CruWear vs MagnaCut

MagnaCut is tougher and resists corrosion better, and the two tie on edge retention and ease of sharpening. The biggest gap is corrosion resistance (9/10 vs 3/10). CruWear does not beat MagnaCut on any rating, so pick it for a specific knife rather than for the steel.

CruWear vs MagnaCut ratingsCruWear: Edge retention 7/10, Toughness 7/10, Corrosion resistance 3/10, Ease of sharpening 5/10; MagnaCut: Edge retention 7/10, Toughness 8/10, Corrosion resistance 9/10, Ease of sharpening 5/10Edge retention7 / 7Toughness7 / 8Corrosion resistance3 / 9Ease ofsharpening5 / 5CruWearMagnaCut

Who wins each property

CruWear vs MagnaCut: rating differencesEdge retention: CruWear 7, MagnaCut 7; Toughness: CruWear 7, MagnaCut 8; Corrosion resistance: CruWear 3, MagnaCut 9; Ease of sharpening: CruWear 5, MagnaCut 5← MagnaCut betterCruWear better →Edge retentiontieToughness−1Corrosion resistance−6Ease of sharpeningtie

Side by side

CruWearMagnaCut
TypePowder metallurgy tool steelsPowder metallurgy stainless steels
Hardness60–64 HRC61–64 HRC
Edge retention7/107/10
Toughness7/108/10
Corrosion resistance3/109/10
Ease of sharpening5/105/10
Price tierPremiumPremium
MakerCrucibleCrucible (designed by Larrin Thomas)
CruWear vs MagnaCut hardnessCruWear: 60-64 HRC; MagnaCut: 61-64 HRC55 soft60 mid65 very hard507060–6461–64

Composition

ElementCruWearMagnaCut
Carbon (C)1.11.15
Chromium (Cr)7.510.7
Vanadium (V)2.44
Molybdenum (Mo)1.62
Tungsten (W)1.15—
Niobium (Nb)—2
Nitrogen (N)—0.2
Manganese (Mn)0.40.4
Silicon (Si)1.20.4
Phosphorus (P)0.030.03
Sulfur (S)0.030.03
CruWear vs MagnaCut compositionCruWear: C 1.1%, Cr 7.5%, V 2.4%, Mo 1.6%, W 1.15%, Mn 0.4%, Si 1.2%, P 0.03%, S 0.03%; MagnaCut: C 1.15%, Cr 10.7%, V 4.0%, Mo 2.0%, Nb 2.0%, N 0.2%, Mn 0.4%, Si 0.4%, P 0.03%, S 0.03%0%5%10%15%Carbon (C)1.11.15Chromium (Cr)7.510.7Vanadium (V)2.44Molybdenum (Mo)1.62Tungsten (W)1.15–Niobium (Nb)–2Nitrogen (N)–0.2Manganese (Mn)0.40.4Silicon (Si)1.20.4Phosphorus (P)0.030.03Sulfur (S)0.030.03CruWearMagnaCut

Property by property

Edge retention

Both rate 7/10 for edge retention. Vanadium: 2.4% vs 4%; more vanadium carbide generally means more wear resistance.

Toughness

MagnaCut is tougher: 8/10 against 7/10 for CruWear, a 1-point gap.

Corrosion resistance

MagnaCut resists corrosion better: 9/10 against 3/10 for CruWear, a 6-point gap. Chromium: 7.5% vs 10.7%, though what matters is the chromium left in solution, not the total.

Ease of sharpening

Both rate 5/10 for ease of sharpening.

Knives in each steel

CruWear

KnifeBrandBladeWeightLockList priceBuy
Spyderco Manix 2 CPM CruWearSpyderco3.37"4.9 ozBall Bearing Lock$252Blade HQ
Spyderco Para 3 CPM CruWearSpyderco2.93"3.5 ozCompression lock$289Blade HQ
Spyderco Stretch 2 XL CPM CruWearSpyderco3.99"4.6 ozBack lock$320Blade HQ

MagnaCut

KnifeBrandBladeWeightLockList priceBuy
Zero Tolerance 0562CFZero Tolerance3.5"5.5 ozTitanium frame lock$375Blade HQ
Chris Reeve Knives Large Sebenza 31Chris Reeve Knives3.61"4.7 ozReeve Integral Lock$500Blade HQ
Hogue DekaHogue3.25"2.1 ozABLE Lock$184.95Blade HQ
Benchmade Adamas 275GY-03Benchmade3.82"6.54 ozAXIS lock$325Blade HQ
Kershaw Link 1776OLSWKershaw3.25"4.7 ozLiner lock$209.99Blade HQ

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FAQ

Which is better, CruWear or MagnaCut?

MagnaCut is tougher and resists corrosion better, and the two tie on edge retention and ease of sharpening. The biggest gap is corrosion resistance (9/10 vs 3/10). CruWear does not beat MagnaCut on any rating, so pick it for a specific knife rather than for the steel.

Which is harder, CruWear or MagnaCut?

CruWear is typically run at 60–64 HRC and MagnaCut at 61–64 HRC.

Is CruWear or MagnaCut more rust resistant?

MagnaCut (9/10). CruWear is a powder metallurgy tool steel; MagnaCut is a powder metallurgy stainless steel.

Related comparisons

Full steel pages: CPM CruWear · CPM MagnaCut