20CV Steel: Origin, Performance, and Its Place in the Knife World

February 6, 2026

When people talk about premium knife steels, 20CV is almost always part of the conversation, and for good reason. Known for its exceptional edge retention, corrosion resistance, and clean, refined grain structure, 20CV has earned a reputation as a top tier choice for modern folding knives and high end EDC blades.

Let’s break down where it comes from and why the knife world embraced it so hard.

The Origin of 20CV Steel

20CV is a powder metallurgy stainless steel developed as part of a family of “super steels” engineered for extreme performance. It is essentially the American produced counterpart to Böhler M390, with both steels sharing nearly identical chemical compositions and performance characteristics.

The “20CV” designation comes from Crucible Industries’ CPM (Crucible Particle Metallurgy) process, which produces CPM-20CV. This process atomizes molten steel into microscopic powder particles, then hot-isostatically presses them into solid billets. The result is a steel with:

Extremely fine, uniform carbide distribution
Fewer weak points compared to traditional ingot steels
More predictable heat treatment and performance

In simple terms: it’s a very controlled, very engineered steel.

Knife Stropping - Sharpening

The Composition of 20CV Steel, and Why It Matters

20CV’s performance comes from its chemistry:

High chromium content -> excellent corrosion resistance
High vanadium content -> incredible wear resistance and edge life
High carbon content -> allows for high hardness without brittleness

This combination puts 20CV firmly in the category of high wear, high retention stainless steels, designed to keep cutting long after simpler steels would need resharpening.

How 20CV Performs in Real World Use

In the knife world, performance isn’t just about lab numbers... it’s about daily carry and use.

What users love about 20CV:

Outstanding edge retention (one of its strongest traits)
Excellent rust resistance for EDC and outdoor use
Takes a very refined, sharp edge
Feels “clean” on the cut due to fine carbide structure

Trade offs to be aware of:

Harder to sharpen than entry level steels
More dependent on proper heat treatment
Overkill for users who sharpen frequently and lightly use their knives

When heat treated correctly, 20CV sits comfortably in that sweet spot where performance feels effortless... it just keeps cutting.

20CV in the Knife Industry

As knife enthusiasts began demanding better edge life and corrosion resistance, manufacturers started turning to 20CV for their premium production runs and special editions.

You’ll most often see 20CV used in:

High end folding knives
Limited or upgraded versions of popular models (as we did in the Callisto series)
Knives marketed toward experienced EDC users

20CV vs. Its Steel “Sibling” M390

It is safe to say that M390's success showed that high-carbide stainless super steels were in demand. Crucible likely recognized that demand and and aimed to create something similar. Some people believe it is the same chemical composition as M390 but just made here in the United States.. but that's not true. You can read about the differences here.

In practice, performance differences are minimal when heat treatment is done right. Most users won’t feel a difference... what matters more is the maker’s execution, not the name stamped on the blade.

Our Offering in 20CV Steel

As most of you know, our first release as a knife company was the Callisto in 154CM, a great little blade for EDC tasks such as opening packages, cutting zip ties, a little food preparation, etc. The feedback on that knife is still very positive, but we did get a lot of requests to make a bigger version.

Personally, as a knife designer, I assume that people are more likely to use a bigger knife for bigger tasks... harder use, if you will. So I felt it would be wrong to make the knife bigger, but not make it better. That's why all Large Callistos will be released in 20CV, no matter the version.