 is basically VG-10. Elmax is similar in edge retention to S30V.

The Elmax sprint costs around 3 to 4 times that of the Production 690. :)

I like N690.
I have a few and it's a simple to maintain steel that gets extremely sharp. Won't hold it as long as the Elmax but I've found Elmax to be somewhat finicky at times. Sort of all over the place with different heat treatments from different makers.
One of my favorites is the Elmax Mule I use for a field knife. That one is just right. Sharpens easily and holds a nice edge. I sold my Lionspy because of its opposite qualities. That thing was a bear to get where I wanted it.

But the lionspy was much thicker, no?

Bodog wrote:But the lionspy was much thicker, no?

Thicker but I reprofiled and still it just didn't have the same ease of maintenance as the Mule.
I've had a lot of Elmax over the years as stated. Just seems to be a difficult heat treat or something to get it just right. Spyderco gets it.
I did a kitchen knife in Elmax last year and there were very few places that wanted to do the heat treat for me. Quite involved from what I gathered.

Hi Folks!


Between Elmax & N690 I'd take Elmax any time. :)

Have some blades made out of Elmax and I'm very happy with them. They sharp easily, retain a very good 30 degrees inclusive edge for a very reasonable time against hard use, it's very stainless, so what's not to like? :D