3V love?

Hotshot10

Hotshot10

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Dec 23, 2012
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I've read a fair amount about 3V. Who here likes it? For what purpose? Is there another tool steel that you like better? Any pictures that you have would be great to see. Since my tastes have shifted away from folders to fixed blades, there's a good chance that I may buy one soon.
 
I like 3v a lot. It is very tough and holds an edge well. Not stainless, but decent corrosion resistance. Really a perfect steel for fixed blade IMO. I really enjoy my Fehrman knives in 3V.
 
Don't think you'll find many people around here who don't like 3V. It's a truly fantastic steel.
 
MAll you need to know is that every time something new and "super" comes along, one of the more common things you hear is "it might be better than 3V" ;) 3V is kind of like the O1 or W2 of the PM steel world. Old (or not so old) Reliable. Unless you are looking for stainless, you will likely never second guess yourself for choosing it.
 
I have several Survive! and Bark River Knives in 3v. It's a great all around steel with little faults that I have experienced. I use mine for hiking, backpacking, camping, whether it's to cut tent pegs, build fires, gut fish, etc. My two favorites that I carry are the Survive GSO 4.1 and the Bark River Bravo 1LT.
 
It may just be me and my limited knife sharpening skills, but I find CPM3V to be pretty darn challenging to sharpen - certainly in the field where I prefer just to strop where possible. That may be the 'other side of the coin' re. edge retention, etc. I can usually get my 3V to shaving sharp eventually, but it takes a bunch of work at my end.

I now only have 3 fixed blade knives which are 3V and I have to turn to pretty low grit stones to resharpen them 400/600 to start out. I don't typically carry those out in the field although I recently bought some cheaper 'stones' out here to do just that.

Steel isn't a complete deal-breaker for me but that being said, I prefer stick with O-1, A2 or even 1095 for ease of sharpening.

Obviously, JMHO...

Ben
 
Peroni1973 said:
It may just be me and my limited knife sharpening skills, but I find CPM3V to be pretty darn challenging to sharpen - certainly in the field where I prefer just to strop where possible. That may be the 'other side of the coin' re. edge retention, etc. I can usually get my 3V to shaving sharp eventually, but it takes a bunch of work at my end.

I now only have 3 fixed blade knives which are 3V and I have to turn to pretty low grit stones to resharpen them 400/600 to start out. I don't typically carry those out in the field although I recently bought some cheaper 'stones' out here to do just that.

Steel isn't a complete deal-breaker for me but that being said, I prefer stick with O-1, A2 or even 1095 for ease of sharpening.

Obviously, JMHO...

Ben
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really good inputs , i perfer plain carbon steels over 3v.
 
I only have Bark River's 3V, but I really like it as an all around steel for small FB's. I use it hiking and camping and around the warehouse. It's toughness is a plus when cutting around box staples or metal beams. Edge holding has never been a high priority for me. My usual folders are 154CM, 8cr13@*!# whatever, or occasionally s35VN. The 3V does fine AFAIC in edge holding. Haven't had any corrosion issues either. I just use a little mineral oil once in a while.
 
Interesting thoughts Dale - I should have mentioned the stain/rust resistance of 3V which in my experience is very impressive for such a high carbon steel...

...good catch.

Ben
 
I have had great experience with 3V, its not stainless, but it does well...

I have a 6" , .25" thick stock, about Rc60. It takes a very keen edge for an alloy steel, and holds it well too. I used one for a two week family camping trip to prepare firewood (some chopping, but mostly batoning) and marshmallow/weenie sticks, and in that time I didn't sharpen the knife. Was it duller than when I started? Sure. Was it "dull", No. It was still sharp enough to cut paper, and do clean cuts shavings on green and seasoned sticks. Started shaving hair sharp, ended, usably paper sharp, if not quite shaving anymore. I could still easily chop onions and trim meat.

This is pretty heavy use, in a dirty aggressive environment. And very good edge holding... Would it be a flawless skinning knife at this point? Probably, not, but would it still do the job? Yup.

I carry a double sided 600/1200 grit diamond hone for field sharpening if I ever feel I need it. So far this hasn't been a knife I felt I needed it for in the field. so I say 3V is a great steel... and at RC 62 it has twice the energy to fracture that A2 does at Rc 60. SO its tough...
 
mwally said:
Don't think you'll find many people around here who don't like 3V. It's a truly fantastic steel.
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I love 3V... It's very tough. :thumbup::cool:;)

Two that I have in 3V steel:

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Everything that I could really say about 3V has already been said.

I love the steel. It is my personal favorite and the one I would choose if I had to choose only one steel to work with.

I have used considerably more 3V than any other steel in all styles of knives from 6" OAL Bird N Trouts to a 38" OAL Sword. All have been heat treated to a minimum of 60 Rc.
At this hardness 3V knives can be ground thin and used hard without a worry that the knife will be able to hold up.

Very solid steel to use in fixed blades.
 
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My two in 3V, Koster MUCK and Spyderco Tuff.

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I've been impressed with 3V. It has excellent corrosion resistance for a non stainless steel, it resists rolls very well for wood prep and keeps a shaving edge for a long time.
 
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I have a 5.25" 3V blade and i've beaten the snot out of it. still sharp. 3V is what I'd look for before any other steel I own. A close second is my little 4" S90V edc blade
 
I really like 3V. It's pretty much all I've used although I did make a few 10V knives last year and am working on some in Elmax currently.

I've pretty much stayed at 60-62 hrc for camp knives all the way down through skinners and bushcraft blades. The only way I'd go lower than 60 is for a large chopper. I've done two at 58-59 and been extremely pleased with the results.
 
The only negative I have read is regarding rust resistance, but that doesn't seem like too much of a problem from the comments on here.

I've been thinking about buying a 4 to 5" fixed blade for my summer float trips and hikes. Any suggestions at $250 or under?
 
Hotshot10 said:
The only negative I have read is regarding rust resistance, but that doesn't seem like too much of a problem from the comments on here.

I've been thinking about buying a 4 to 5" fixed blade for my summer float trips and hikes. Any suggestions at $250 or under?
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Cold Steel Master Hunter in 3V is really nice in that size range. And the price is fantastic.
 
Watch for a Big Chris, or Koster or other Maker in your price range, on the Exchange... :) They do come up...
 
I've made several knives of 3V including a cleaver. It's tough stuff that holds a great wire edge. It was harder to work than any other steel that I've used and "relatively" hard to sharpen but it does perform. If I had been any kind of a success at making knives I would have definitely chosen it as my high end steel but I learned that it is fairly expensive to buy and work compared to 440C, A2, and O1.
 
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