What Is MagnaCut?

MagnaCut is a next-generation stainless steel designed specifically for knives by metallurgist Dr. Larrin Thomas. Unlike older steels that often forced a tradeoff between sharpness, toughness, and corrosion resistance, MagnaCut manages to balance all three.

Here’s what makes MagnaCut special:

• Toughness: Resists chips, cracks, and breaks even with a thin edge.
  
  
• Corrosion resistance: Fights rust and staining, even with acidic foods like tomatoes or citrus.
  
  
• Edge retention: Stays sharper longer, so you spend less time sharpening.
  
  

In other words: it’s the steel knife nerds have been dreaming about—and now it’s in the kitchen.

How MagnaCut Changes the Steph Knife

Corey calls this knife a “leveling up” moment for New West KnifeWorks. Here’s what MagnaCut allowed us to do:

• 20% thinner grind: We reduced the primary bevel by about one-fifth compared to our other chef knives. That thinner grind means the blade passes through food with less resistance.
  
  
• More acute edge angle: Sharpened at 15° instead of 17°, the Steph Knife slices more precisely and cleanly.
  
  
• Laser-like performance: When you pick up this knife and cut for the first time, you feel the difference immediately—it glides through food like it isn’t there.
  
  
• Improved edge retention: Because MagnaCut resists corrosion, the very thinnest part of the knife—the cutting edge—stays intact longer.
  
  
• Toughness you can trust: Normally, a thinner, sharper edge is more fragile. With MagnaCut, we can take the edge farther without worrying about chips or breaks.
  
  

This steel didn’t just improve one aspect of performance. It gave us the confidence to rethink the geometry of the knife itself.

Why It Feels Different in the Kitchen

We can talk numbers all day—20% thinner, 15° edges, toughness ratings—but the real magic happens when you put the knife to the test.

Whether you’re dicing onions, slicing through root vegetables, or breaking down proteins, the Steph Knife doesn’t wedge, stall, or fight you. It simply moves through food the way a knife should: effortlessly.

That combination of performance and durability is why Corey describes MagnaCut as letting us “take it where we haven’t gone before.”

A Collaboration with Chef Stephanie Izard

Of course, the steel is only half the story. The Steph Knife was co-designed with Iron Chef and Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard, and her fingerprints are all over the design.

• Blade profile: An East–West hybrid with more width than a European chef knife but more tip precision than a traditional santoku—giving you the best of both worlds.
  
  
• Handle design: Shaped from the ground up for comfort in both hammer and pinch grips. Stephanie prefers a hammer grip; Corey prefers a pinch grip. Together, they perfected a handle that works beautifully for both.
  
  
• Custom colors: Stephanie personally chose the bold, playful handle colorways—proof that performance and personality can live in the same knife.
  
  

The result is a chef knife that’s equal parts professional tool and personal statement piece.

Why MagnaCut Matters Beyond the Kitchen

For most people, the idea of “better steel” might sound abstract. But here’s why MagnaCut truly matters:

• Your knife stays sharper longer, which means less time on the sharpening stone and more time cooking.
  
  
• It resists rust even when you’re working fast in a busy kitchen (though, yes, you should still take care of it!).
  
  
• It makes possible a blade geometry that feels like an instant upgrade the first time you slice with it.
  
  

It’s not just a detail for knife nerds—it’s something every cook will notice and appreciate.