Spyderco Stretch 2 K390 - 6 Month Rust Test On The Florida Coast

[@manifestgtr]

I agree with all of this...I own a bunch of k390 (including this model) and it patinas beautifully. I’m a fisherman, I live in a *humid* part of the country and I don’t baby my knives in terms of keeping them bone dry. Of course, I dry off my tool steels (I’d probably have an infarction if my crucarta Manix 2 developed rust) but I’m nowhere near obsessive about it. The most I’ve seen on my k390 is a bit of an amber hue that shows up in just the right light…that’s it. It’s an unbelievable steel and even with all the hype, I still think it’s underrated.

[@doejon9424]

Really wish Spyderco would have stuck with the "original" Stretch II blade, with the belly. Other than that, this is a good knife with great steel. It's the only Lightweight model that they changed the whole blade style/shape on. Really weird.

[@rangerjonoutdoors6429]

I agree. I’m on month 15 now carrying this and it doesn’t look much different than it did here. It’s great stuff . Rock on!

[@EDCandLace]

Also I spend half the year in north east FL about 10 miles from the ocean and half the year in Key west 2 blocks from the ocean and I have no issues with k390 or any tool steels for that matter I simply clean them off after use and that's that.

[@paulthelefty]

This knife is already on my short list. Thanks for your testing and thoughts, much appreciated!

[@Allislandrenos]

Living on Vancouver Island, I've had no problem with K390.

[@goodnessgraciousitellya5004]

Great video. Just got this knife. I live a couple miles from the Atlantic. Can’t wait to put my own edge on it and put it to use. The ergos are fantastic

[@rangerjonoutdoors6429]

That’s great ! You’re gonna love it it’s awesome. I’ve been really impressed. Thanks for watching 😎

[@Tony42Rivers]

One of my all time top 5 knives

[@mattyscull5317]

Hi Jon! Thanks for sharing your experience! Looking forward to your full review of the Stretch k390. Found your channel through this video and I love your unique, practical perspective!

[@SalvoEDC]

In my experience the using a tool steel regularly is important to prevent rusting. The actual friction on the surface of the metal helps preventing pockets as corrosive stuff gets scraped off before they could do some harm.

[@1581zebra]

I had a ZDP Stretch 2 about 12-14 years ago and loved it. Let a buddy talk me out of it and I’ve regretted letting it go ever since. Finally replaced it with this one. This will be my first experience with K390, but I’m happy to finally have a stretch to carry again. I also spend some time on the Atlantic, so I’ll be curious to see how it does for me when I’m down there fishing. A delica in VG10 has been my general purpose fishing knife for a few years, and Ive always done the same- rinse it well in fresh water when I get back to the house and let it dry on the counter. Never as much as a spot of rust.

[@captnkurt83]

No chance you cleaned the coating off. Have several and they turned grey rather quick with spotting.

[@coleroyce]

I have a dragonfly in k390 for an edc and have the same results as you. I have your exact knife and use it to field dress elk and deer and the blood dried on it for a few hours til I get home and clean off, I do get small black dots and if shows effect a lot more than the edc only one. Love the knife but the blood seems to react some. It is marketed as a hunting knife. Love it overall!

[@RealAndyOriginal]

A real use example! This is great information.

[@PotatoCheese]

Grear video and test Jon, looking forward to the full stretch video!

[@steel2stone]

Love k390. And the stretch. Hope you're doing well brother.

[@astaschak]

Edci aside, I've not notice any of this flash rusting disintegration I've heard people talk about. It gets very humid in the northeast US, cars are noted to rot out quickly cause of the road salt in the winter. Not one of my knives have ever rusted before my eyes. I have a handful of Great Eastern Cutlery knives, some Tops and Esee all in 1095, some other tool steel knives and even a small neck knife in satin finished A2. Most of my knives are stainless but those there, some of the older ones I carried and used for everything from food to abuse have a light patina. But the ones that haven't been carried much look basically like they did from the factory, just not as shiny. Sitting in a spyderco knife pack, not oiled, in a household that typically is either humid or damp due to environmental factors. Now the scrap metal like an old mower blade or cast iron rotors from my car, those rust sitting around, but I've found if you use your knife even lightly, don't let it sit in water, wipe your orange juice or apple juice off from lunch, and don't let steak sauce sit on it from whatever you cut through. You'll be ok, I'd give my non stainless knives a wipe on my pant leg and put it away. You're mileage will vary, but in my experience, a little bit of care and your stuff isn't going to rust. Anecdote aside though, it is pretty cool to see that after so long in a salt laden environment..with a little care.. it shows almost no signs of corrosion. I still have yet to pick up my own k390, I need to hop on that incase spyderco decides they've made enough.

[@taylorlouie5433]

I find it very bizarre that yours almost seems stainless, my k390 patinas externally fast cutting through fruits veggies and meats too, wiping it off isn’t enough, I’d have to wet wipe it to prevent the patina. It literally looks like that knife was never carried. That’s some good stuff the previous owner put on it!

[@artiombeknazaryan7542]

Different people have different experience with K390. I'm kinda confused. Want a big folding knife like Police 4, mainly for outdoor food prep. And I'm tempted to go for K390, but there's safer VG-10 option.

[@barkingspider2007]

Got PM2 and Endura in K390. Love them both,. They strop great with Gunny juice diamond emulsion. Thanks for the video 😎👍

[@SkyBridgeRE]

Is there some reason to not put edci on ones blades.. or did you just not want it there for the experiment? thx

[@xpig332]

I have 3, worked with one offshore for a year, abused & neglected another around the house and in the yard, and another in the kitchen, don’t oil any of them and none have signs of rust.

[@rangerjonoutdoors6429]

@@xpig332 that’s solid endorsement right there. I still have zero rust on mine.

[@taylorlouie5433]

My p4 k390 patinas extremely easily, the part of the blade that is exposed when closed developed a patina from pocket carry. And the 6-9 o’clock position around the spydie hole is an even darker grey patina from my thumb oils when opening

[@KandKo]

Greatly appreciate the video and awesome knife but..... if the main reason for getting this knife, using it, and making a video about it's rust resistance, why in the heck would you pick the only one you could find with a ceramic rust preventing coating on it?! Would love to hear additional feedback if you get another k390 knife without the coating on it. Thanks again!

[@lindboknifeandtool]

The way these tool steels resist rust is super interesting. Maxamet is the same way, just gets gray. I have the endela reground, and the wharnie delica. It’s such an excellent value. I’m sad I missed out on the g10 police. You mentioned park ranger and I looked back in your videos, i definitely remember watching your videos. You live in such a cool area, with the perfect job. Your military review is my favorite, I’ve probably watched it like 20 times😂 I love the military.

[@zman8340]

I need this in Magnacut

[@pcooke9865]

I'm glad you have success with yours. I did not. I have the Endela and mine is a train wreck. Not only did it rust it rusted in spades. When it did so, I really messed it up by trying to get the rust off with white vinegar. That turned it black and I have not been able to get it off. It made it so stiff that it is difficult to open. I finally got some of it off with Mother's mag and aluminum polish and a Dremel but not all of it. It is razor sharp but looks bad and very stiff even lubed up with Coon P. I hope yours continues to do well.

[@stevenlachance8576]

Lost my police k390 for a month in the Oregon wet season. Yeah it had rust not horrible, but somewhat resistant to bar keepers friend. Still stropping the rust off, most is yielding. The patina is not falling off tho.

[@Jmon808]

So you’re not sure if you fully cleaned off the EDCI? That would definitely effect the entire experiment 😬😬

[@eliteknowledge7298]

EXACTLY, the title isn't accurate!

[@richardsimmons6526]

Iowa is harder on knives than the coast. I have the same knife 1 week and I have rust.

[@bryaninphnx]

And in my experience either some flitz or bar keepers friend would remove that patina. As long as it’s taken care of it’s totally fine in that environment.

[@geraldkoth654]

Dad moved from coastal to inland five miles. His windshield rusted. Iron is added to glass to give it that green tint. Would love to see the Seki 390 in a framed Native 5 like the Blue scaled S110V. No fan of the lightweights, and definitely do not want a humpback whale blade.

[@harrisquicksilver6595]

U should get the native 5 salt series in magnacut , it would be perfect for u!

[@Crusty_Otter]

Great video. Good to know it'll stand up to your environment, shouldn't be a problem here in middle TN. No salt but definitely gets humid and sweaty. I love tool steel blades but haven't tried K390 yet. The stretch reminds me of an Endela with the ergonomic grip of the Native/Sage 5 series. Might have to consider picking up a Stretch in K390

[@BRB_Covers]

Fellow middle TN resident here. I have a k390 delica and it has not rusted at all. It is currently on a potato for a forced patina as i type this. Loving k390 so far✌️

[@maika0staretza]

only place that knife stayed looking like that for 6 months is is your drawer .

[@rangerjonoutdoors6429]

I’m on month 15 now carrying this and it doesn’t look a whole lot worse. Take care of your stuff and maybe you won’t have to leave ‘em in your drawer. Lol

[@MrTspeeds07]

How are you liking that vibe cubera?

[@rangerjonoutdoors6429]

The Vibe is awesome. It’s so stable. Can throw a cast net off it. Zero flex. Awesome platform to walk around on even. Unsinkable. Load it up with gear for long treks. Etc. still has good speed and tracking in the wind even. I’m very happy with it! Just heavy as hell! Haha

[@trentsapp731]

Live in FL myself, HVAC tech I sweat parts of my anatomy off,, I definitely have to do prep to keep rust off of k390. That being said rex45 and m4 are definitely more prone to rust than the k390. I love this steel, so taking care to prevent rust from forming is not a burden whatsoever. For most hyped super steels I'd agree that differences are negligible, the performance of this stuff is legendary.. Spyderco needs to offer everything in the lineup with this as an option. I agree 100% on m390, not my favorite by a long shot. I have both golden and seki city models, both perform well.

[@wigglywrigglydoo]

Can you compare a good Magnacut knife to the Spyderco K390 please?

[@GeneralKato]

I have noticed, even with stainless knives time is what gives rust a chance. Only my H1 knives stay perpetually rust free submerged. So i changed my behaviour; now i am a huge fan of k390. Just a little care and it will stay rust free. It’s become my fav non stainless steel. H1 and K390 are my choices now. Next up is an ennuf 2 in k390. Just have to make up my my to go for serrated or not.

[@Huero87]

I got mine to rust, but it was pretty crazy circumstances. I used my Endela to open a bottle of muriatic acid. Other than that, you should be fine haha.

[@Thomas-dz4eg]

Love mine :)

[@rangerjonoutdoors6429]

It’s an awesome knife 😎 thanks for watching

[@dr.stevenpennym.d.3241]

Nice video

[@richierich3053]

Thanks for the review on this particular model and blade steel option from spyderco i own this knife and really dig it. My blade got some nice patina from cutting delicious ribeye steak seasoned with Worcestershire sauce lol

[@-a13x-75]

I ran my K390 delica 4 through the washer and drier

[@EDCandLace]

I agree with the m390 statement, it's a decent edc steel for card board and like cutting BUT it's not very good if you are cutting tough stuff and expect high edge retention and high edge stability it just lacks it. K390, rex45, m4 are vastly better steels if you are cutting a lot of tough stuff. Personally I would take S90v over m390 any day of the week if I need a stainless.

[@krispybeats6615]

K390 ftw

[@LittleSweed]

Mix Hydrogen peroxide with a 30% salt water mix and wait 5min if it haven't rust during that time nothing natural will make it rust, a nice mix if you want to experiment but don't want to wait for results as it usually shows more or less instant results.

[@jaystrongbow6111]

If you carry this knife for 2 years and work blue collar like I do in your pocket, it will be dark grey, some black splotches at the end of that time. I don't have time to clean a blade after each use, which would be silly on an EDC work knife, right? The heavy patina is OK with me but may not be with some. A sweaty pocket as many of us have at work, hammers K390 into deep patina. And I live in Western Massachusetts, 100 miles from the ocean. If K390 is your dedicated EDC, you can expect this HEAVY patina. Come on, are you really gonna clean your knife after each use at work? No.

[@Jmon808]

Was this really a “test” ? Better title would be “How to baby k390 for 6 months in a rust prone environment” ..if you want a better example of a true rust test then watch Cedric & Ada channel on rust testing tool steels.

[@EDCandLace]

One more thing, if you like k390 for tough cutting tasks try you some rex45 and you will be even more shocked. Spyderco really kills their HT protocol on rex45 its among the best for EDC cutting tasks and tough cutting tasks of any steel out there. How long I can keep an edge going with rex45 is honestly insane. A strop with some 9 micron polydiamond for a few strokes per side then on to a 4 micron polydiamond strop and it will take it back to easily shaving over and over and over and over.