CPM-S90V

Very high vanadium. Outlasts almost anything on the cut, and will punish you on the stones. Best on a small hunting blade you sharpen rarely.

Typical hardness

59-61 HRC

Edge retention

5/5

Toughness

2/5

Corrosion resistance

4/5

Ease of sharpening

1/5

1-5 is a relative ranking drawn from published composition and hardness, not a lab measurement. Higher is better on every axis, and no steel is a 5 across the board — edge retention and toughness pull against each other.