A brief comment on K390's stain resistance; I daily carried and abused a K390 Endela for several weeks while moving in July in North Carolina - 80+ percent humidity, 90+ degrees. I couldn't force the thing to rust. It would literally have sweat condensed on the blade every time I took it out of my pocket, and the worst I got was slight discoloration that mostly wiped off. After that, I believe that steel doesn't rust as easily as most people believe.

Picked this knife up couple weeks ago only my second spyderco first is a endura love that one this was no disappointment very good feel in the hand and for just a general EDC carry/last ditch defense weapon I am very pleased with it. Thankyou very much for the review. Happy Easter to you.

One of my favorite steels.

I'd want a folder in K390 as an enthusiasts choice, the tech behind the steel and it's capabilities is just added fun factor. You didn't mention this but the ergos on the Stretch look more friendly over the PM2 with the contoured edges and the finger swell which I think adds a nod in favour of the Stretch. Sharpening has become a form of therapy for me, it's relaxing, it's fun as a skill to learn and really satisfying when you know you can really use and take care of your cutting tools.

All valid points. I’ve been curious about k390. And this might be the perfect model for me to try it in.

Of all the OG spyderco before they were cool designs this is among my fav was very close to buying the zdp one a few years ago(the British sweet racing green)

I love my Stretch 2. Awesome knife

Finally bought one of these, and I'm just binging all the youtube videos I can find on it before it comes in a few days. I always wanted a stretch, but either didn't have the money or missed on some of the sprints or non standard versions over the years and I couldn't get myself to buy the original vg-10 for the price when I already had a delica, endura, and others with s30v and better for roughly the same price. I did like the original blade shape but the straight spine is definitely nicer looking I think. Now that it's offered in k390 for really not a lot more than vg 10 knives I feel I can justify it now. I also have yet to get anything in k390 as well so 2 for 1 with this guy. New steel and a new knife.

I picked up a Dragonfly 2 Wharncliffe in K390 amazing steel

You are clearly Kevin! Cool vid! 😎

One should not only match the steel choice to the task intended, but also to their sharpening tools (and skills). It really makes little difference to tackle steels like k390 with common ceramic stones. Yes it can be done, but with Vanadium carbides that are actually harder than the abrasive used in ceramic stones (like Aluminum oxide) it not only gets pretty slow to sharpen, but also the resulting edge does not last quite as long as it could. Just get some diamond system (KME, etc), plates (DMT, etc) or stones (Venev, Practical Shapening, Tripple B, etc) or CBN (double sided plate from Spyderco looks interesting). I have done a serious convexing to my k390 PM2 and it took me only about half an hour per side to do a considerable change to the geometry of the blade. Regular sharpening is just a few minutes (free hand). All of that on 400 grit Practical Sharpening diamond stone and 400/1000 grit Venev stone.

I have the endura in K390 its actually not too bad to sharpen. I have D2 blades I've found harder.

As I understand it this K390 is similar to s110v but takes a smoother edge. I have the Dragonfly 2 in K390 and it's great. But the stainless issue is a thing. Which is why LC200N is lovely as it is utterly stainless, rather tough, and hardens to 60 hrc. So not the edge retention of K390 or even s90v but it takes a mirror edge and is better at the other areas then those two. So until magnacut finishes its teething stage of roll out K390 if your dry and LC200N for everything else. (Confession- I love M4 but I basically live underwater as far as salt and humidity go). TL;DR: K390 is great but niche.

Pay attention to that graph of steel ratings at Larrin Thomas's knifesteelnerds. The top steels available in production knives runs (from toughest to abrasive resistance): 3V/14C28N - Cru Wear - 4V/Magnacut/M4 - K390 - 10V - S90V - 15V - Maxamet. All excellent steels, in fact I'd say that only considering the sum of toughness and abrasive resistance, they're all equally excellent. S90V excels in abrasive resistance, but its not tougher than M390/20CV/204P, S30V, or S45V. And that means it can't be readily reprofiled to much more acute final bevels, while retaining edges stable from chipping. The advantage of K390 compared to S90V is it trades a bit of edge retention for much greater toughness, and it can (and IS in Seki's hands) heat treated to 65 HRC. Leave it at the factory 14-15 DPS for tough use, and you'll be stropping rather than reprofiling chips as on the S90V. But this is also a steel/heat trat that should have edge stability down to 11-12 DPS as good as S90V at 17 DPS.

In these Spyderco Seki-City K390 with back lock there is a noticeable blade play up and down?

I went the police route x2. No regrets.

Cool knife. This steel reminds me that D2 has become a great budget semi-stainless at 60 RC, it is tougher, easier to sharpen, and much cheaper.

A different handle material would be nice too

As a non Spyderco guy, I look at this knife, and I see all the anticipation and appreciation of it across the reviewers and chat folk, and I can't figure out what they're seeing that I'm not seeing. I can't figure out why this knife exists when the PM2 exists. It seems so close as to not justify a separate model, and that's extra notable for a company that already reuses design families a lot. Seems like a PM2 with a less convenient lock. I could see if you were chasing K390, but on Spyderco's side it seems like they could just put out a PM2 in K390. Those of you who appreciate both knives, help the rest of us understand what it is about this seemingly very similar knife design that enthuses you beyond a PM2.

How did i watch an eight minute video on a knife and not find out the color of the pocket clip? Too much talk and not enough show.

Why do people have no ability to wipe their knives once in awhile with a rag that has a tiny bit of oil on it to keep steel from rusting, that sounds even dumber than not knowing how to sharpen a knife, that does take some skill but to keep a blade from rusting because living in the Keys is such a problem, give me a break.