Pricy but Excellent
The S90V blade puts this as the “top” stainless steel edge retention folder in my Spyderco knives. It works well but in my view if you look after the knife the CPM 15V , the Military 2 in this steel offers better performance on edge retention for a significantly cheaper price. It by no means is prone to rust if oiled and given a lemon juice forced patina. So you need to think carefully if money is an issue but other than this the S90V is superb. It can take a very long lasting razor sharp edge and doesn’t suffer at all from edge oxidisation degradation which tool steels can do if stored for any length of time. It is a great design too - so you can use it for many different tasks and for many hours of use. The handle just “works” well on this knife. For a folding blade which is thin the ergonomics on the handle are fantastic. At least three easy grip changes to avoid fatigue are possible. The weight saving on the carbon fibre is noticeable but the standard G10 is not “heavy”. I tend to use the cheaper S110V Military 2 when I want to have a care free stainless option which is usually if I am deer stalking in West Scotland where boat access is needed from the sea. S110V is more corrosion resistant. The S90V does out pace it on edge retention though. For me this knife is a bit more of a best of both worlds but it costs a lot to achieve this. It is a great knife though and highly recommended.
