North Arm Knives 6" Fillet Knife (Magnacut)

[Lefty2506]

A little background. I process my own deer, and always have. Dad and grandpa used to butcher hogs and beef, so we always had the tools to do so when I was growing up. After moving out on my own, I tried lots of different knives and quickly came to the conclusion that a fillet knife was the best tool for boning out a deer. I only process 3 to 5 deer per year, but when I was growing up we would often do 8 to 10 between dad an I. I've been using the Rapala 4" and 6" blades for years, but I would always need to either sharpen them (really more of a touch up) half way through the job, or have multiple knives ready to go at the start of the job. At $20 each, having 2 of each size wasn't cost prohibitive. At the end of the season, I'd spend a few hours sharpening all of them to get them back into the condition I wanted them in for the next season. I use the same knives to breast out pheasant, and we will often do around 20 birds a day over a 9 day stretch.

Last spring I decided to treat myself to some better knives. I was looking at Benchmade's Magnacut fillet knife, but I couldn't bring myself to spend the money. I ended up getting a 6" Fillet Knife and a 4" paring/bird knife from North Arm Knives. One word. WOW. Its very easy to get them hair whittling sharp. I did 3 decent size does this month. At the end of each deer, the blade was still able to shave hair (barely), but 6-8 light strokes across a fine ceramic stone brought it right back into its original condition. The edges on the back of the spine have been blended slightly making the knives a lot more comfortable to use. The knives fit my hands well, were easy to grip in wet conditions, and SUPER easy to clean up. I've always took pride in how sharp my knives are, but these two are on a whole different level. They don't just take an amazingly sharp edge, they hold it REALLY well. It was difficult for an old tightwad like me to cough up $200 ea for a pair of knives, but after using them, I'll likely try to add a 9" fillet knife and a chef's knife to my tool kit.

Here are a couple of pics. The bottom one was taken between quarters, so they're a little dirty. I don't remember what I was using the paring knife for. I think I just didn't want it to feel left out... lol I have only used it a few times in the kitchen, but it slices through a tater like a hot knife through warm butter.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

Thanks for taking time to post this informative thread!

 

[SKWERLZ]

Magnacut is some pretty good stuff, sharpens nice and not as fragile as cpm 20 CV or M390 but holds an edge almost like them.

 

[linebaugh]

Thanks for posting.

 

[Lefty2506]

Magnacut is some pretty good stuff, sharpens nice and not as fragile as cpm 20 CV or M390 but holds an edge almost like them.

My EDC is a Bradford Guardian 3.5 in M390. I bought it because I like the shape of the blade and handle, it fits sheathed in my pocket, and M390 is "supposed" to have excellent edge retention. It's a little thicker than I prefer, but I wanted to give it a try. After 2 years of EDC, I do love the shape of the blade, but I hate the steel. I can skin a deer with it just fine, and the edge holds up well in that type of application, but if you get it within 6" of a staple, entire sections of the edge will micro chip. It won't hold an edge past 600 grit, and it seems like it will dull itself significantly just sitting on the shelf. In limited applications where it won't see ANY abuse, M390/20CV might hold a good edge, but in a typical knife application, it sucks IMHO (and I'm pretty picky about a knife being a cutting tool, not a pry bar, chisel, screw driver, or hammer). My limited experience is that MagnaCut's higher toughness translates into a knife edge that's able to hold up much better in real world use. I was skeptical about how well it actually translates. I'm no longer skeptical It's not a magic laser beam, but I can absolutely understand what and why Larrin Thomas was going for when he developed the steel. He absolutely got it right. I can see where something like CPM 20CV would be a better choice for an industrial knife that's used in a controlled environment, but as a hand held knife steel, I'm not impressed.

 

[SKWERLZ]

My EDC is a Bradford Guardian 3.5 in M390. I bought it because I like the shape of the blade and handle, it fits sheathed in my pocket, and M390 is "supposed" to have excellent edge retention. It's a little thicker than I prefer, but I wanted to give it a try. After 2 years of EDC, I do love the shape of the blade, but I hate the steel. I can skin a deer with it just fine, and the edge holds up well in that type of application, but if you get it within 6" of a staple, entire sections of the edge will micro chip. It won't hold an edge past 600 grit, and it seems like it will dull itself significantly just sitting on the shelf. In limited applications where it won't see ANY abuse, M390/20CV might hold a good edge, but in a typical knife application, it sucks IMHO (and I'm pretty picky about a knife being a cutting tool, not a pry bar, chisel, screw driver, or hammer). My limited experience is that MagnaCut's higher toughness translates into a knife edge that's able to hold up much better in real world use. I was skeptical about how well it actually translates. I'm no longer skeptical It's not a magic laser beam, but I can absolutely understand what and why Larrin Thomas was going for when he developed the steel. He absolutely got it right. I can see where something like CPM 20CV would be a better choice for an industrial knife that's used in a controlled environment, but as a hand held knife steel, I'm not impressed.

Exactly

Magnacut reminds me of 154CM that benchmade has used, that’s a good knife steel that with withstand some abuse.

 

[Lefty2506]

I always shied away from 154CM because it didn't look like it would have enough wear resistance. I was an idiot. The value and importance of toughness didn't really set in until I started reading a lot of what Larrin Thomas wrote concerning different knife steels. As a machinist, I've always worked with carbide and very hard tool steels, and was convinced that since I wasn't beating on my knives with a hammer, I really didn't need the toughness and could sacrifice it for edge retention. Larrin's does a good job of putting all the aspects together in a way that makes sense (at least to me).

 

[Richard Jones]

My EDC is a Bradford Guardian 3.5 in M390. I bought it because I like the shape of the blade and handle, it fits sheathed in my pocket, and M390 is "supposed" to have excellent edge retention. It's a little thicker than I prefer, but I wanted to give it a try. After 2 years of EDC, I do love the shape of the blade, but I hate the steel. I can skin a deer with it just fine, and the edge holds up well in that type of application, but if you get it within 6" of a staple, entire sections of the edge will micro chip. It won't hold an edge past 600 grit, and it seems like it will dull itself significantly just sitting on the shelf. In limited applications where it won't see ANY abuse, M390/20CV might hold a good edge, but in a typical knife application, it sucks IMHO (and I'm pretty picky about a knife being a cutting tool, not a pry bar, chisel, screw driver, or hammer). My limited experience is that MagnaCut's higher toughness translates into a knife edge that's able to hold up much better in real world use. I was skeptical about how well it actually translates. I'm no longer skeptical It's not a magic laser beam, but I can absolutely understand what and why Larrin Thomas was going for when he developed the steel. He absolutely got it right. I can see where something like CPM 20CV would be a better choice for an industrial knife that's used in a controlled environment, but as a hand held knife steel, I'm not impressed.

My Bradford Guardian 3 must have different heat treat than yours. I got it just after he started, IIRC. Love the knife and carry/use it quite a bit. I generally take mine up to a 3k Suehiro Rika and stop. I've seen no evidence of chipping, etc. I'm picky as well. Have you tried contacting him? Sounds like the HT didn't get done right......... I have several other knives in M390 and have not had any issues with it.

That said, I would so love to try one in Magnacut............