3v knife

[wiss87]

Would anyone recommend Survive! knives for a 3v option? Otherwise I was thinking bark river bravo 1 or Bavo 1.25 lt or bravo 1lt in 3v

 

[Twindog]

Survive uses the Delta 3V protocol, at least in older models. I'm not sure if they've changed. Great knives, but hard to deal with when buying new.

The thing to remember about 3V is that it is not a super wear-resistant steel. It's super tough (resistant to chips and cracks and breaks).

But in terms of wear resistance, it's right around VG10, CPM 154, M2 and D2. Those are common, easy to sharpen steels.

 

[wiss87]

The Survive! look great and seem to be made for hard use.

I have the BSS5 which is delta 3v. I was thinking about buying a GSO 5.1 to use as the BSS5 is a first production. I was also open to Bark River Bravo in some 3v variant or another

 

[TLR]

Nothing in particular. I’ve always wanted to try 3v (I actually have a 3v knife, buts it’s a first production run so I’ve never used it). My biggest concern is how hard 3v steel would be on a wet stone.

Keep in mind that those of us who make knives in 3V (and 4V and even 10V with less success ) still use paper to grind them. Anything beyond about 120 grit is going to be using silicon carbide paper. You can buy wet/dry silicone carbide sandpaper pretty cheap. Find an old piece of glass and you have a sharpening stone on the relatively cheap. I encourage people who buy any of my knives to get a DMT Duo-fold coarse/fine for general maintenance and add a strop if you want to take it beyond that. For the average general purpose/hunting/edc knife that is enough. If you want to polish it up to 20,000 and beyond that's fine but the bulk of people who have my knives in 3V don't want or need that.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I've been pleased with my two knives from Ben Tendick out of CPM3V.

Obviously Nathan Carrothers has been mentioned.

Dan Keffler makes amazing customs in Delta CPM3V (I believe he and Carrothhers worked on the heat treat protocols in collaboration?? Or he helped test?)

I sharpen on Diamond, and ceramic sticks.
Cpm3v is not difficult to sharpen...but it is a step up from simple carbon steels, spring steels or fine carbide stainless in that regard.

 

[Black Oak Bladeworks]

Do you recommend any particular diamond stone?

I started with a fallkniven DC4 and it works well. I now Use a spyderco CBN stone. Its really nice as well but significantly pricier.

 

[Spears]

Do you recommend any particular diamond stone?

What these guys said. Start with a smaller "field" stone and see how you like the feedback. Add a leather strop with some 1 micron diamond and that should cover touch ups and such. The Spyderco ceramic stone you have should be good for touch ups, as well.

Keep in mind that those of us who make knives in 3V (and 4V and even 10V with less success ) still use paper to grind them. Anything beyond about 120 grit is going to be using silicon carbide paper. You can buy wet/dry silicone carbide sandpaper pretty cheap. Find an old piece of glass and you have a sharpening stone on the relatively cheap. I encourage people who buy any of my knives to get a DMT Duo-fold coarse/fine for general maintenance and add a strop if you want to take it beyond that. For the average general purpose/hunting/edc knife that is enough. If you want to polish it up to 20,000 and beyond that's fine but the bulk of people who have my knives in 3V don't want or need that.

I started with a fallkniven DC4 and it works well. I now Use a spyderco CBN stone. Its really nice as well but significantly pricier.

Move to a large plate or go to a guided system once you figure out which type of stones you like working with. You'll really want a wide range of grits, especially if you've got chips and dings to get out, or if you want to reprofile the apex.

The Maintenance, Tinkering, & Embellishment subforum is a great resource for additional info on sharpening.

I have a Diafold Green/Red (Extra-Fine/Fine) for field use since the DMT plates tend to leave a slightly coarser finish than the stated grit size. I've heard and seen good things about the DC4/DC3 (only difference is size of the stone) but don't have one personally.

Other than that, you could just jump in and get a kitted out guided system. Take some of the guesswork out.

Dry/wet sandpaper on glass, wood, or leather can also be pretty economical, too. You'll just have to use edge trailing only strokes (which may or may not be a bad thing) to prevent cutting into the sandpaper.

The Survive! look great and seem to be made for hard use.

I have the BSS5 which is delta 3v. I was thinking about buying a GSO 5.1 to use as the BSS5 is a first production. I was also open to Bark River Bravo in some 3v variant or another

Wait, isn't the BSS-5 just a BSS branded Survive! knife?

Survive uses the Delta 3V protocol, at least in older models. I'm not sure if they've changed. Great knives, but hard to deal with when buying new.

This thread seems to indicate they've stopped due to issues incorporating it into the manufacturing process.

 

[Murphjd25]

I sharpen all my Delta 3V with Spyderco diamond and medium ceramics no problemo.

 

[353]

Bark River make many of their models in 3V.

Besides some grinding issues, my Bark Rivers in 3V have performed very well.

 

[Black Oak Bladeworks]

Do you recommend any particular diamond stone?

Also, I second Spears recommendation for a strop if you don't have one yet. My first one was a flex cut strop that came with compound. The flex cut works fine, but they aren't hard to make if you have scrap leather either.

What these guys said. Start with a smaller "field" stone and see how you like the feedback. Add a leather strop with some 1 micron diamond and that should cover touch ups and such. The Spyderco ceramic stone you have should be good for touch ups, as well.





Move to a large plate or go to a guided system once you figure out which type of stones you like working with. You'll really want a wide range of grits, especially if you've got chips and dings to get out, or if you want to reprofile the apex.

The Maintenance, Tinkering, & Embellishment subforum is a great resource for additional info on sharpening.

I have a Diafold Green/Red (Extra-Fine/Fine) for field use since the DMT plates tend to leave a slightly coarser finish than the stated grit size. I've heard and seen good things about the DC4/DC3 (only difference is size of the stone) but don't have one personally.

Other than that, you could just jump in and get a kitted out guided system. Take some of the guesswork out.

Dry/wet sandpaper on glass, wood, or leather can also be pretty economical, too. You'll just have to use edge trailing only strokes (which may or may not be a bad thing) to prevent cutting into the sandpaper.



Wait, isn't the BSS-5 just a BSS branded Survive! knife?



This thread seems to indicate they've stopped due to issues incorporating it into the manufacturing process.

A guided system would be nice someday. Currently I just use my grinder very carefully for re profiling and taking chips out if its really bad. Do you have a guided system you prefer?

 

[coolbreezy37]

There's a basic field knife sale coming up

I tried contacting CPK twice and didn’t get a response, when is this sale coming up? I would love to snag a basic field knife.

 

[Another Shepherd]

Benchmade
Bradford
Cold Steel
Toor

 

[ferider]

I tried contacting CPK twice and didn’t get a response, when is this sale coming up? I would love to snag a basic field knife.

Looks like 10/22 (https://bladeforums.com/threads/sol...d-knife-delta-3v.1814042/page-3#post-20782270 - usually at noon Eastern).

You'll get a heads-up here: https://bladeforums.com/threads/the-next-sale.1405869/.

I suggest to follow Nathan and/or Jo.

 

[Michael Deiters]

i couldn't sharpen a knife until i found DMT diamond stones,

 

[Xr6x]

DMT

 

[DocJD]

Supposed to be "coming soon " . I'd dearly love to try one : https://carothersknives.com/6-utility-fighter/

 

[Spears]

A guided system would be nice someday. Currently I just use my grinder very carefully for re profiling and taking chips out if its really bad. Do you have a guided system you prefer?

I'm in the opposite boat. I want a water-cooled grinding setup for reprofiling. It is not fun reprofiling with stones...

In all honesty, I'm probably not the best person to ask on a guided system as I haven't really tried enough of them. I've got a WE GO Deluxe that I got on sale a while back and it works pretty good. Only issue is the need, for any guided system, to get a whole slew of stones, strops, and whatnot if you want to chase that perfect mirror finish (I need like another 2 to 3 bills worth of stuff to get the right grits for a true mirror progression). With the WE, it is also isn't really setup to do camp style knives since the weight of the knife isn't super stable in the clamp. I've seen some folks use a RAM Mount claw and some other components to hold the handle up; however, that's just additional stuff you have to get.

Otherwise, it seems to me that each of the guided systems have their own learning curve and quirks when setting stuff up. I have noticed that between the clamped guided system and free/magnetic base guided system (think EdgePro or Hapstone V8), there's less chance of rounding the tip on a clamped guided system. Though, again, I think that's part of the learning curve for that particular system.

I'd really like to try out one of the Hapstone R2s or TS Profs; they just get super pricey, especially once you add some of the fancier stones. Though, at least with guided systems from Hapstone or TS Prof, there's a greater range of knives that can be mounted in their clamps compared to the WE and other systems.

 

[kane22]

Would anyone recommend Survive! knives for a 3v option? Otherwise I was thinking bark river bravo 1 or Bavo 1.25 lt or bravo 1lt in 3v

I have a couple of both, and would recommend either. I give the edge to survive, but it's personal preferance as to what you like.

 

[wiss87]

I ended up grabbing a bark river bravo alpha in 3v today.

 

[Rob_Angerer]

I have heard this— just find it’s almost impossible to get one of his! I keep a close eye on the classifieds— just never good timing lol

No one will top the 3V performance of Nathan Carothers via his "Delta 3V Protocol" for heat treating. It actually requires considerably different fabrication techniques than are typically used in manufacturing, and Carothers has built his work process around being able to deliver Delta 3V protocol consistently. The main benefit is that his 3V has a more stable edge, something you can't measure with a Rockwell tester, and perhaps not a Charpy Impact test.

Nathan has a bunch of Youtube videos demonstrating his knives. This particular Youtube video speaks directly to his work in regards to edge stability.

And Carothers fit and finish and ergonomics (CNC driven) are fantastic.

Buying on the secondary market just takes a little patience and persistence... there is a Carothers "for sale" subforum here on Bladeforums, here:

Attention - The CPK - Buy, Sell & Trade thread - Closed

Can we please minimize chit chat in this particular thread. There are people subscribed to it who get a notification every time someone posts. When it isn't an item for sale it screws up the "signal to noise" ratio. Thanks. Update: it has become Bladeforums policy that you need to list a price...

www.bladeforums.com

He sells knives in batches on Fridays, announced here:

The NEXT SALE

I'm going to "sticky" this thread so it will stay here on the top. I'll update this 1st post weekly to let you guys know what we're preparing for the weekly sale and to announce any upcoming pre-orders. Twenty 5" Basic Five Field Knives, optimized CPM Cruwear, $295 plus shipping. Friday 30th...

www.bladeforums.com